WorldWideScience

Sample records for altered gene synchrony

  1. Altered gene synchrony suggests a combined hormone-mediated dysregulated state in major depression.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris Gaiteri

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Coordinated gene transcript levels across tissues (denoted "gene synchrony" reflect converging influences of genetic, biochemical and environmental factors; hence they are informative of the biological state of an individual. So could brain gene synchrony also integrate the multiple factors engaged in neuropsychiatric disorders and reveal underlying pathologies? Using bootstrapped Pearson correlation for transcript levels for the same genes across distinct brain areas, we report robust gene transcript synchrony between the amygdala and cingulate cortex in the human postmortem brain of normal control subjects (n = 14; Control/Permutated data, p<0.000001. Coordinated expression was confirmed across distinct prefrontal cortex areas in a separate cohort (n = 19 subjects and affected different gene sets, potentially reflecting regional network- and function-dependent transcriptional programs. Genewise regional transcript coordination was independent of age-related changes and array technical parameters. Robust shifts in amygdala-cingulate gene synchrony were observed in subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD, denoted here "depression" (n = 14; MDD/Permutated data, p<0.000001, significantly affecting between 100 and 250 individual genes (10-30% false discovery rate. Biological networks and signal transduction pathways corresponding to the identified gene set suggested putative dysregulated functions for several hormone-type factors previously implicated in depression (insulin, interleukin-1, thyroid hormone, estradiol and glucocorticoids; p<0.01 for association with depression-related networks. In summary, we showed that coordinated gene expression across brain areas may represent a novel molecular probe for brain structure/function that is sensitive to disease condition, suggesting the presence of a distinct and integrated hormone-mediated corticolimbic homeostatic, although maladaptive and pathological, state in major depression.

  2. Acrolein inhalation alters myocardial synchrony and performance at and below exposure concentrations that cause ventilatory responses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acrolein is an irritating aldehyde generated during combustion of organic compounds. Altered autonomic activity has been documented following acrolein inhalation, possibly impacting myocardial synchrony and function. Given the ubiquitous nature of acrolein in the environment, we ...

  3. Noise exposure alters long-term neural firing rates and synchrony in primary auditory and rostral belt cortices following bimodal stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takacs, Joseph D; Forrest, Taylor J; Basura, Gregory J

    2017-12-01

    We previously demonstrated that bimodal stimulation (spinal trigeminal nucleus [Sp5] paired with best frequency tone) altered neural tone-evoked and spontaneous firing rates (SFRs) in primary auditory cortex (A1) 15 min after pairing in guinea pigs with and without noise-induced tinnitus. Neural responses were enhanced (+10 ms) or suppressed (0 ms) based on the bimodal pairing interval. Here we investigated whether bimodal stimulation leads to long-term (up to 2 h) changes in tone-evoked and SFRs and neural synchrony (correlate of tinnitus) and if the long-term bimodal effects are altered following noise exposure. To obviate the effects of permanent hearing loss on the results, firing rates and neural synchrony were measured three weeks following unilateral (left ear) noise exposure and a temporary threshold shift. Simultaneous extra-cellular single-unit recordings were made from contralateral (to noise) A1 and dorsal rostral belt (RB); an associative auditory cortical region thought to influence A1, before and after bimodal stimulation (pairing intervals of 0 ms; simultaneous Sp5-tone and +10 ms; Sp5 precedes tone). Sixty and 120 min after 0 ms pairing tone-evoked and SFRs were suppressed in sham A1; an effect only preserved 120 min following pairing in noise. Stimulation at +10 ms only affected SFRs 120 min after pairing in sham and noise-exposed A1. Within sham RB, pairing at 0 and +10 ms persistently suppressed tone-evoked and SFRs, while 0 ms pairing in noise markedly enhanced tone-evoked and SFRs up to 2 h. Together, these findings suggest that bimodal stimulation has long-lasting effects in A1 that also extend to the associative RB that is altered by noise and may have persistent implications for how noise damaged brains process multi-sensory information. Moreover, prior to bimodal stimulation, noise damage increased neural synchrony in A1, RB and between A1 and RB neurons. Bimodal stimulation led to persistent changes in neural synchrony in

  4. Dynamic ErbB4 Activity in Hippocampal-Prefrontal Synchrony and Top-Down Attention in Rodents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Zhibing; Robinson, Heath L; Yin, Dong-Min; Liu, Yu; Liu, Fang; Wang, Hongsheng; Lin, Thiri W; Xing, Guanglin; Gan, Lin; Xiong, Wen-Cheng; Mei, Lin

    2018-04-18

    Top-down attention is crucial for meaningful behaviors and impaired in various mental disorders. However, its underpinning regulatory mechanisms are poorly understood. We demonstrate that the hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony associates with levels of top-down attention. Both attention and synchrony are reduced in mutant mice of ErbB4, a receptor of neuregulin-1. We used chemical genetic and optogenetic approaches to inactivate ErbB4 kinase and ErbB4+ interneurons, respectively, both of which reduce gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) activity. Such inhibitions in the hippocampus impair both hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony and top-down attention, whereas those in the prefrontal cortex alter attention, but not synchrony. These observations identify a role of ErbB4-dependent GABA activity in the hippocampus in synchronizing the hippocampal-prefrontal pathway and demonstrate that acute, dynamic ErbB4 signaling is required to command top-down attention. Because both neuregulin-1 and ErbB4 are susceptibility genes of schizophrenia and major depression, our study contributes to a better understanding of these disorders. VIDEO ABSTRACT. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. The geography of spatial synchrony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walter, Jonathan A; Sheppard, Lawrence W; Anderson, Thomas L; Kastens, Jude H; Bjørnstad, Ottar N; Liebhold, Andrew M; Reuman, Daniel C

    2017-07-01

    Spatial synchrony, defined as correlated temporal fluctuations among populations, is a fundamental feature of population dynamics, but many aspects of synchrony remain poorly understood. Few studies have examined detailed geographical patterns of synchrony; instead most focus on how synchrony declines with increasing linear distance between locations, making the simplifying assumption that distance decay is isotropic. By synthesising and extending prior work, we show how geography of synchrony, a term which we use to refer to detailed spatial variation in patterns of synchrony, can be leveraged to understand ecological processes including identification of drivers of synchrony, a long-standing challenge. We focus on three main objectives: (1) showing conceptually and theoretically four mechanisms that can generate geographies of synchrony; (2) documenting complex and pronounced geographies of synchrony in two important study systems; and (3) demonstrating a variety of methods capable of revealing the geography of synchrony and, through it, underlying organism ecology. For example, we introduce a new type of network, the synchrony network, the structure of which provides ecological insight. By documenting the importance of geographies of synchrony, advancing conceptual frameworks, and demonstrating powerful methods, we aim to help elevate the geography of synchrony into a mainstream area of study and application. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

  6. Synchrony in Dyadic Psychotherapy Sessions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramseyer, Fabian; Tschacher, Wolfgang

    Synchrony is a multi-faceted concept used in diverse domains such as physics, biology, and the social sciences. This chapter reviews some of the evidence of nonverbal synchrony in human communication, with a main focus on the role of synchrony in the psychotherapeutic setting. Nonverbal synchrony describes coordinated behavior of patient and therapist. Its association with empathy, rapport and the therapeutic relationship has been pointed out repeatedly, yet close evaluation of empirical studies suggests that the evidence remains inconclusive. Particularly in naturalistic studies, research with quantitative measures of synchrony is still lacking. We introduce a new empirical approach for the study of synchrony in psychotherapies under field conditions: Motion Energy Analysis (MEA). This is a video-based algorithm that quantifies the amount of movement in freely definable regions of interest. Our statistical analysis detects synchrony on a global level, irrespective of the specific body parts moving. Synchrony thus defined can be considered as a general measure of movement coordination between interacting individuals. Data from a sequence of N = 21 therapy sessions taken from one psychotherapy dyad shows a high positive relationship between synchrony and the therapeutic bond. Nonverbal synchrony can thus be considered a promising concept for research on the therapeutic alliance. Further areas of application are discussed.

  7. Spatial synchrony in cisco recruitment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, Jared T.; Yule, Daniel L.; Jones, Michael L.; Ahrenstorff, Tyler D.; Hrabik, Thomas R.; Claramunt, Randall M.; Ebener, Mark P.; Berglund, Eric K.

    2015-01-01

    We examined the spatial scale of recruitment variability for disparate cisco (Coregonus artedi) populations in the Great Lakes (n = 8) and Minnesota inland lakes (n = 4). We found that the scale of synchrony was approximately 400 km when all available data were utilized; much greater than the 50-km scale suggested for freshwater fish populations in an earlier global analysis. The presence of recruitment synchrony between Great Lakes and inland lake cisco populations supports the hypothesis that synchronicity is driven by climate and not dispersal. We also found synchrony in larval densities among three Lake Superior populations separated by 25–275 km, which further supports the hypothesis that broad-scale climatic factors are the cause of spatial synchrony. Among several candidate climate variables measured during the period of larval cisco emergence, maximum wind speeds exhibited the most similar spatial scale of synchrony to that observed for cisco. Other factors, such as average water temperatures, exhibited synchrony on broader spatial scales, which suggests they could also be contributing to recruitment synchrony. Our results provide evidence that abiotic factors can induce synchronous patterns of recruitment for populations of cisco inhabiting waters across a broad geographic range, and show that broad-scale synchrony of recruitment can occur in freshwater fish populations as well as those from marine systems.

  8. Differential contribution of demographic rate synchrony to population synchrony in barn swallows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaub, Michael; von Hirschheydt, Johann; Grüebler, Martin U

    2015-11-01

    Populations of many species show temporally synchronous dynamics over some range, mostly caused by spatial autocorrelation of the environment that affects demographic rates. Synchronous fluctuation of a demographic rate is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for population synchrony because population growth is differentially sensitive to variation in demographic rates. Little is known about the relative effects of demographic rates to population synchrony, because it is rare that all demographic rates from several populations are known. We develop a hierarchical integrated population model with which all relevant demographic rates from all study populations can be estimated and apply it to demographic data of barn swallows Hirundo rustica from nine sites that were between 19 and 224 km apart from each other. We decompose the variation of the population growth and of the demographic rates (apparent survival, components of productivity, immigration) into global and local temporal components using random effects which allowed the estimation of synchrony of these rates. The barn swallow populations fluctuated synchronously, but less so than most demographic rates. The highest synchrony showed the probability of double brooding, while fledging success was highly asynchronous. Apparent survival, immigration and total productivity achieved intermediate levels of synchrony. The growth of all populations was most sensitive to changes in immigration and adult apparent survival, and both of them contributed to the observed temporal variation of population growth rates. Using a simulation model, we show that immigration and apparent survival of juveniles and adults were able to induce population synchrony, but not components of local productivity due to their low population growth rate sensitivity. Immigrants are mostly first-time breeders, and consequently, their number depends on the productivity of neighbouring populations. Since total productivity was synchronized

  9. Cooperative Learning and Interpersonal Synchrony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vink, Roy; Wijnants, Maarten L; Cillessen, Antonius H N; Bosman, Anna M T

    2017-04-01

    Cooperative learning has been shown to result in better task performance, compared to individual and competitive learning, and can lead to positive social effects. However, potential working mechanisms at a micro level remain unexplored. One potential working mechanism might be the level of interpersonal synchrony between cooperating individuals. It has been shown that increased levels of interpersonal synchrony are related to better cognitive performance (e.g., increased memory). Social factors also appear to be affected by the level of interpersonal synchrony, with more interpersonal synchrony leading to increased likeability. In the present study, interpersonal synchrony of postural sway and its relation to task performance and social factors (i.e., popularity, social acceptance, and likeability) was examined. To test this, 183 dyads performed a tangram task while each child stood on a Nintendo Wii Balance Board that recorded their postural sway. The results showed that lower levels of interpersonal synchrony were related to better task performance and those dyads who were on average more popular synchronized more. These results contradict previous findings. It is suggested that for task performance, a more loosely coupled system is better than a synchronized system. In terms of social competence, dyad popularity was associated with more interpersonal synchrony.

  10. Prosocial Consequences of Interpersonal Synchrony

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    Abstract. The capacity to establish interpersonal synchrony is fundamental to human beings because it constitutes the basis for social connection and understanding. Interpersonal synchrony refers to instances when the movements or sensations of two or more people overlap in time and form. Recently, the causal influence of interpersonal synchrony on prosociality has been established through experiments. The current meta-analysis is the first to synthesize these isolated and sometimes contradictory experiments. We meta-analyzed 60 published and unpublished experiments that compared an interpersonal synchrony condition with at least one control condition. The results reveal a medium effect of interpersonal synchrony on prosociality with regard to both attitudes and behaviors. Furthermore, experimenter effects and intentionality moderate these effects. We discuss the strengths and limitations of our analysis, as well as its practical implications, and we suggest avenues for future research. PMID:28105388

  11. Exit from Synchrony in Joint Improvised Motion.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Assi Dahan

    Full Text Available Motion synchrony correlates with effective and well-rated human interaction. However, people do not remain locked in synchrony; Instead, they repeatedly enter and exit synchrony. In many important interactions, such as therapy, marriage and parent-infant communication, it is the ability to exit and then re-enter synchrony that is thought to build strong relationship. The phenomenon of entry into zero-phase synchrony is well-studied experimentally and in terms of mathematical modeling. In contrast, exit-from-synchrony is under-studied. Here, we focus on human motion coordination, and examine the exit-from-synchrony phenomenon using experimental data from the mirror game paradigm, in which people perform joint improvised motion, and from human tracking of computer-generated stimuli. We present a mathematical mechanism that captures aspects of exit-from-synchrony in human motion. The mechanism adds a random motion component when the accumulated velocity error between the players is small. We introduce this mechanism to several models for human coordinated motion, including the widely studied HKB model, and the predictor-corrector model of Noy, Dekel and Alon. In all models, the new mechanism produces realistic simulated behavior when compared to experimental data from the mirror game and from tracking of computer generated stimuli, including repeated entry and exit from zero-phase synchrony that generates a complexity of motion similar to that of human players. We hope that these results can inform future research on exit-from-synchrony, to better understand the dynamics of coordinated action of people and to enhance human-computer and human-robot interaction.

  12. Nonverbal synchrony and affect in dyadic interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolfgang eTschacher

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available In an experiment on dyadic social interaction, we invited participants to verbal interactions in cooperative, competitive, and 'fun task' conditions. We focused on the link between interactants' affectivity and their nonverbal synchrony, and explored which further variables contributed to affectivity: interactants' personality traits, sex, and the prescribed interaction tasks. Nonverbal synchrony was quantified by the coordination of interactants' body movement, using an automated video-analysis algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis, MEA. Traits were assessed with standard questionnaires of personality, attachment, interactional style, psychopathology and interpersonal reactivity. We included 168 previously unacquainted individuals who were randomly allocated to same-sex dyads (84 females, 84 males, mean age 27.3 years. Dyads discussed four topics of general interest drawn from an urn of eight topics, and finally engaged in a fun interaction. Each interaction lasted five minutes. In between interactions, participants repeatedly assessed their affect. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we found moderate to strong effect sizes for synchrony to occur, especially in competitive and fun task conditions. Positive affect was associated positively with synchrony, negative affect was associated negatively. As for causal direction, data supported the interpretation that synchrony entailed affect rather than vice versa. The link between nonverbal synchrony and affect was strongest in female dyads. The findings extend previous reports of synchrony and mimicry associated with emotion in relationships and suggest a possible mechanism of the synchrony-affect correlation.

  13. Spatio-temporal patterns of event-related potentials related to audiovisual synchrony judgments in older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Yu Man; Pianta, Michael Julian; Bode, Stefan; McKendrick, Allison Maree

    2017-07-01

    Older adults have altered perception of the relative timing between auditory and visual stimuli, even when stimuli are scaled to equate detectability. To help understand why, this study investigated the neural correlates of audiovisual synchrony judgments in older adults using electroencephalography (EEG). Fourteen younger (18-32 year old) and 16 older (61-74 year old) adults performed an audiovisual synchrony judgment task on flash-pip stimuli while EEG was recorded. All participants were assessed to have healthy vision and hearing for their age. Observers responded to whether audiovisual pairs were perceived as synchronous or asynchronous via a button press. The results showed that the onset of predictive sensory information for synchrony judgments was not different between groups. Channels over auditory areas contributed more to this predictive sensory information than visual areas. The spatial-temporal profile of the EEG activity also indicates that older adults used different resources to maintain a similar level of performance in audiovisual synchrony judgments compared with younger adults. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Alteration of consciousness in focal epilepsy: the global workspace alteration theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartolomei, Fabrice; McGonigal, Aileen; Naccache, Lionel

    2014-01-01

    Alteration of consciousness (AOC) is an important clinical manifestation of partial seizures that greatly impacts the quality of life of patients with epilepsy. Several theories have been proposed in the last fifty years. An emerging concept in neurology is the global workspace (GW) theory that postulates that access to consciousness (from several sensorial modalities) requires transient coordinated activity from associative cortices, in particular the prefrontal cortex and the posterior parietal associative cortex. Several lines of evidence support the view that partial seizures alter consciousness through disturbance of the GW. In particular, a nonlinear relation has been shown between excess of synchronization in the GW regions and the degree of AOC. Changes in thalamocortical synchrony occurring during the spreading of the ictal activity seem particularly involved in the mechanism of altered consciousness. This link between abnormal synchrony and AOC offers new perspectives in the treatment of the AOC since means of decreasing consciousness alteration in seizures could improve patients' quality of life. © 2013.

  15. Eyeblink Synchrony in Multimodal Human-Android Interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tatsukawa, Kyohei; Nakano, Tamami; Ishiguro, Hiroshi; Yoshikawa, Yuichiro

    2016-12-23

    As the result of recent progress in technology of communication robot, robots are becoming an important social partner for humans. Behavioral synchrony is understood as an important factor in establishing good human-robot relationships. In this study, we hypothesized that biasing a human's attitude toward a robot changes the degree of synchrony between human and robot. We first examined whether eyeblinks were synchronized between a human and an android in face-to-face interaction and found that human listeners' eyeblinks were entrained to android speakers' eyeblinks. This eyeblink synchrony disappeared when the android speaker spoke while looking away from the human listeners but was enhanced when the human participants listened to the speaking android while touching the android's hand. These results suggest that eyeblink synchrony reflects a qualitative state in human-robot interactions.

  16. Spike synchrony reveals emergence of proto-objects in visual cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Anne B; von der Heydt, Rüdiger

    2015-04-29

    Neurons at early stages of the visual cortex signal elemental features, such as pieces of contour, but how these signals are organized into perceptual objects is unclear. Theories have proposed that spiking synchrony between these neurons encodes how features are grouped (binding-by-synchrony), but recent studies did not find the predicted increase in synchrony with binding. Here we propose that features are grouped to "proto-objects" by intrinsic feedback circuits that enhance the responses of the participating feature neurons. This hypothesis predicts synchrony exclusively between feature neurons that receive feedback from the same grouping circuit. We recorded from neurons in macaque visual cortex and used border-ownership selectivity, an intrinsic property of the neurons, to infer whether or not two neurons are part of the same grouping circuit. We found that binding produced synchrony between same-circuit neurons, but not between other pairs of neurons, as predicted by the grouping hypothesis. In a selective attention task, synchrony emerged with ignored as well as attended objects, and higher synchrony was associated with faster behavioral responses, as would be expected from early grouping mechanisms that provide the structure for object-based processing. Thus, synchrony could be produced by automatic activation of intrinsic grouping circuits. However, the binding-related elevation of synchrony was weak compared with its random fluctuations, arguing against synchrony as a code for binding. In contrast, feedback grouping circuits encode binding by modulating the response strength of related feature neurons. Thus, our results suggest a novel coding mechanism that might underlie the proto-objects of perception. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/356860-11$15.00/0.

  17. Network analysis of genomic alteration profiles reveals co-altered functional modules and driver genes for glioblastoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Yunyan; Wang, Hongwei; Qin, Yao; Zhang, Yujing; Zhao, Wenyuan; Qi, Lishuang; Zhang, Yuannv; Wang, Chenguang; Guo, Zheng

    2013-03-01

    The heterogeneity of genetic alterations in human cancer genomes presents a major challenge to advancing our understanding of cancer mechanisms and identifying cancer driver genes. To tackle this heterogeneity problem, many approaches have been proposed to investigate genetic alterations and predict driver genes at the individual pathway level. However, most of these approaches ignore the correlation of alteration events between pathways and miss many genes with rare alterations collectively contributing to carcinogenesis. Here, we devise a network-based approach to capture the cooperative functional modules hidden in genome-wide somatic mutation and copy number alteration profiles of glioblastoma (GBM) from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), where a module is a set of altered genes with dense interactions in the protein interaction network. We identify 7 pairs of significantly co-altered modules that involve the main pathways known to be altered in GBM (TP53, RB and RTK signaling pathways) and highlight the striking co-occurring alterations among these GBM pathways. By taking into account the non-random correlation of gene alterations, the property of co-alteration could distinguish oncogenic modules that contain driver genes involved in the progression of GBM. The collaboration among cancer pathways suggests that the redundant models and aggravating models could shed new light on the potential mechanisms during carcinogenesis and provide new indications for the design of cancer therapeutic strategies.

  18. The Subjective Sensation of Synchrony: An Experimental Study

    KAUST Repository

    Llobera, Joan; Charbonnier, Caecilia; Chagué , Sylvain; Preissmann, Delphine; Antonietti, Jean-Philippe; Ansermet, Franç ois; Magistretti, Pierre J.

    2016-01-01

    People performing actions together have a natural tendency to synchronize their behavior. Consistently, people doing a task together build internal representations not only of their actions and goals, but also of the other people performing the task. However, little is known about which are the behavioral mechanisms and the psychological factors affecting the subjective sensation of synchrony, or “connecting” with someone else. In this work, we sought to find which factors induce the subjective sensation of synchrony, combining motion capture data and psychological measures. Our results show that the subjective sensation of synchrony is affected by performance quality together with task category, and time. Psychological factors such as empathy and negative subjective affects also correlate with the subjective sensation of synchrony. However, when people estimate synchrony as seen from a third person perspective, their psychological factors do not affect the accuracy of the estimation. We suggest that to feel this sensation it is necessary to, first, have a good joint performance and, second, to assume the existence of an attention monitoring mechanism that reports that the attention of both participants (self and other) is focused on the task.

  19. The Subjective Sensation of Synchrony: An Experimental Study

    KAUST Repository

    Llobera, Joan

    2016-02-12

    People performing actions together have a natural tendency to synchronize their behavior. Consistently, people doing a task together build internal representations not only of their actions and goals, but also of the other people performing the task. However, little is known about which are the behavioral mechanisms and the psychological factors affecting the subjective sensation of synchrony, or “connecting” with someone else. In this work, we sought to find which factors induce the subjective sensation of synchrony, combining motion capture data and psychological measures. Our results show that the subjective sensation of synchrony is affected by performance quality together with task category, and time. Psychological factors such as empathy and negative subjective affects also correlate with the subjective sensation of synchrony. However, when people estimate synchrony as seen from a third person perspective, their psychological factors do not affect the accuracy of the estimation. We suggest that to feel this sensation it is necessary to, first, have a good joint performance and, second, to assume the existence of an attention monitoring mechanism that reports that the attention of both participants (self and other) is focused on the task.

  20. MicroRNA-276 promotes egg-hatching synchrony by up-regulating brm in locusts

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Jing; Chen, Qianquan; Wei, Yuanyuan; Jiang, Feng; Yang, Meiling; Hao, Shuguang; Guo, Xiaojiao; Chen, Dahua; Kang, Le

    2016-01-01

    Developmental synchrony, the basis of uniform swarming, migration, and sexual maturation, is an important strategy for social animals to adapt to variable environments. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying developmental synchrony are largely unexplored. The migratory locust exhibits polyphenism between gregarious and solitarious individuals, with the former displaying more synchronous sexual maturation and migration than the latter. Here, we found that the egg-hatching time of gregarious locusts was more uniform compared with solitarious locusts and that microRNA-276 (miR-276) was expressed significantly higher in both ovaries and eggs of gregarious locusts than in solitarious locusts. Interestingly, inhibiting miR-276 in gregarious females and overexpressing it in solitarious females, respectively, caused more heterochronic and synchronous hatching of progeny eggs. Moreover, miR-276 directly targeted a transcription coactivator gene, brahma (brm), resulting in its up-regulation. Knockdown of brm not only resulted in asynchronous egg hatching in gregarious locusts but also impaired the miR-276–induced synchronous egg hatching in solitarious locusts. Mechanistically, miR-276 mediated brm activation in a manner that depended on the secondary structure of brm, namely, a stem-loop around the binding site of miR-276. Collectively, our results unravel a mechanism by which miR-276 enhances brm expression to promote developmental synchrony and provide insight into regulation of developmental homeostasis and population sustaining that are closely related to biological synchrony. PMID:26729868

  1. Influences on and measures of unintentional group synchrony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa Ellamil

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Many instances of large-scale coordination occur in real-life social situations without the explicit awareness of the individuals involved. While the majority of research to date has examined dyadic interactions – those between two individuals – during intentional or deliberate coordination, the present review surveys the handful of recent studies investigating behavioral and physiological synchrony across groups of more than two people when coordination was not an explicit goal. Both minimal (e.g., visual information, shared location and naturalistic (e.g., choir singing part, family relationship group interactions appear to promote unintentional group synchrony although they have so far only been studied separately. State differences in unintentional group synchrony, or the relative presence of coordination in various conditions, have tended to be assessed differently, such as using correlation-type relationships, compared to its temporal dynamics, or changes over time in the degree of coordination, which appear to be best captured using phase differences. Simultaneously evaluating behavioral, physiological, and social responses as well systematically comparing different synchrony measures could further our understanding of the influences on and measures of group synchrony, allowing us to move away from studying individual persons responding to static laboratory stimuli and towards investigating collective experiences in natural, dynamic social interactions.

  2. Hysteresis in audiovisual synchrony perception.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-Rémy Martin

    Full Text Available The effect of stimulation history on the perception of a current event can yield two opposite effects, namely: adaptation or hysteresis. The perception of the current event thus goes in the opposite or in the same direction as prior stimulation, respectively. In audiovisual (AV synchrony perception, adaptation effects have primarily been reported. Here, we tested if perceptual hysteresis could also be observed over adaptation in AV timing perception by varying different experimental conditions. Participants were asked to judge the synchrony of the last (test stimulus of an AV sequence with either constant or gradually changing AV intervals (constant and dynamic condition, respectively. The onset timing of the test stimulus could be cued or not (prospective vs. retrospective condition, respectively. We observed hysteretic effects for AV synchrony judgments in the retrospective condition that were independent of the constant or dynamic nature of the adapted stimuli; these effects disappeared in the prospective condition. The present findings suggest that knowing when to estimate a stimulus property has a crucial impact on perceptual simultaneity judgments. Our results extend beyond AV timing perception, and have strong implications regarding the comparative study of hysteresis and adaptation phenomena.

  3. State-related alterations of gene expression in bipolar disorder

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Munkholm, Klaus; Vinberg, Maj; Berk, Michael

    2012-01-01

    Munkholm K, Vinberg M, Berk M, Kessing LV. State-related alterations of gene expression in bipolar disorder: a systematic review. Bipolar Disord 2012: 14: 684-696. © 2012 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Objective:  Alterations in gene expression in bipolar disorder...... have been found in numerous studies. It is unclear whether such alterations are related to specific mood states. As a biphasic disorder, mood state-related alterations in gene expression have the potential to point to markers of disease activity, and trait-related alterations might indicate...... vulnerability pathways. This review therefore evaluated the evidence for whether gene expression in bipolar disorder is state or trait related. Methods:  A systematic review, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guideline for reporting systematic reviews, based...

  4. Rising climate variability and synchrony in North Pacific ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Bryan

    2017-04-01

    Rising climate variability and synchrony in North Pacific ecosystems Evidence is growing that climate variability of the northeast Pacific Ocean has increased over the last century, culminating in such events as the record-breaking El Niño years 1983, 1998, and 2016 and the unusually persistent 2014/15 North Pacific Ocean heat wave known as "The Blob." Of particular concern is that rising variability could increase synchrony within and among North Pacific ecosystems, which could reduce the diversity of biological responses to climate (i.e. the "portfolio effect"), diminish resilience, and leave populations more prone to extirpation. To test this phenomenon, we use a network of multidecadal fish otolith growth-increment chronologies that were strongly correlated to records of winter (Jan-Mar) sea level. These biological and physical datasets spanned the California Current through the Gulf of Alaska. Synchrony was quantified as directional changes in running (31-year window) mean pairwise correlation within sea level and then within otolith time series. Synchrony in winter sea level at the nine stations with the longest records has increased by more than 40% over the 1950-2015 interval. Likewise, synchrony among the eight longest otolith chronologies has increased more than 100% over a comparable time period. These directional changes in synchrony are highly unlikely due to chance alone, as confirmed by comparing trends in observed data to those in simulated data (n = 10,000 iterations) with time series of identical number, length, and autocorrelation. Ultimately, this trend in rising synchrony may be linked to increased impacts of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on mid-latitude ecosystems of North America, and may therefore reflect a much broader, global-scale signature.

  5. Identification of reference genes in human myelomonocytic cells for gene expression studies in altered gravity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiel, Cora S; Hauschild, Swantje; Tauber, Svantje; Paulsen, Katrin; Raig, Christiane; Raem, Arnold; Biskup, Josefine; Gutewort, Annett; Hürlimann, Eva; Unverdorben, Felix; Buttron, Isabell; Lauber, Beatrice; Philpot, Claudia; Lier, Hartwin; Engelmann, Frank; Layer, Liliana E; Ullrich, Oliver

    2015-01-01

    Gene expression studies are indispensable for investigation and elucidation of molecular mechanisms. For the process of normalization, reference genes ("housekeeping genes") are essential to verify gene expression analysis. Thus, it is assumed that these reference genes demonstrate similar expression levels over all experimental conditions. However, common recommendations about reference genes were established during 1 g conditions and therefore their applicability in studies with altered gravity has not been demonstrated yet. The microarray technology is frequently used to generate expression profiles under defined conditions and to determine the relative difference in expression levels between two or more different states. In our study, we searched for potential reference genes with stable expression during different gravitational conditions (microgravity, normogravity, and hypergravity) which are additionally not altered in different hardware systems. We were able to identify eight genes (ALB, B4GALT6, GAPDH, HMBS, YWHAZ, ABCA5, ABCA9, and ABCC1) which demonstrated no altered gene expression levels in all tested conditions and therefore represent good candidates for the standardization of gene expression studies in altered gravity.

  6. The Effect of Different Phases of Synchrony on Pain Threshold in a Drumming Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip Sullivan

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Behavioral synchrony has been linked to endorphin activity (Cohen et al., 2010; Sullivan and Rickers, 2013; Sullivan et al., 2014; Tarr et al., 2015, 2016; Weinstein et al., 2016. This has been called the synchrony effect. Synchrony has two dominant phases of movement; in-phase and anti-phase. The majority of research investigating synchrony’s effect on endorphin activity has focused on in-phase synchrony following vigorous activities. The only research to investigate the effects of anti-phase synchrony on endorphin activity found that anti-phase synchronized rowing did not produce the synchrony effect (Sullivan et al., 2014. Anti-phase synchrony, however, is counter-intuitive to the sport of rowing and may have interfered with the synchrony effect. This study investigated the effect of anti-phase synchrony on endorphin activity in a different task (i.e., drumming. University students (n = 30 were asked to drum solo and in in-phase and anti-phase pairs for 3 min. Pain threshold was assessed as an indirect indicator of endorphin activity prior to and following the task. Although the in-phase synchrony effect was not found, a repeated measures ANOVA found that there was a significant difference in pain threshold change among the three conditions [F(2,24 = 4.10, = 0.255, p < 0.05. Post hoc t-tests showed that the anti-phase condition had a significantly greater pain threshold change than both the solo and in-phase conditions at p < 0.05. This is the first time that anti-phase synchrony has been shown to produce the synchrony effect. Because anti-phase drumming may have required more attention between partners than in-phase synchrony, it may have affected self-other merging (Tarr et al., 2014. These results support Tarr et al.’s (2014 model that multiple mechanisms account for the effect of synchrony on pain threshold, and suggest that different characteristics of the activity may influence the synchrony effect.

  7. Pallidal gap junctions-triggers of synchrony in Parkinson's disease?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schwab, B.C.; Heida, T.; Zhao, Y.; Gils, S.A. van; Wezel, R.J.A. van

    2014-01-01

    Although increased synchrony of the neural activity in the basal ganglia may underlie the motor deficiencies exhibited in Parkinson's disease (PD), how this synchrony arises, propagates through the basal ganglia, and changes under dopamine replacement remains unknown. Gap junctions could play a

  8. Pallidal gap junctions - Triggers of synchrony in Parkinson's disease?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schwab, B.C.; Heida, Tjitske; Zhao, Yan; van Gils, Stephanus A.; van Wezel, Richard Jack Anton

    2014-01-01

    Although increased synchrony of the neural activity in the basal ganglia may underlie the motor deficiencies exhibited in Parkinson's disease (PD), how this synchrony arises, propagates through the basal ganglia, and changes under dopamine replacement remains unknown. Gap junctions could play a

  9. Establishing a Statistical Link between Network Oscillations and Neural Synchrony.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pengcheng Zhou

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Pairs of active neurons frequently fire action potentials or "spikes" nearly synchronously (i.e., within 5 ms of each other. This spike synchrony may occur by chance, based solely on the neurons' fluctuating firing patterns, or it may occur too frequently to be explicable by chance alone. When spike synchrony above chances levels is present, it may subserve computation for a specific cognitive process, or it could be an irrelevant byproduct of such computation. Either way, spike synchrony is a feature of neural data that should be explained. A point process regression framework has been developed previously for this purpose, using generalized linear models (GLMs. In this framework, the observed number of synchronous spikes is compared to the number predicted by chance under varying assumptions about the factors that affect each of the individual neuron's firing-rate functions. An important possible source of spike synchrony is network-wide oscillations, which may provide an essential mechanism of network information flow. To establish the statistical link between spike synchrony and network-wide oscillations, we have integrated oscillatory field potentials into our point process regression framework. We first extended a previously-published model of spike-field association and showed that we could recover phase relationships between oscillatory field potentials and firing rates. We then used this new framework to demonstrate the statistical relationship between oscillatory field potentials and spike synchrony in: 1 simulated neurons, 2 in vitro recordings of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells, and 3 in vivo recordings of neocortical V4 neurons. Our results provide a rigorous method for establishing a statistical link between network oscillations and neural synchrony.

  10. Caffeine exposure alters cardiac gene expression in embryonic cardiomyocytes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Xiefan; Mei, Wenbin; Barbazuk, William B.; Rivkees, Scott A.

    2014-01-01

    Previous studies demonstrated that in utero caffeine treatment at embryonic day (E) 8.5 alters DNA methylation patterns, gene expression, and cardiac function in adult mice. To provide insight into the mechanisms, we examined cardiac gene and microRNA (miRNA) expression in cardiomyocytes shortly after exposure to physiologically relevant doses of caffeine. In HL-1 and primary embryonic cardiomyocytes, caffeine treatment for 48 h significantly altered the expression of cardiac structural genes (Myh6, Myh7, Myh7b, Tnni3), hormonal genes (Anp and BnP), cardiac transcription factors (Gata4, Mef2c, Mef2d, Nfatc1), and microRNAs (miRNAs; miR208a, miR208b, miR499). In addition, expressions of these genes were significantly altered in embryonic hearts exposed to in utero caffeine. For in utero experiments, pregnant CD-1 dams were treated with 20–60 mg/kg of caffeine, which resulted in maternal circulation levels of 37.3–65.3 μM 2 h after treatment. RNA sequencing was performed on embryonic ventricles treated with vehicle or 20 mg/kg of caffeine daily from E6.5-9.5. Differential expression (DE) analysis revealed that 124 genes and 849 transcripts were significantly altered, and differential exon usage (DEU) analysis identified 597 exons that were changed in response to prenatal caffeine exposure. Among the DE genes identified by RNA sequencing were several cardiac structural genes and genes that control DNA methylation and histone modification. Pathway analysis revealed that pathways related to cardiovascular development and diseases were significantly affected by caffeine. In addition, global cardiac DNA methylation was reduced in caffeine-treated cardiomyocytes. Collectively, these data demonstrate that caffeine exposure alters gene expression and DNA methylation in embryonic cardiomyocytes. PMID:25354728

  11. Rising synchrony controls western North American ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Bryan A.; van der Sleen, Peter; Di Lorenzo, Emanuele; Griffin, Daniel; Sydeman, William J.; Dunham, Jason B.; Rykaczewski, Ryan R.; Garcia-Reyes, Marisol; Safeeq, Mohammad; Arismendi, Ivan; Bograd, Steven J.

    2018-01-01

    Along the western margin of North America, the winter expression of the North Pacific High (NPH) strongly influences interannual variability in coastal upwelling, storm track position, precipitation, and river discharge. Coherence among these factors induces covariance among physical and biological processes across adjacent marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we show that over the past century the degree and spatial extent of this covariance (synchrony) has substantially increased, and is coincident with rising variance in the winter NPH. Furthermore, centuries‐long blue oak (Quercus douglasii) growth chronologies sensitive to the winter NPH provide robust evidence that modern levels of synchrony are among the highest observed in the context of the last 250 years. These trends may ultimately be linked to changing impacts of the El Niño Southern Oscillation on mid‐latitude ecosystems of North America. Such a rise in synchrony may destabilize ecosystems, expose populations to higher risks of extinction, and is thus a concern given the broad biological relevance of winter climate to biological systems.

  12. Job Stress and Dyadic Synchrony in Police Marriages: A Preliminary Investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    ROBERTS, NICOLE A.; LEONARD, RACHEL C.; BUTLER, EMILY A.; LEVENSON, ROBERT W.; KANTER, JONATHAN W.

    2015-01-01

    Despite reports documenting adverse effects of stress on police marriages, few empirical studies focus on actual emotional behaviors of officers and spouses. In this preliminary investigation, 17 male police officers and their nonpolice wives completed daily stress diaries for 1 week and then participated in a laboratory-based discussion about their respective days. Conversations were video-recorded and coded for specific emotional behaviors reflecting hostility and affection, which are strong predictors of marital outcomes. We examined associations between officers’ job stress (per diaries and the Police Stress Survey) and couples’ emotional behavior (mean levels and behavioral synchrony) using a dyadic repeated measures design capitalizing on the large number of observations available for each couple (1020 observations). When officers reported more job stress, they showed less hostility, less synchrony with their wives’ hostility, and more synchrony with their wives’ affection; their wives showed greater synchrony with officers’ hostility and less synchrony with officers’ affection. Therefore, for officers, greater job stress was associated with less behavioral negativity, potentially less attunement to wives’ negativity, but potentially greater attunement to wives’ affection—perhaps a compensatory strategy or attempt to buffer their marriage from stress. These attempts may be less effective, however, if, as our synchrony findings may suggest, wives are focusing on officers’ hostility rather than affection. Although it will be important to replicate these results given the small sample, our findings reveal that patterns of behavioral synchrony may be a key means to better understand how job stress exacts a toll on police marriages. PMID:23763686

  13. The local field potential reflects surplus spike synchrony

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Denker, Michael; Roux, Sébastien; Lindén, Henrik

    2011-01-01

    While oscillations of the local field potential (LFP) are commonly attributed to the synchronization of neuronal firing rate on the same time scale, their relationship to coincident spiking in the millisecond range is unknown. Here, we present experimental evidence to reconcile the notions...... of synchrony at the level of spiking and at the mesoscopic scale. We demonstrate that only in time intervals of significant spike synchrony that cannot be explained on the basis of firing rates, coincident spikes are better phase locked to the LFP than predicted by the locking of the individual spikes....... This effect is enhanced in periods of large LFP amplitudes. A quantitative model explains the LFP dynamics by the orchestrated spiking activity in neuronal groups that contribute the observed surplus synchrony. From the correlation analysis, we infer that neurons participate in different constellations...

  14. Measuring Group Synchrony: A Cluster-Phase Method for Analyzing Multivariate Movement Time-Series

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael eRichardson

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available A new method for assessing group synchrony is introduced as being potentially useful for objectively determining degree of group cohesiveness or entitativity. The cluster-phase method of Frank and Richardson (2010 was used to analyze movement data from the rocking chair movements of six-member groups who rocked their chairs while seated in a circle facing the center. In some trials group members had no information about others’ movements (their eyes were shut or they had their eyes open and gazed at a marker in the center of the group. As predicted, the group level synchrony measure was able to distinguish between situations where synchrony would have been possible and situations where it would be impossible. Moreover, other aspects of the analysis illustrated how the cluster phase measures can be used to determine the type of patterning of group synchrony, and, when integrated with multi-level modeling, can be used to examine individual-level differences in synchrony and dyadic level synchrony as well.

  15. Measurements of spatial population synchrony: influence of time series transformations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chevalier, Mathieu; Laffaille, Pascal; Ferdy, Jean-Baptiste; Grenouillet, Gaël

    2015-09-01

    Two mechanisms have been proposed to explain spatial population synchrony: dispersal among populations, and the spatial correlation of density-independent factors (the "Moran effect"). To identify which of these two mechanisms is driving spatial population synchrony, time series transformations (TSTs) of abundance data have been used to remove the signature of one mechanism, and highlight the effect of the other. However, several issues with TSTs remain, and to date no consensus has emerged about how population time series should be handled in synchrony studies. Here, by using 3131 time series involving 34 fish species found in French rivers, we computed several metrics commonly used in synchrony studies to determine whether a large-scale climatic factor (temperature) influenced fish population dynamics at the regional scale, and to test the effect of three commonly used TSTs (detrending, prewhitening and a combination of both) on these metrics. We also tested whether the influence of TSTs on time series and population synchrony levels was related to the features of the time series using both empirical and simulated time series. For several species, and regardless of the TST used, we evidenced a Moran effect on freshwater fish populations. However, these results were globally biased downward by TSTs which reduced our ability to detect significant signals. Depending on the species and the features of the time series, we found that TSTs could lead to contradictory results, regardless of the metric considered. Finally, we suggest guidelines on how population time series should be processed in synchrony studies.

  16. The genetic alteration of retinoblastoma gene in esophageal cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Jae Il; Shim, Yung Mok; Kim, Chang Min

    1994-12-01

    Retinoblastoma(RB) gene is the prototype of tumor suppressor gene and it's alteration have been frequently observed in a large number of human tumors. To investigate the role of RB in esophageal cancer, we studied 36 esophageal cancer tissues with Southern blot analysis to detect gross LOH and PCR-SSCP method to find minute LOH and mutation, if any. In the cases with abnormalities, the nucleotide sequence analysis was performed. Allelic loss of chromosome 13q14 occurred in 20 out of 32 informative cases (62.5%) by Southern analysis. Furthermore, PCR-LOH added three positive cases. Mobility shift by PCR-SSCP was observed in one case at exon 22, which showed 1 bp deletion in codon 771 of RB gene resulting in frame shift mutation. Besides, nine PCR-band alteration in tumor tissue compared with normal tissue were observed in exon 14 and 22, but mutation was not found on sequencing analysis suggesting the epigenetic alteration in tumor tissue. Analysis of the clinical data did not show any difference depending upon RB alteration. However, the total incidence of RB gene may play an important role in the development of esophageal cancer. The main genetic alteration of RB gene was deletion detected by Southern blot and one bp deletion leading to frame shift was also observed. 8 figs, 5 tabs. (Author)

  17. The genetic alteration of retinoblastoma gene in esophageal cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Jae Il; Shim, Yung Mok; Kim, Chang Min [Korea Cancer Center Hospital of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1994-12-01

    Retinoblastoma(RB) gene is the prototype of tumor suppressor gene and it`s alteration have been frequently observed in a large number of human tumors. To investigate the role of RB in esophageal cancer, we studied 36 esophageal cancer tissues with Southern blot analysis to detect gross LOH and PCR-SSCP method to find minute LOH and mutation, if any. In the cases with abnormalities, the nucleotide sequence analysis was performed. Allelic loss of chromosome 13q14 occurred in 20 out of 32 informative cases (62.5%) by Southern analysis. Furthermore, PCR-LOH added three positive cases. Mobility shift by PCR-SSCP was observed in one case at exon 22, which showed 1 bp deletion in codon 771 of RB gene resulting in frame shift mutation. Besides, nine PCR-band alteration in tumor tissue compared with normal tissue were observed in exon 14 and 22, but mutation was not found on sequencing analysis suggesting the epigenetic alteration in tumor tissue. Analysis of the clinical data did not show any difference depending upon RB alteration. However, the total incidence of RB gene may play an important role in the development of esophageal cancer. The main genetic alteration of RB gene was deletion detected by Southern blot and one bp deletion leading to frame shift was also observed. 8 figs, 5 tabs. (Author).

  18. Changes in skeletal muscle gene expression consequent to altered weight bearing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Booth, F. W.; Kirby, C. R.

    1992-01-01

    Skeletal muscle is a dynamic organ that adapts to alterations in weight bearing. This brief review examines changes in muscle gene expression resulting from the removal of weight bearing by hindlimb suspension and from increased weight bearing due to eccentric exercise. Acute (less than or equal to 2 days) non-weight bearing of adult rat soleus muscle alters only the translational control of muscle gene expression, while chronic (greater than or equal to 7 days) removal of weight bearing appears to influence pretranslational, translational, and posttranslational mechanisms of control. Acute and chronic eccentric exercise are associated with alterations of translational and posttranslational control, while chronic eccentric training also alters the pretranslational control of muscle gene expression. Thus alterations in weight bearing influence multiple sites of gene regulation.

  19. DMN Operational Synchrony Relates to Self-Consciousness: Evidence from Patients in Vegetative and Minimally Conscious States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fingelkurts, Andrew A; Fingelkurts, Alexander A; Bagnato, Sergio; Boccagni, Cristina; Galardi, Giuseppe

    2012-01-01

    The default mode network (DMN) has been consistently activated across a wide variety of self-related tasks, leading to a proposal of the DMN's role in self-related processing. Indeed, there is limited fMRI evidence that the functional connectivity within the DMN may underlie a phenomenon referred to as self-awareness. At the same time, none of the known studies have explicitly investigated neuronal functional interactions among brain areas that comprise the DMN as a function of self-consciousness loss. To fill this gap, EEG operational synchrony analysis [1, 2] was performed in patients with severe brain injuries in vegetative and minimally conscious states to study the strength of DMN operational synchrony as a function of self-consciousness expression. We demonstrated that the strength of DMN EEG operational synchrony was smallest or even absent in patients in vegetative state, intermediate in patients in minimally conscious state and highest in healthy fully self-conscious subjects. At the same time the process of ecoupling of operations performed by neuronal assemblies that comprise the DMN was highest in patients in vegetative state, intermediate in patients in minimally conscious state and minimal in healthy fully self-conscious subjects. The DMN's frontal EEG operational module had the strongest decrease in operational synchrony strength as a function of selfconsciousness loss, when compared with the DMN's posterior modules. Based on these results it is suggested that the strength of DMN functional connectivity could mediate the strength of self-consciousness expression. The observed alterations similarly occurred across EEG alpha, beta1 and beta2 frequency oscillations. Presented results suggest that the EEG operational synchrony within DMN may provide an objective and accurate measure for the assessment of signs of self-(un)consciousness in these challenging patient populations. This method therefore, may complement the current diagnostic procedures for

  20. Alteration of the retinoblastoma gene locus in radium-exposed individuals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hardwick, J.P.; Schlenker, R.; Huberman, E.

    1991-01-01

    This study was performed to determine if the retinoblastoma suppressor gene was altered in individuals exposed to radium. We analyzed the Rb gene in 30 individuals, 17 of whom were exposed to radium either occupationally or iatrogenically. In the kidney DNA from four of nine radium-exposed individuals, the Rb gene was deleted. Three of these alterations in the Rb gene were internal deletions, which resulted in the absence of Rb mRNA accumulation. These results imply that the Rb gene is susceptible to radium-induced damage and confirm previous showing that radiation preferentially causes genomic deletions. The pronounced alterations in the non-tumorigenic femurs from radium-exposed individuals suggests that in the many years of exposure there was a selection of cells with alterations, presumably because of their growth advantage. Also it implies that deletions of one of the Rb alleles can be one of the events (perhaps an initial one) in the progression of radium-induced sarcomas. 11 refs., 2 figs

  1. Synchrony - Cyberknife Respiratory Compensation Technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ozhasoglu, Cihat; Saw, Cheng B.; Chen Hungcheng; Burton, Steven; Komanduri, Krishna; Yue, Ning J.; Huq, Saiful M.; Heron, Dwight E.

    2008-01-01

    Studies of organs in the thorax and abdomen have shown that these organs can move as much as 40 mm due to respiratory motion. Without compensation for this motion during the course of external beam radiation therapy, the dose coverage to target may be compromised. On the other hand, if compensation of this motion is by expansion of the margin around the target, a significant volume of normal tissue may be unnecessarily irradiated. In hypofractionated regimens, the issue of respiratory compensation becomes an important factor and is critical in single-fraction extracranial radiosurgery applications. CyberKnife is an image-guided radiosurgery system that consists of a 6-MV LINAC mounted to a robotic arm coupled through a control loop to a digital diagnostic x-ray imaging system. The robotic arm can point the beam anywhere in space with 6 degrees of freedom, without being constrained to a conventional isocenter. The CyberKnife has been recently upgraded with a real-time respiratory tracking and compensation system called Synchrony. Using external markers in conjunction with diagnostic x-ray images, Synchrony helps guide the robotic arm to move the radiation beam in real time such that the beam always remains aligned with the target. With the aid of Synchrony, the tumor motion can be tracked in three-dimensional space, and the motion-induced dosimetric change to target can be minimized with a limited margin. The working principles, advantages, limitations, and our clinical experience with this new technology will be discussed

  2. Enhancing "theory of mind" through behavioral synchrony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baimel, Adam; Severson, Rachel L; Baron, Andrew S; Birch, Susan A J

    2015-01-01

    Theory of mind refers to the abilities underlying the capacity to reason about one's own and others' mental states. This ability is critical for predicting and making sense of the actions of others, is essential for efficient communication, fosters social learning, and provides the foundation for empathic concern. Clearly, there is incredible value in fostering theory of mind. Unfortunately, despite being the focus of a wealth of research over the last 40 years relatively little is known about specific strategies for fostering social perspective taking abilities. We provide a discussion of the rationale for applying one specific strategy for fostering efficient theory of mind-that of engaging in "behavioral synchrony" (i.e., the act of keeping together in time with others). Culturally evolved collective rituals involving synchronous actions have long been held to act as social glue. Specifically, here we present how behavioral synchrony tunes our minds for reasoning about other minds in the process of fostering social coordination and cooperation, and propose that we can apply behavioral synchrony as a tool for enhancing theory of mind.

  3. Regulation of myelin genes implicated in psychiatric disorders by functional activity in axons

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip R Lee

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Myelination is a highly dynamic process that continues well into adulthood in humans. Several recent gene expression studies have found abnormal expression of genes involved in myelination in the prefrontal cortex of brains from patients with schizophrenia and other psychiatric illnesses. Defects in myelination could contribute to the pathophysiology of psychiatric illness by impairing information processing as a consequence of altered impulse conduction velocity and synchrony between cortical regions carrying out higher level cognitive functions. Myelination can be altered by impulse activity in axons and by environmental experience. Psychiatric illness is treated by psychotherapy, behavioral modification, and drugs affecting neurotransmission, raising the possibility that myelinating glia may not only contribute to such disorders, but that activity-dependent effects on myelinating glia could provide one of the cellular mechanisms contributing to the therapeutic effects of these treatments. This review examines evidence showing that genes and gene networks important for myelination can be regulated by functional activity in axons.

  4. Audiovisual Temporal Recalibration for Speech in Synchrony Perception and Speech Identification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asakawa, Kaori; Tanaka, Akihiro; Imai, Hisato

    We investigated whether audiovisual synchrony perception for speech could change after observation of the audiovisual temporal mismatch. Previous studies have revealed that audiovisual synchrony perception is re-calibrated after exposure to a constant timing difference between auditory and visual signals in non-speech. In the present study, we examined whether this audiovisual temporal recalibration occurs at the perceptual level even for speech (monosyllables). In Experiment 1, participants performed an audiovisual simultaneity judgment task (i.e., a direct measurement of the audiovisual synchrony perception) in terms of the speech signal after observation of the speech stimuli which had a constant audiovisual lag. The results showed that the “simultaneous” responses (i.e., proportion of responses for which participants judged the auditory and visual stimuli to be synchronous) at least partly depended on exposure lag. In Experiment 2, we adopted the McGurk identification task (i.e., an indirect measurement of the audiovisual synchrony perception) to exclude the possibility that this modulation of synchrony perception was solely attributable to the response strategy using stimuli identical to those of Experiment 1. The characteristics of the McGurk effect reported by participants depended on exposure lag. Thus, it was shown that audiovisual synchrony perception for speech could be modulated following exposure to constant lag both in direct and indirect measurement. Our results suggest that temporal recalibration occurs not only in non-speech signals but also in monosyllabic speech at the perceptual level.

  5. Psychosocial effects of perceived emotional synchrony in collective gatherings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Páez, Dario; Rimé, Bernard; Basabe, Nekane; Wlodarczyk, Anna; Zumeta, Larraitz

    2015-05-01

    In a classic theory, Durkheim (1912) predicted that because of the social sharing of emotion they generate, collective gatherings bring participants to a stage of collective effervescence in which they experience a sense of union with others and a feeling of empowerment accompanied by positive affect. This would lead them to leave the collective situation with a renewed sense of confidence in life and in social institutions. A century after Durkheim's predictions of these effects, though, they remained untested as a whole. This article reports 4 studies, 2 correlational, 1 semilongitudinal, and 1 experimental, assessing the positive effects of participation in either positively valenced (folkloric marches) or negatively valenced (protest demonstrations) collective gatherings. Results confirmed that collective gatherings consistently strengthened collective identity, identity fusion, and social integration, as well as enhancing personal and collective self-esteem and efficacy, positive affect, and positive social beliefs among participants. In line with a central tenet of the theory, emotional communion, or perceived emotional synchrony with others mediated these effects. Higher perceived emotional synchrony was associated with stronger emotional reactions, stronger social support, and higher endorsement of social beliefs and values. Participation in symbolic collective gatherings also particularly reinforced identity fusion when perceived emotional synchrony was high. The respective contributions of perceived emotional synchrony and flow, or optimal experience, were also assessed. Whereas perceived emotional synchrony emerged as strongly related to the various social outcomes, flow was observed to be related first to collective efficacy and self-esteem, and thus, to encompass mainly empowerment effects. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Methodological Advances for Detecting Physiological Synchrony During Dyadic Interactions

    OpenAIRE

    McAssey, M.P.; Helm, J.; Hsieh, F.; Sbarra, D.; Ferrer, E.

    2011-01-01

    A defining feature of many physiological systems is their synchrony and reciprocal influence. An important challenge, however, is how to measure such features. This paper presents two new approaches for identifying synchrony between the physiological signals of individuals in dyads. The approaches are adaptations of two recently-developed techniques, depending on the nature of the physiological time series. For respiration and thoracic impedance, signals that are measured continuously, we use...

  7. Synchrony and Physiological Arousal Increase Cohesion and Cooperation in Large Naturalistic Groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Joshua Conrad; Jong, Jonathan; Bilkey, David; Whitehouse, Harvey; Zollmann, Stefanie; McNaughton, Craig; Halberstadt, Jamin

    2018-01-09

    Separate research streams have identified synchrony and arousal as two factors that might contribute to the effects of human rituals on social cohesion and cooperation. But no research has manipulated these variables in the field to investigate their causal - and potentially interactive - effects on prosocial behaviour. Across four experimental sessions involving large samples of strangers, we manipulated the synchronous and physiologically arousing affordances of a group marching task within a sports stadium. We observed participants' subsequent movement, grouping, and cooperation via a camera hidden in the stadium's roof. Synchrony and arousal both showed main effects, predicting larger groups, tighter clustering, and more cooperative behaviour in a free-rider dilemma. Synchrony and arousal also interacted on measures of clustering and cooperation such that synchrony only encouraged closer clustering-and encouraged greater cooperation-when paired with physiological arousal. The research helps us understand why synchrony and arousal often co-occur in rituals around the world. It also represents the first use of real-time spatial tracking as a precise and naturalistic method of simulating collective rituals.

  8. Temporal Synchrony Detection and Associations with Language in Young Children with ASD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Patten

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Temporally synchronous audio-visual stimuli serve to recruit attention and enhance learning, including language learning in infants. Although few studies have examined this effect on children with autism, it appears that the ability to detect temporal synchrony between auditory and visual stimuli may be impaired, particularly given social-linguistic stimuli delivered via oral movement and spoken language pairings. However, children with autism can detect audio-visual synchrony given nonsocial stimuli (objects dropping and their corresponding sounds. We tested whether preschool children with autism could detect audio-visual synchrony given video recordings of linguistic stimuli paired with movement of related toys in the absence of faces. As a group, children with autism demonstrated the ability to detect audio-visual synchrony. Further, the amount of time they attended to the synchronous condition was positively correlated with receptive language. Findings suggest that object manipulations may enhance multisensory processing in linguistic contexts. Moreover, associations between synchrony detection and language development suggest that better processing of multisensory stimuli may guide and direct attention to communicative events thus enhancing linguistic development.

  9. Nonverbal synchrony of head- and body-movement in psychotherapy: different signals have different associations with outcome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabian eRamseyer

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The coordination of patient’s and therapist’s bodily movement – nonverbal synchrony – has been empirically shown to be associated with psychotherapy outcome. This finding was based on dynamic movement patterns of the whole body. The present paper is a new analysis of an existing dataset (Ramseyer & Tschacher, 2011, which extends previous findings by differentiating movements pertaining to head and upper-body regions. Method: In a sample of 70 patients (37 female, 33 male treated at an outpatient psychotherapy clinic, we quantified nonverbal synchrony with an automated objective video-analysis algorithm (Motion Energy Analysis, MEA. Head- and body-synchrony was quantified during the initial 15 minutes of video-recorded therapy sessions. Micro-outcome was assessed with self-report post-session questionnaires provided by patients and their therapists. Macro-outcome was measured with questionnaires that quantified attainment of treatment goals and changes in experiencing and behavior at the end of therapy. Results: The differentiation of head- and body-synchrony showed that these two facets of motor coordination were differentially associated with outcome. Head-synchrony predicted global outcome of therapy, while body-synchrony did not, and body-synchrony predicted session outcome, while head-synchrony did not. Conclusions: The results pose an important amendment to previous findings, which showed that nonverbal synchrony embodied both outcome and interpersonal variables of psychotherapy dyads. The separation of head- and body-synchrony suggested that distinct mechanisms may operate in these two regions: Head-synchrony embodied phenomena with a long temporal extension (overall therapy success, while body-synchrony embodied phenomena of a more immediate nature (session-level success. More explorations with fine-grained analyses of synchronized phenomena in nonverbal behavior may shed additional light on the embodiment of

  10. Nested synchrony – a novel cross-scale interaction among neuronal oscillations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simo eMonto

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Neuronal interactions form the basis for our brain function, and oscillations and synchrony are the principal candidates for mediating them in the cortical networks. Phase synchrony, where oscillatory neuronal ensembles directly synchronize their phases, enables precise integration between separated brain regions. However, it is unclear how neuronal interactions are dynamically coordinated in space and over time. Cross-scale effects have been proposed to be responsible for linking levels of processing hierarchy and to regulate neuronal dynamics. Most notably, nested oscillations, where the phase of a neuronal oscillation modulates the amplitude of a faster one, may locally integrate neuronal activities in distinct frequency bands. Yet, hierarchical control of inter-areal synchrony could provide a more comprehensive view to the dynamical structure of oscillatory interdependencies in the human brain.In this study, the notion of nested oscillations is extended to a cross-frequency and inter-areal model of oscillatory interactions. In this model, the phase of a slower oscillation modulates inter-areal synchrony in a higher frequency band. This would allow cross-scale integration of global interactions and, thus, offers a mechanism for binding distributed neuronal activities.We show that inter-areal phase synchrony can be modulated by the phase of a slower neuronal oscillation using magnetoencephalography. This effect is the most pronounced at frequencies below 35 Hz. Importantly, changes in oscillation amplitudes did not explain the findings. We expect that the novel cross-frequency interaction could offer new ways to understand the flexible but accurate dynamic organization of ongoing neuronal oscillations and synchrony.

  11. Altered Sensory Feedbacks in Pianist's Dystonia: the altered auditory feedback paradigm and the glove effect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felicia Pei-Hsin Cheng

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: This study investigates the effect of altered auditory feedback (AAF in musician's dystonia (MD and discusses whether altered auditory feedback can be considered as a sensory trick in MD. Furthermore, the effect of AAF is compared with altered tactile feedback, which can serve as a sensory trick in several other forms of focal dystonia. Methods: The method is based on scale analysis (Jabusch et al. 2004. Experiment 1 employs synchronization paradigm: 12 MD patients and 25 healthy pianists had to repeatedly play C-major scales in synchrony with a metronome on a MIDI-piano with 3 auditory feedback conditions: 1. normal feedback; 2. no feedback; 3. constant delayed feedback. Experiment 2 employs synchronization-continuation paradigm: 12 MD patients and 12 healthy pianists had to repeatedly play C-major scales in two phases: first in synchrony with a metronome, secondly continue the established tempo without the metronome. There are 4 experimental conditions, among them 3 are the same altered auditory feedback as in Experiment 1 and 1 is related to altered tactile sensory input. The coefficient of variation of inter-onset intervals of the key depressions was calculated to evaluate fine motor control. Results: In both experiments, the healthy controls and the patients behaved very similarly. There is no difference in the regularity of playing between the two groups under any condition, and neither did AAF nor did altered tactile feedback have a beneficial effect on patients’ fine motor control. Conclusions: The results of the two experiments suggest that in the context of our experimental designs, AAF and altered tactile feedback play a minor role in motor coordination in patients with musicians' dystonia. We propose that altered auditory and tactile feedback do not serve as effective sensory tricks and may not temporarily reduce the symptoms of patients suffering from MD in this experimental context.

  12. One in the Dance: Musical Correlates of Group Synchrony in a Real-World Club Environment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa Ellamil

    Full Text Available Previous research on interpersonal synchrony has mainly investigated small groups in isolated laboratory settings, which may not fully reflect the complex and dynamic interactions of real-life social situations. The present study expands on this by examining group synchrony across a large number of individuals in a naturalistic environment. Smartphone acceleration measures were recorded from participants during a music set in a dance club and assessed to identify how group movement synchrony covaried with various features of the music. In an evaluation of different preprocessing and analysis methods, giving more weight to front-back movement provided the most sensitive and reliable measure of group synchrony. During the club music set, group synchrony of torso movement was most strongly associated with pulsations that approximate walking rhythm (100-150 beats per minute. Songs with higher real-world play counts were also correlated with greater group synchrony. Group synchrony thus appears to be constrained by familiarity of the movement (walking action and rhythm and of the music (song popularity. These findings from a real-world, large-scale social and musical setting can guide the development of methods for capturing and examining collective experiences in the laboratory and for effectively linking them to synchrony across people in daily life.

  13. One in the Dance: Musical Correlates of Group Synchrony in a Real-World Club Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellamil, Melissa; Berson, Joshua; Wong, Jen; Buckley, Louis; Margulies, Daniel S

    2016-01-01

    Previous research on interpersonal synchrony has mainly investigated small groups in isolated laboratory settings, which may not fully reflect the complex and dynamic interactions of real-life social situations. The present study expands on this by examining group synchrony across a large number of individuals in a naturalistic environment. Smartphone acceleration measures were recorded from participants during a music set in a dance club and assessed to identify how group movement synchrony covaried with various features of the music. In an evaluation of different preprocessing and analysis methods, giving more weight to front-back movement provided the most sensitive and reliable measure of group synchrony. During the club music set, group synchrony of torso movement was most strongly associated with pulsations that approximate walking rhythm (100-150 beats per minute). Songs with higher real-world play counts were also correlated with greater group synchrony. Group synchrony thus appears to be constrained by familiarity of the movement (walking action and rhythm) and of the music (song popularity). These findings from a real-world, large-scale social and musical setting can guide the development of methods for capturing and examining collective experiences in the laboratory and for effectively linking them to synchrony across people in daily life.

  14. The genetic alteration of MTS1/CDKN2 gene in esophageal cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zo, Jae Ill; Paik, Hee Jong; Park, Jong Ho; Kim, Mi Hee

    1996-12-01

    MTS1/CDKN2 gene plays a key role in cell cycle regulation, and there have been many studies about the significance of this gene in tumorigenesis. To investigate the frequency of MTS1/CDKN2 gene alteration in Korean esophageal cancer, we studied 36 esophageal cancer tissues with paired PCR analysis to detect homozygous deletion and PCR-SSCP methods to find minute mutations, if any. In the cases with abnormalities, the nucleotide sequence analysis was performed. And in cases without RB gene a alterations, direct sequence analysis was also done. There was no homozygous deletions. Mobility shift by PCR-SSCP was observed in four cases at exon 2, which showed 1 bp deletion in codon 97 of mutation in codon 100 which changed TAT (Tyr) from GAT (Asp). But there were not MTS1/CDKN2 gene alterations in cases without Rb gene alterations. Analysis of clinical data did not show any differences depending upon MTS1/CDKN2 gene alterations. Therefore the MTS1/CDKN2 gene mutations were infrequent events and do not play a major role in the group of patients examined. More study for contribution of methylation in MTS1/CDKN2 gene for inactivation of p16 should be done before evaluation and application of MTS1/CDKN2 gene in tumorigenesis and as an candidate of gene therapy. (author). 15 refs

  15. The genetic alteration of MTS1/CDKN2 gene in esophageal cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zo, Jae Ill; Paik, Hee Jong; Park, Jong Ho; Kim, Mi Hee [Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1996-12-01

    MTS1/CDKN2 gene plays a key role in cell cycle regulation, and there have been many studies about the significance of this gene in tumorigenesis. To investigate the frequency of MTS1/CDKN2 gene alteration in Korean esophageal cancer, we studied 36 esophageal cancer tissues with paired PCR analysis to detect homozygous deletion and PCR-SSCP methods to find minute mutations, if any. In the cases with abnormalities, the nucleotide sequence analysis was performed. And in cases without RB gene a alterations, direct sequence analysis was also done. There was no homozygous deletions. Mobility shift by PCR-SSCP was observed in four cases at exon 2, which showed 1 bp deletion in codon 97 of mutation in codon 100 which changed TAT (Tyr) from GAT (Asp). But there were not MTS1/CDKN2 gene alterations in cases without Rb gene alterations. Analysis of clinical data did not show any differences depending upon MTS1/CDKN2 gene alterations. Therefore the MTS1/CDKN2 gene mutations were infrequent events and do not play a major role in the group of patients examined. More study for contribution of methylation in MTS1/CDKN2 gene for inactivation of p16 should be done before evaluation and application of MTS1/CDKN2 gene in tumorigenesis and as an candidate of gene therapy. (author). 15 refs.

  16. Transitions to Synchrony in Coupled Bursting Neurons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhamala, Mukeshwar; Jirsa, Viktor K.; Ding, Mingzhou

    2004-01-01

    Certain cells in the brain, for example, thalamic neurons during sleep, show spike-burst activity. We study such spike-burst neural activity and the transitions to a synchronized state using a model of coupled bursting neurons. In an electrically coupled network, we show that the increase of coupling strength increases incoherence first and then induces two different transitions to synchronized states, one associated with bursts and the other with spikes. These sequential transitions to synchronized states are determined by the zero crossings of the maximum transverse Lyapunov exponents. These results suggest that synchronization of spike-burst activity is a multi-time-scale phenomenon and burst synchrony is a precursor to spike synchrony.

  17. Transitions to synchrony in coupled bursting neurons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dhamala, Mukeshwar; Jirsa, Viktor K.; Ding Mingzhou

    2004-01-01

    Certain cells in the brain, for example, thalamic neurons during sleep, show spike-burst activity. We study such spike-burst neural activity and the transitions to a synchronized state using a model of coupled bursting neurons. In an electrically coupled network, we show that the increase of coupling strength increases incoherence first and then induces two different transitions to synchronized states, one associated with bursts and the other with spikes. These sequential transitions to synchronized states are determined by the zero crossings of the maximum transverse Lyapunov exponents. These results suggest that synchronization of spike-burst activity is a multi-time-scale phenomenon and burst synchrony is a precursor to spike synchrony

  18. GABA Neuron Alterations, Cortical Circuit Dysfunction and Cognitive Deficits in Schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guillermo Gonzalez-Burgos

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Schizophrenia is a brain disorder associated with cognitive deficits that severely affect the patients' capacity for daily functioning. Whereas our understanding of its pathophysiology is limited, postmortem studies suggest that schizophrenia is associated with deficits of GABA-mediated synaptic transmission. A major role of GABA-mediated transmission may be producing synchronized network oscillations which are currently hypothesized to be essential for normal cognitive function. Therefore, cognitive deficits in schizophrenia may result from a GABA synapse dysfunction that disturbs neural synchrony. Here, we highlight recent studies further suggesting alterations of GABA transmission and network oscillations in schizophrenia. We also review current models for the mechanisms of GABA-mediated synchronization of neural activity, focusing on parvalbumin-positive GABA neurons, which are altered in schizophrenia and whose function has been strongly linked to the production of neural synchrony. Alterations of GABA signaling that impair gamma oscillations and, as a result, cognitive function suggest paths for novel therapeutic interventions.

  19. GABA neuron alterations, cortical circuit dysfunction and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez-Burgos, Guillermo; Fish, Kenneth N; Lewis, David A

    2011-01-01

    Schizophrenia is a brain disorder associated with cognitive deficits that severely affect the patients' capacity for daily functioning. Whereas our understanding of its pathophysiology is limited, postmortem studies suggest that schizophrenia is associated with deficits of GABA-mediated synaptic transmission. A major role of GABA-mediated transmission may be producing synchronized network oscillations which are currently hypothesized to be essential for normal cognitive function. Therefore, cognitive deficits in schizophrenia may result from a GABA synapse dysfunction that disturbs neural synchrony. Here, we highlight recent studies further suggesting alterations of GABA transmission and network oscillations in schizophrenia. We also review current models for the mechanisms of GABA-mediated synchronization of neural activity, focusing on parvalbumin-positive GABA neurons, which are altered in schizophrenia and whose function has been strongly linked to the production of neural synchrony. Alterations of GABA signaling that impair gamma oscillations and, as a result, cognitive function suggest paths for novel therapeutic interventions.

  20. Dynamic gene expression response to altered gravity in human T cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiel, Cora S; Hauschild, Swantje; Huge, Andreas; Tauber, Svantje; Lauber, Beatrice A; Polzer, Jennifer; Paulsen, Katrin; Lier, Hartwin; Engelmann, Frank; Schmitz, Burkhard; Schütte, Andreas; Layer, Liliana E; Ullrich, Oliver

    2017-07-12

    We investigated the dynamics of immediate and initial gene expression response to different gravitational environments in human Jurkat T lymphocytic cells and compared expression profiles to identify potential gravity-regulated genes and adaptation processes. We used the Affymetrix GeneChip® Human Transcriptome Array 2.0 containing 44,699 protein coding genes and 22,829 non-protein coding genes and performed the experiments during a parabolic flight and a suborbital ballistic rocket mission to cross-validate gravity-regulated gene expression through independent research platforms and different sets of control experiments to exclude other factors than alteration of gravity. We found that gene expression in human T cells rapidly responded to altered gravity in the time frame of 20 s and 5 min. The initial response to microgravity involved mostly regulatory RNAs. We identified three gravity-regulated genes which could be cross-validated in both completely independent experiment missions: ATP6V1A/D, a vacuolar H + -ATPase (V-ATPase) responsible for acidification during bone resorption, IGHD3-3/IGHD3-10, diversity genes of the immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus participating in V(D)J recombination, and LINC00837, a long intergenic non-protein coding RNA. Due to the extensive and rapid alteration of gene expression associated with regulatory RNAs, we conclude that human cells are equipped with a robust and efficient adaptation potential when challenged with altered gravitational environments.

  1. Neuronal synchrony detection on single-electron neural networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oya, Takahide; Asai, Tetsuya; Kagaya, Ryo; Hirose, Tetsuya; Amemiya, Yoshihito

    2006-01-01

    Synchrony detection between burst and non-burst spikes is known to be one functional example of depressing synapses. Kanazawa et al. demonstrated synchrony detection with MOS depressing synapse circuits. They found that the performance of a network with depressing synapses that discriminates between burst and random input spikes increases non-monotonically as the static device mismatch is increased. We designed a single-electron depressing synapse and constructed the same network as in Kanazawa's study to develop noise-tolerant single-electron circuits. We examined the temperature characteristics and explored possible architecture that enables single-electron circuits to operate at T > 0 K

  2. Synchrony in Psychotherapy: A Review and an Integrative Framework for the Therapeutic Alliance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koole, Sander L.; Tschacher, Wolfgang

    2016-01-01

    During psychotherapy, patient and therapist tend to spontaneously synchronize their vocal pitch, bodily movements, and even their physiological processes. In the present article, we consider how this pervasive phenomenon may shed new light on the therapeutic relationship– or alliance– and its role within psychotherapy. We first review clinical research on the alliance and the multidisciplinary area of interpersonal synchrony. We then integrate both literatures in the Interpersonal Synchrony (In-Sync) model of psychotherapy. According to the model, the alliance is grounded in the coupling of patient and therapist’s brains. Because brains do not interact directly, movement synchrony may help to establish inter-brain coupling. Inter-brain coupling may provide patient and therapist with access to another’s internal states, which facilitates common understanding and emotional sharing. Over time, these interpersonal exchanges may improve patients’ emotion-regulatory capacities and related therapeutic outcomes. We discuss the empirical assessment of interpersonal synchrony and review preliminary research on synchrony in psychotherapy. Finally, we summarize our main conclusions and consider the broader implications of viewing psychotherapy as the product of two interacting brains. PMID:27378968

  3. Synchrony in Psychotherapy: A Review and an Integrative Framework for the Therapeutic Alliance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koole, Sander L; Tschacher, Wolfgang

    2016-01-01

    During psychotherapy, patient and therapist tend to spontaneously synchronize their vocal pitch, bodily movements, and even their physiological processes. In the present article, we consider how this pervasive phenomenon may shed new light on the therapeutic relationship- or alliance- and its role within psychotherapy. We first review clinical research on the alliance and the multidisciplinary area of interpersonal synchrony. We then integrate both literatures in the Interpersonal Synchrony (In-Sync) model of psychotherapy. According to the model, the alliance is grounded in the coupling of patient and therapist's brains. Because brains do not interact directly, movement synchrony may help to establish inter-brain coupling. Inter-brain coupling may provide patient and therapist with access to another's internal states, which facilitates common understanding and emotional sharing. Over time, these interpersonal exchanges may improve patients' emotion-regulatory capacities and related therapeutic outcomes. We discuss the empirical assessment of interpersonal synchrony and review preliminary research on synchrony in psychotherapy. Finally, we summarize our main conclusions and consider the broader implications of viewing psychotherapy as the product of two interacting brains.

  4. Spatial synchrony of a highly endemic fish Assemblage (Segredo Reservoir, Iguaçu River, Paraná State, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. M. Domingues

    Full Text Available In this study, patterns of spatial synchrony in population fluctuations (cross-correlation of an endemic fish assemblage of a Neotropical reservoir (Segredo Reservoir, Iguaçu River, Paraná State, Brazil were reported. First, the level of population synchrony for 20 species was estimated. Second, population synchrony was correlated, using the Mantel test, with geographical distances among sites (n = 11 and also environmental synchrony (temperature. Nine species presented significant correlations between spatial synchrony and geographic distances (Astyanax sp. b, Astyanax sp. c, Pimelodus sp., Hoplias malabaricus, Crenicichla iguassuensis, Hypostomus derbyi, Hypostomus myersi, Rhamdia branneri, and R. voulezi. Considering the ecology of the species and the significant relationship between population and environmental synchronies, it seems that environmental stochasticity is the most plausible hypothesis in explaining the observed synchrony patterns.

  5. Synchrony of physiological activity during mother-child interaction: moderation by maternal history of major depressive disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woody, Mary L; Feurer, Cope; Sosoo, Effua E; Hastings, Paul D; Gibb, Brandon E

    2016-07-01

    Family environment plays an important role in the intergenerational transmission of major depressive disorder (MDD), but less is known about how day-to-day mother-child interactions may be disrupted in families with a history of MDD. Disruptions in mother-child synchrony, the dynamic and convergent exchange of physiological and behavioral cues during interactions, may be one important risk factor. Although maternal MDD is associated with a lack of mother-child synchrony at the behavioral level, no studies have examined the impact of maternal MDD on physiological synchrony. Therefore, this study examined whether maternal history of MDD moderates mother-child physiological synchrony [measured via respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)] during positive and negative discussions. Children aged 7-11 years and mothers with either a history of MDD during the child's lifetime (n = 44) or no lifetime diagnosis of any mood disorder (n = 50) completed positive and negative discussion tasks while RSA was continuously recorded for both child and mother. Results indicated significant between-dyad and within-dyad group differences in physiological synchrony during positive and negative discussions. Between-dyad analyses revealed evidence of synchrony only among never depressed dyads, among whom higher average mother RSA during both discussions was associated with higher average child RSA. Within-dyad analyses revealed that never depressed dyads displayed positive synchrony (RSA concordance), whereas dyads with a history of maternal MDD displayed negative synchrony (RSA discordance) during the negative discussion and that the degree of negative synchrony exhibited during the negative discussion was associated with mothers' and children's levels of sadness. These results provide preliminary evidence that physiological synchrony is disrupted in families with a history of maternal MDD and may be a potential risk factor for the intergenerational transmission of depression. © 2016

  6. A psychophysical investigation of differences between synchrony and temporal order judgments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Love, Scott A; Petrini, Karin; Cheng, Adam; Pollick, Frank E

    2013-01-01

    Synchrony judgments involve deciding whether cues to an event are in synch or out of synch, while temporal order judgments involve deciding which of the cues came first. When the cues come from different sensory modalities these judgments can be used to investigate multisensory integration in the temporal domain. However, evidence indicates that that these two tasks should not be used interchangeably as it is unlikely that they measure the same perceptual mechanism. The current experiment further explores this issue across a variety of different audiovisual stimulus types. Participants were presented with 5 audiovisual stimulus types, each at 11 parametrically manipulated levels of cue asynchrony. During separate blocks, participants had to make synchrony judgments or temporal order judgments. For some stimulus types many participants were unable to successfully make temporal order judgments, but they were able to make synchrony judgments. The mean points of subjective simultaneity for synchrony judgments were all video-leading, while those for temporal order judgments were all audio-leading. In the within participants analyses no correlation was found across the two tasks for either the point of subjective simultaneity or the temporal integration window. Stimulus type influenced how the two tasks differed; nevertheless, consistent differences were found between the two tasks regardless of stimulus type. Therefore, in line with previous work, we conclude that synchrony and temporal order judgments are supported by different perceptual mechanisms and should not be interpreted as being representative of the same perceptual process.

  7. Differential frontal-parietal phase synchrony during hypnosis as a function of hypnotic suggestibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terhune, Devin Blair; Cardeña, Etzel; Lindgren, Magnus

    2011-10-01

    Spontaneous dissociative alterations in awareness and perception among highly suggestible individuals following a hypnotic induction may result from disruptions in the functional coordination of the frontal-parietal network. We recorded EEG and self-reported state dissociation in control and hypnosis conditions in two sessions with low and highly suggestible participants. Highly suggestible participants reliably experienced greater state dissociation and exhibited lower frontal-parietal phase synchrony in the alpha2 frequency band during hypnosis than low suggestible participants. These findings suggest that highly suggestible individuals exhibit a disruption of the frontal-parietal network that is only observable following a hypnotic induction. Copyright © 2011 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  8. Nonverbal Synchrony in Psychotherapy: Coordinated Body Movement Reflects Relationship Quality and Outcome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramseyer, Fabian; Tschacher, Wolfgang

    2011-01-01

    Objective: The authors quantified nonverbal synchrony--the coordination of patient's and therapist's movement--in a random sample of same-sex psychotherapy dyads. The authors contrasted nonverbal synchrony in these dyads with a control condition and assessed its association with session-level and overall psychotherapy outcome. Method: Using an…

  9. Halobenzoquinone-Induced Alteration of Gene Expression Associated with Oxidative Stress Signaling Pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jinhua; Moe, Birget; Liu, Yanming; Li, Xing-Fang

    2018-06-05

    Halobenzoquinones (HBQs) are emerging disinfection byproducts (DBPs) that effectively induce reactive oxygen species and oxidative damage in vitro. However, the impacts of HBQs on oxidative-stress-related gene expression have not been investigated. In this study, we examined alterations in the expression of 44 genes related to oxidative-stress-induced signaling pathways in human uroepithelial cells (SV-HUC-1) upon exposure to six HBQs. The results show the structure-dependent effects of HBQs on the studied gene expression. After 2 h of exposure, the expression levels of 9 to 28 genes were altered, while after 8 h of exposure, the expression levels of 29 to 31 genes were altered. Four genes ( HMOX1, NQO1, PTGS2, and TXNRD1) were significantly upregulated by all six HBQs at both exposure time points. Ingenuity pathway analysis revealed that the Nrf2 pathway was significantly responsive to HBQ exposure. Other canonical pathways responsive to HBQ exposure included GSH redox reductions, superoxide radical degradation, and xenobiotic metabolism signaling. This study has demonstrated that HBQs significantly alter the gene expression of oxidative-stress-related signaling pathways and contributes to the understanding of HBQ-DBP-associated toxicity.

  10. ICan: an integrated co-alteration network to identify ovarian cancer-related genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yuanshuai; Liu, Yongjing; Li, Kening; Zhang, Rui; Qiu, Fujun; Zhao, Ning; Xu, Yan

    2015-01-01

    Over the last decade, an increasing number of integrative studies on cancer-related genes have been published. Integrative analyses aim to overcome the limitation of a single data type, and provide a more complete view of carcinogenesis. The vast majority of these studies used sample-matched data of gene expression and copy number to investigate the impact of copy number alteration on gene expression, and to predict and prioritize candidate oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. However, correlations between genes were neglected in these studies. Our work aimed to evaluate the co-alteration of copy number, methylation and expression, allowing us to identify cancer-related genes and essential functional modules in cancer. We built the Integrated Co-alteration network (ICan) based on multi-omics data, and analyzed the network to uncover cancer-related genes. After comparison with random networks, we identified 155 ovarian cancer-related genes, including well-known (TP53, BRCA1, RB1 and PTEN) and also novel cancer-related genes, such as PDPN and EphA2. We compared the results with a conventional method: CNAmet, and obtained a significantly better area under the curve value (ICan: 0.8179, CNAmet: 0.5183). In this paper, we describe a framework to find cancer-related genes based on an Integrated Co-alteration network. Our results proved that ICan could precisely identify candidate cancer genes and provide increased mechanistic understanding of carcinogenesis. This work suggested a new research direction for biological network analyses involving multi-omics data.

  11. Audio-visual synchrony and feature-selective attention co-amplify early visual processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keitel, Christian; Müller, Matthias M

    2016-05-01

    Our brain relies on neural mechanisms of selective attention and converging sensory processing to efficiently cope with rich and unceasing multisensory inputs. One prominent assumption holds that audio-visual synchrony can act as a strong attractor for spatial attention. Here, we tested for a similar effect of audio-visual synchrony on feature-selective attention. We presented two superimposed Gabor patches that differed in colour and orientation. On each trial, participants were cued to selectively attend to one of the two patches. Over time, spatial frequencies of both patches varied sinusoidally at distinct rates (3.14 and 3.63 Hz), giving rise to pulse-like percepts. A simultaneously presented pure tone carried a frequency modulation at the pulse rate of one of the two visual stimuli to introduce audio-visual synchrony. Pulsed stimulation elicited distinct time-locked oscillatory electrophysiological brain responses. These steady-state responses were quantified in the spectral domain to examine individual stimulus processing under conditions of synchronous versus asynchronous tone presentation and when respective stimuli were attended versus unattended. We found that both, attending to the colour of a stimulus and its synchrony with the tone, enhanced its processing. Moreover, both gain effects combined linearly for attended in-sync stimuli. Our results suggest that audio-visual synchrony can attract attention to specific stimulus features when stimuli overlap in space.

  12. Dynamic binding of visual features by neuronal/stimulus synchrony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwabuchi, A

    1998-05-01

    When people see a visual scene, certain parts of the visual scene are treated as belonging together and we regard them as a perceptual unit, which is called a "figure". People focus on figures, and the remaining parts of the scene are disregarded as "ground". In Gestalt psychology this process is called "figure-ground segregation". According to current perceptual psychology, a figure is formed by binding various visual features in a scene, and developments in neuroscience have revealed that there are many feature-encoding neurons, which respond to such features specifically. It is not known, however, how the brain binds different features of an object into a coherent visual object representation. Recently, the theory of binding by neuronal synchrony, which argues that feature binding is dynamically mediated by neuronal synchrony of feature-encoding neurons, has been proposed. This review article portrays the problem of figure-ground segregation and features binding, summarizes neurophysiological and psychophysical experiments and theory relevant to feature binding by neuronal/stimulus synchrony, and suggests possible directions for future research on this topic.

  13. A Psychophysical Investigation of Differences between Synchrony and Temporal Order Judgments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Love, Scott A.; Petrini, Karin; Cheng, Adam; Pollick, Frank E.

    2013-01-01

    Background Synchrony judgments involve deciding whether cues to an event are in synch or out of synch, while temporal order judgments involve deciding which of the cues came first. When the cues come from different sensory modalities these judgments can be used to investigate multisensory integration in the temporal domain. However, evidence indicates that that these two tasks should not be used interchangeably as it is unlikely that they measure the same perceptual mechanism. The current experiment further explores this issue across a variety of different audiovisual stimulus types. Methodology/Principal Findings Participants were presented with 5 audiovisual stimulus types, each at 11 parametrically manipulated levels of cue asynchrony. During separate blocks, participants had to make synchrony judgments or temporal order judgments. For some stimulus types many participants were unable to successfully make temporal order judgments, but they were able to make synchrony judgments. The mean points of subjective simultaneity for synchrony judgments were all video-leading, while those for temporal order judgments were all audio-leading. In the within participants analyses no correlation was found across the two tasks for either the point of subjective simultaneity or the temporal integration window. Conclusions Stimulus type influenced how the two tasks differed; nevertheless, consistent differences were found between the two tasks regardless of stimulus type. Therefore, in line with previous work, we conclude that synchrony and temporal order judgments are supported by different perceptual mechanisms and should not be interpreted as being representative of the same perceptual process. PMID:23349971

  14. A psychophysical investigation of differences between synchrony and temporal order judgments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scott A Love

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Synchrony judgments involve deciding whether cues to an event are in synch or out of synch, while temporal order judgments involve deciding which of the cues came first. When the cues come from different sensory modalities these judgments can be used to investigate multisensory integration in the temporal domain. However, evidence indicates that that these two tasks should not be used interchangeably as it is unlikely that they measure the same perceptual mechanism. The current experiment further explores this issue across a variety of different audiovisual stimulus types. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Participants were presented with 5 audiovisual stimulus types, each at 11 parametrically manipulated levels of cue asynchrony. During separate blocks, participants had to make synchrony judgments or temporal order judgments. For some stimulus types many participants were unable to successfully make temporal order judgments, but they were able to make synchrony judgments. The mean points of subjective simultaneity for synchrony judgments were all video-leading, while those for temporal order judgments were all audio-leading. In the within participants analyses no correlation was found across the two tasks for either the point of subjective simultaneity or the temporal integration window. CONCLUSIONS: Stimulus type influenced how the two tasks differed; nevertheless, consistent differences were found between the two tasks regardless of stimulus type. Therefore, in line with previous work, we conclude that synchrony and temporal order judgments are supported by different perceptual mechanisms and should not be interpreted as being representative of the same perceptual process.

  15. Assessment of Multivariate Neural Time Series by Phase Synchrony Clustering in a Time-Frequency-Topography Representation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. A. Porta-Garcia

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Most EEG phase synchrony measures are of bivariate nature. Those that are multivariate focus on producing global indices of the synchronization state of the system. Thus, better descriptions of spatial and temporal local interactions are still in demand. A framework for characterization of phase synchrony relationships between multivariate neural time series is presented, applied either in a single epoch or over an intertrial assessment, relying on a proposed clustering algorithm, termed Multivariate Time Series Clustering by Phase Synchrony, which generates fuzzy clusters for each multivalued time sample and thereupon obtains hard clusters according to a circular variance threshold; such cluster modes are then depicted in Time-Frequency-Topography representations of synchrony state beyond mere global indices. EEG signals from P300 Speller sessions of four subjects were analyzed, obtaining useful insights of synchrony patterns related to the ERP and even revealing steady-state artifacts at 7.6 Hz. Further, contrast maps of Levenshtein Distance highlight synchrony differences between ERP and no-ERP epochs, mainly at delta and theta bands. The framework, which is not limited to one synchrony measure, allows observing dynamics of phase changes and interactions among channels and can be applied to analyze other cognitive states rather than ERP versus no ERP.

  16. Alteration of gene expression by alcohol exposure at early neurulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Feng C; Zhao, Qianqian; Liu, Yunlong; Goodlett, Charles R; Liang, Tiebing; McClintick, Jeanette N; Edenberg, Howard J; Li, Lang

    2011-02-21

    We have previously demonstrated that alcohol exposure at early neurulation induces growth retardation, neural tube abnormalities, and alteration of DNA methylation. To explore the global gene expression changes which may underline these developmental defects, microarray analyses were performed in a whole embryo mouse culture model that allows control over alcohol and embryonic variables. Alcohol caused teratogenesis in brain, heart, forelimb, and optic vesicle; a subset of the embryos also showed cranial neural tube defects. In microarray analysis (accession number GSM9545), adopting hypothesis-driven Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) informatics and intersection analysis of two independent experiments, we found that there was a collective reduction in expression of neural specification genes (neurogenin, Sox5, Bhlhe22), neural growth factor genes [Igf1, Efemp1, Klf10 (Tieg), and Edil3], and alteration of genes involved in cell growth, apoptosis, histone variants, eye and heart development. There was also a reduction of retinol binding protein 1 (Rbp1), and de novo expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1B1 (Aldh1B1). Remarkably, four key hematopoiesis genes (glycophorin A, adducin 2, beta-2 microglobulin, and ceruloplasmin) were absent after alcohol treatment, and histone variant genes were reduced. The down-regulation of the neurospecification and the neurotrophic genes were further confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR. Furthermore, the gene expression profile demonstrated distinct subgroups which corresponded with two distinct alcohol-related neural tube phenotypes: an open (ALC-NTO) and a closed neural tube (ALC-NTC). Further, the epidermal growth factor signaling pathway and histone variants were specifically altered in ALC-NTO, and a greater number of neurotrophic/growth factor genes were down-regulated in the ALC-NTO than in the ALC-NTC embryos. This study revealed a set of genes vulnerable to alcohol exposure and genes that were associated with neural tube

  17. Tonal synchrony in mother-infant interaction based on harmonic and pentatonic series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Puyvelde, Martine; Vanfleteren, Pol; Loots, Gerrit; Deschuyffeleer, Sara; Vinck, Bart; Jacquet, Wolfgang; Verhelst, Werner

    2010-12-01

    This study reports the occurrence of 'tonal synchrony' as a new dimension of early mother-infant interaction synchrony. The findings are based on a tonal and temporal analysis of vocal interactions between 15 mothers and their 3-month-old infants during 5 min of free-play in a laboratory setting. In total, 558 vocal exchanges were identified and analysed, of which 84% reflected harmonic or pentatonic series. Another 10% of the exchanges contained absolute and/or relative pitch and/or interval imitations. The total durations of dyads being in tonal synchrony were normally distributed (M=3.71, SD=2.44). Vocalisations based on harmonic series appeared organised around the major triad, containing significantly more simple frequency ratios (octave, fifth and third) than complex ones (non-major triad tones). Tonal synchrony and its characteristics are discussed in relation to infant-directed speech, communicative musicality, pre-reflective communication and its impact on the quality of early mother-infant interaction and child's development. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Local changes in the excitability of the cerebellar cortex produce spatially restricted changes in complex spike synchrony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Sarah P; Lang, Eric J

    2009-11-11

    Complex spike (CS) synchrony patterns are modulated by the release of GABA within the inferior olive (IO). The GABAergic projection to most of the IO arises from the cerebellar nuclei, which are themselves subject to strong inhibitory control by Purkinje cells in the overlying cortex. Moreover, the connections between the IO and cerebellum are precisely aligned, raising the possibility that each cortical region controls its own CS synchrony distribution. This possibility was tested using multielectrode recordings of CSs and simple spikes (SSs) in crus 2a of anesthetized rats. Picrotoxin or muscimol was applied to the cerebellar cortex at the borders of the recording array. These drugs induced significant changes in CS synchrony and in CS and SS firing rates and changes in post-CS pauses and modulation of SS activity. The level of CS synchrony was correlated with SS firing rate in control, and application of picrotoxin increased both. In contrast, muscimol decreased CS synchrony. Furthermore, when picrotoxin was applied only at the lateral edge of the array, changes in CS synchrony occurred sequentially across the recording array, with cells located in the lateral half of the array having earlier and larger changes in CS synchrony than cells in the medial half. The results indicate that a double-inhibitory feedback circuit from Purkinje cells to the IO provides a mechanism by which SS activity may regulate CS synchrony. Thus, CS synchrony may be a physiologically controlled parameter of cerebellar activity, with the cerebellum and IO comprising a series of self-updating circuits.

  19. Hatching synchrony in birds

    OpenAIRE

    Tippeltová, Zuzana

    2011-01-01

    This bachelor thesis is about hatching synchrony in birds. Generally, among birds there are two types of hatching - asynchronous and synchronous- and the type of hatching is primarily determined by the time of the onset of incubation. In many bird species, including most precocial ones, incubation does not begin until the last egg has been laid, which results in hatching of all the eggs within a few hours. In synchronously-hatched broods, all the chicks are about the same age. Thus no single ...

  20. Prostate cancer-associated gene expression alterations determined from needle biopsies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, David Z; Huang, Chung-Ying; O'Brien, Catherine A; Coleman, Ilsa M; Garzotto, Mark; True, Lawrence D; Higano, Celestia S; Vessella, Robert; Lange, Paul H; Nelson, Peter S; Beer, Tomasz M

    2009-05-01

    To accurately identify gene expression alterations that differentiate neoplastic from normal prostate epithelium using an approach that avoids contamination by unwanted cellular components and is not compromised by acute gene expression changes associated with tumor devascularization and resulting ischemia. Approximately 3,000 neoplastic and benign prostate epithelial cells were isolated using laser capture microdissection from snap-frozen prostate biopsy specimens provided by 31 patients who subsequently participated in a clinical trial of preoperative chemotherapy. cDNA synthesized from amplified total RNA was hybridized to custom-made microarrays composed of 6,200 clones derived from the Prostate Expression Database. Expression differences for selected genes were verified using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. Comparative analyses identified 954 transcript alterations associated with cancer (q transport. Genes down-regulated in prostate cancers were enriched in categories related to immune response, cellular responses to pathogens, and apoptosis. A heterogeneous pattern of androgen receptor expression changes was noted. In exploratory analyses, androgen receptor down-regulation was associated with a lower probability of cancer relapse after neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical prostatectomy. Assessments of tumor phenotypes based on gene expression for treatment stratification and drug targeting of oncogenic alterations may best be ascertained using biopsy-based analyses where the effects of ischemia do not complicate interpretation.

  1. Early development of synchrony in cortical activations in the human.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koolen, N; Dereymaeker, A; Räsänen, O; Jansen, K; Vervisch, J; Matic, V; Naulaers, G; De Vos, M; Van Huffel, S; Vanhatalo, S

    2016-05-13

    Early intermittent cortical activity is thought to play a crucial role in the growth of neuronal network development, and large scale brain networks are known to provide the basis for higher brain functions. Yet, the early development of the large scale synchrony in cortical activations is unknown. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the early intermittent cortical activations seen in the human scalp EEG show a clear developmental course during the last trimester of pregnancy, the period of intensive growth of cortico-cortical connections. We recorded scalp EEG from altogether 22 premature infants at post-menstrual age between 30 and 44 weeks, and the early cortical synchrony was quantified using recently introduced activation synchrony index (ASI). The developmental correlations of ASI were computed for individual EEG signals as well as anatomically and mathematically defined spatial subgroups. We report two main findings. First, we observed a robust and statistically significant increase in ASI in all cortical areas. Second, there were significant spatial gradients in the synchrony in fronto-occipital and left-to-right directions. These findings provide evidence that early cortical activity is increasingly synchronized across the neocortex. The ASI-based metrics introduced in our work allow direct translational comparison to in vivo animal models, as well as hold promise for implementation as a functional developmental biomarker in future research on human neonates. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  2. Emotional lability and affective synchrony in borderline personality disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoenleber, Michelle; Berghoff, Christopher R; Tull, Matthew T; DiLillo, David; Messman-Moore, Terri; Gratz, Kim L

    2016-07-01

    Extant research on emotional lability in borderline personality disorder (BPD) has focused almost exclusively on lability of individual emotions or emotion types, with limited research considering how different types of emotions shift together over time. Thus, this study examined the temporal dynamics of emotion in BPD at the level of both individual emotions (i.e., self-conscious emotions [SCE], anger, and anxiety) and mixed emotions (i.e., synchrony between emotions). One hundred forty-four women from the community completed a diagnostic interview and laboratory study involving 5 emotion induction tasks (each of which was preceded and followed by a 5-min resting period or neutral task). State ratings of SCE, anger, and anxiety were provided at 14 time points (before and after each laboratory task and resting period). Hierarchical linear modeling results indicate that women with BPD reported greater mean levels of SCE and Anxiety (but not Anger), and greater lability of Anxiety. Women with BPD also exhibited greater variability in lability of all 3 emotions (suggestive of within-group differences in the relevance of lability to BPD). Results also revealed synchrony (i.e., positive relations) between each possible pair of emotions, regardless of BPD status. Follow-up regression analyses suggest the importance of accounting for lability when examining the role of synchrony in BPD, as the relation of SCE-Anger synchrony to BPD symptom severity was moderated by Anger and SCE lability. Specifically, synchronous changes in SCE and Anger were associated with greater BPD symptom severity when large shifts in SCE were paired with minor shifts in Anger. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Climate-induced trends in predator–prey synchrony differ across life-history stages of an anadromous salmonid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Donovan A.; Kovach, Ryan; Vulstek, Scott C.; Joyce, John E.; Tallmon, David A.

    2017-01-01

    Differential climate-induced shifts in phenology can create mismatches between predators and prey, but few studies have examined predator–prey mismatch across multiple life-history stages. We used long-term data from a warming stream with shifting salmonid migration timings to quantify intra-annual migration synchrony between predatory Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) and Pacific salmon prey and examined how predator–prey synchrony has been influenced by climate change. We demonstrate that Dolly Varden have become increasingly mismatched with spring downstream migrations of abundant pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) juveniles. However, Dolly Varden have remained matched with fall upstream migrations of spawning Pacific salmon, including coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch), sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka), and pink salmon. Downstream predator–prey migration synchrony decreased over time and with higher temperatures, particularly with pink salmon. In contrast, upstream migration synchrony was temporally stable and increased with rising temperatures. Differing trends in Dolly Varden predator–prey synchrony may be explained by the direct use of salmon to cue upstream migration, but not downstream migration. Overall, we show that climate change can have differing impacts on predator–prey synchrony across life-history stages.

  4. Abnormal synchrony and effective connectivity in patients with schizophrenia and auditory hallucinations

    Science.gov (United States)

    de la Iglesia-Vaya, Maria; Escartí, Maria José; Molina-Mateo, Jose; Martí-Bonmatí, Luis; Gadea, Marien; Castellanos, Francisco Xavier; Aguilar García-Iturrospe, Eduardo J.; Robles, Montserrat; Biswal, Bharat B.; Sanjuan, Julio

    2014-01-01

    Auditory hallucinations (AH) are the most frequent positive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Hallucinations have been related to emotional processing disturbances, altered functional connectivity and effective connectivity deficits. Previously, we observed that, compared to healthy controls, the limbic network responses of patients with auditory hallucinations differed when the subjects were listening to emotionally charged words. We aimed to compare the synchrony patterns and effective connectivity of task-related networks between schizophrenia patients with and without AH and healthy controls. Schizophrenia patients with AH (n = 27) and without AH (n = 14) were compared with healthy participants (n = 31). We examined functional connectivity by analyzing correlations and cross-correlations among previously detected independent component analysis time courses. Granger causality was used to infer the information flow direction in the brain regions. The results demonstrate that the patterns of cortico-cortical functional synchrony differentiated the patients with AH from the patients without AH and from the healthy participants. Additionally, Granger-causal relationships between the networks clearly differentiated the groups. In the patients with AH, the principal causal source was an occipital–cerebellar component, versus a temporal component in the patients without AH and the healthy controls. These data indicate that an anomalous process of neural connectivity exists when patients with AH process emotional auditory stimuli. Additionally, a central role is suggested for the cerebellum in processing emotional stimuli in patients with persistent AH. PMID:25379429

  5. Infanticide and within-clutch competition select for reproductive synchrony in a cooperative bird.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riehl, Christina

    2016-08-01

    Reproduction among members of social animal groups is often highly synchronized, but neither the selective advantages nor the proximate causes of synchrony are fully understood. Here I investigate the evolution of hatching synchrony in the Greater Ani (Crotophaga major), a communally nesting bird in which several unrelated females contribute eggs to a large, shared clutch. Hatching synchrony is variable, ranging from complete synchrony to moderate asynchrony, and is determined by the onset of incubation of the communal clutch. Data from a 10-year field study indicate that individual reproductive success is highest in synchronous groups, and that nestlings that hatch in the middle of the hatching sequence are most likely to survive. Nestling mortality is high in asynchronous clutches because early-hatching nestlings are more likely to be killed by adult group members, whereas late-hatching nestlings are more likely to starve due competition with their older nest-mates. Therefore, the timing of hatching appears to be under stabilizing selection from infanticide and resource competition acting in concert. These results provide empirical support for models predicting that synchrony may evolve as an adaptive counter-strategy to infanticide, and they highlight the importance of competition in shaping the timing of reproduction in social groups. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  6. Nonverbal Synchrony in Social Interactions of Patients with Schizophrenia Indicates Socio-Communicative Deficits.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeno Kupper

    Full Text Available Disordered interpersonal communication can be a serious problem in schizophrenia. Recent advances in computer-based measures allow reliable and objective quantification of nonverbal behavior. Research using these novel measures has shown that objective amounts of body and head movement in patients with schizophrenia during social interactions are closely related to the symptom profiles of these patients. In addition to and above mere amounts of movement, the degree of synchrony, or imitation, between patients and normal interactants may be indicative of core deficits underlying various problems in domains related to interpersonal communication, such as symptoms, social competence, and social functioning.Nonverbal synchrony was assessed objectively using Motion Energy Analysis (MEA in 378 brief, videotaped role-play scenes involving 27 stabilized outpatients diagnosed with paranoid-type schizophrenia.Low nonverbal synchrony was indicative of symptoms, low social competence, impaired social functioning, and low self-evaluation of competence. These relationships remained largely significant when correcting for the amounts of patients' movement. When patients showed reduced imitation of their interactants' movements, negative symptoms were likely to be prominent. Conversely, positive symptoms were more prominent in patients when their interaction partners' imitation of their movements was reduced.Nonverbal synchrony can be an objective and sensitive indicator of the severity of patients' problems. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of nonverbal synchrony may provide novel insights into specific relationships between symptoms, cognition, and core communicative problems in schizophrenia.

  7. Altered Network Oscillations and Functional Connectivity Dynamics in Children Born Very Preterm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moiseev, Alexander; Doesburg, Sam M; Herdman, Anthony T; Ribary, Urs; Grunau, Ruth E

    2015-09-01

    Structural brain connections develop atypically in very preterm children, and altered functional connectivity is also evident in fMRI studies. Such alterations in brain network connectivity are associated with cognitive difficulties in this population. Little is known, however, about electrophysiological interactions among specific brain networks in children born very preterm. In the present study, we recorded magnetoencephalography while very preterm children and full-term controls performed a visual short-term memory task. Regions expressing task-dependent activity changes were identified using beamformer analysis, and inter-regional phase synchrony was calculated. Very preterm children expressed altered regional recruitment in distributed networks of brain areas, across standard physiological frequency ranges including the theta, alpha, beta and gamma bands. Reduced oscillatory synchrony was observed among task-activated brain regions in very preterm children, particularly for connections involving areas critical for executive abilities, including middle frontal gyrus. These findings suggest that inability to recruit neurophysiological activity and interactions in distributed networks including frontal regions may contribute to difficulties in cognitive development in children born very preterm.

  8. Patterns of altered neural synchrony in the default mode network in autism spectrum disorder revealed with magnetoencephalography (MEG): Relationship to clinical symptomatology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lajiness-O'Neill, Renée; Brennan, Jonathan R; Moran, John E; Richard, Annette E; Flores, Ana-Mercedes; Swick, Casey; Goodcase, Ryan; Andersen, Tiffany; McFarlane, Kaitlyn; Rusiniak, Kenneth; Kovelman, Ioulia; Wagley, Neelima; Ugolini, Maggie; Albright, Jeremy; Bowyer, Susan M

    2018-03-01

    Disrupted neural synchrony may be a primary electrophysiological abnormality in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), altering communication between discrete brain regions and contributing to abnormalities in patterns of connectivity within identified neural networks. Studies exploring brain dynamics to comprehensively characterize and link connectivity to large-scale cortical networks and clinical symptoms are lagging considerably. Patterns of neural coherence within the Default Mode Network (DMN) and Salience Network (SN) during resting state were investigated in 12 children with ASD (M Age  = 9.2) and 13 age and gender-matched neurotypicals (NT) (M Age  = 9.3) with magnetoencephalography. Coherence between 231 brain region pairs within four frequency bands (theta (4-7 Hz), alpha, (8-12 Hz), beta (13-30 Hz), and gamma (30-80 Hz)) was calculated. Relationships between neural coherence and social functioning were examined. ASD was characterized by lower synchronization across all frequencies, reaching clinical significance in the gamma band. Lower gamma synchrony between fronto-temporo-parietal regions was observed, partially consistent with diminished default mode network (DMN) connectivity. Lower gamma coherence in ASD was evident in cross-hemispheric connections between: angular with inferior/middle frontal; middle temporal with middle/inferior frontal; and within right-hemispheric connections between angular, middle temporal, and inferior/middle frontal cortices. Lower gamma coherence between left angular and left superior frontal, right inferior/middle frontal, and right precuneus and between right angular and inferior/middle frontal cortices was related to lower social/social-communication functioning. Results suggest a pattern of lower gamma band coherence in a subset of regions within the DMN in ASD (angular and middle temporal cortical areas) related to lower social/social-communicative functioning. Autism Res 2018, 11: 434-449. © 2017 International

  9. Network periodic solutions: patterns of phase-shift synchrony

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golubitsky, Martin; Wang, Yunjiao; Romano, David

    2012-01-01

    We prove the rigid phase conjecture of Stewart and Parker. It then follows from previous results (of Stewart and Parker and our own) that rigid phase-shifts in periodic solutions on a transitive network are produced by a cyclic symmetry on a quotient network. More precisely, let X(t) = (x 1 (t), ..., x n (t)) be a hyperbolic T-periodic solution of an admissible system on an n-node network. Two nodes c and d are phase-related if there exists a phase-shift θ cd in [0, 1) such that x d (t) = x c (t + θ cd T). The conjecture states that if phase relations persist under all small admissible perturbations (that is, the phase relations are rigid), then for each pair of phase-related cells, their input signals are also phase-related to the same phase-shift. For a transitive network, rigid phase relations can also be described abstractly as a Z m permutation symmetry of a quotient network. We discuss how patterns of phase-shift synchrony lead to rigid synchrony, rigid phase synchrony, and rigid multirhythms, and we show that for each phase pattern there exists an admissible system with a periodic solution with that phase pattern. Finally, we generalize the results to nontransitive networks where we show that the symmetry that generates rigid phase-shifts occurs on an extension of a quotient network

  10. Alterations in tumour suppressor gene p53 in human gliomas from ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    Alterations in the tumour suppressor p53 gene are among the most common defects seen in a variety of human cancers. ..... rangement of the EGF receptor gene in primary human brain tumors ... the INK4A gene in superficial bladder tumors.

  11. Neural synchrony in cortical networks: history, concept and current status

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Uhlhaas

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Following the discovery of context-dependent synchronization of oscillatory neuronal responses in the visual system, the role of neural synchrony in cortical networks has been expanded to provide a general mechanism for the coordination of distributed neural activity patterns. In the current paper, we present an update of the status of this hypothesis through summarizing recent results from our laboratory that suggest important new insights regarding the mechanisms, function and relevance of this phenomenon. In the first part, we present recent results derived from animal experiments and mathematical simulations that provide novel explanations and mechanisms for zero and nero-zero phase lag synchronization. In the second part, we shall discuss the role of neural synchrony for expectancy during perceptual organization and its role in conscious experience. This will be followed by evidence that indicates that in addition to supporting conscious cognition, neural synchrony is abnormal in major brain disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. We conclude this paper with suggestions for further research as well as with critical issues that need to be addressed in future studies.

  12. Interactional synchrony in chimpanzees: Examination through a finger-tapping experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Lira; Tomonaga, Masaki

    2015-05-11

    Humans often unconsciously coordinate behaviour with that of others in daily life. This interpersonal coordination, including mimicry and interactional synchrony, has been suggested to play a fundamental role in social interaction. If this coordinative behavior is socially adaptive, it may be shared with other highly social animal species. The current study targeted chimpanzees, which phylogenetically are the closest living relatives of humans and live in complex social groups, and examined whether interactional synchrony would emerge in pairs of chimpanzees when auditory information about a partner's movement was provided. A finger-tapping task was introduced via touch panels to elicit repetitive and rhythmic movement from each chimpanzee. We found that one of four chimpanzees produced significant changes in both tapping tempo and timing of the tapping relative to its partner's tap when auditory sounds were provided. Although the current results may have limitations in generalizing to chimpanzees as a species, we suggest that a finger-tapping task is one potential method to investigate interactional synchrony in chimpanzees under a laboratory setup.

  13. Mother-adolescent physiological synchrony in naturalistic settings: within-family cortisol associations and moderators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papp, Lauren M; Pendry, Patricia; Adam, Emma K

    2009-12-01

    In this study, the authors examined parent-adolescent cortisol associations in 45 families with adolescent children (24 girls; M age = 15.78 years, SD = 1.44 years). Family members' salivary cortisol levels were measured seven times a day on 2 typical weekdays. Family members provided reports of demographic and health variables, and adolescents rated parent-child relationship characteristics. After accounting for the effects of time of day and relevant demographic and health control variables on cortisol levels, hierarchical linear models indicated the presence of significant covariation over time in mother-adolescent cortisol (i.e., physiological synchrony). Furthermore, moderating tests revealed that mother-adolescent cortisol synchrony was strengthened among dyads characterized by mothers and adolescents spending more time together, and in families rated higher on levels of parent-youth shared activities and parental monitoring or supervision. Analysis of momentary characteristics indicated that maternal presence at the time of cortisol sampling lowered adolescent cortisol levels but did not account for mother-adolescent cortisol synchrony. Within-family physiological synchrony was amplified in momentary contexts of elevated maternal negative affect and elevated adolescent negative affect.

  14. Measuring Multimodal Synchrony for Human-Computer Interaction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reidsma, Dennis; Nijholt, Antinus; Tschacher, Wolfgang; Ramseyer, Fabian; Sourin, A.

    2010-01-01

    Nonverbal synchrony is an important and natural element in human-human interaction. It can also play various roles in human-computer interaction. In particular this is the case in the interaction between humans and the virtual humans that inhabit our cyberworlds. Virtual humans need to adapt their

  15. An Association between Auditory-Visual Synchrony Processing and Reading Comprehension: Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mossbridge, Julia; Zweig, Jacob; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

    2017-03-01

    The perceptual system integrates synchronized auditory-visual signals in part to promote individuation of objects in cluttered environments. The processing of auditory-visual synchrony may more generally contribute to cognition by synchronizing internally generated multimodal signals. Reading is a prime example because the ability to synchronize internal phonological and/or lexical processing with visual orthographic processing may facilitate encoding of words and meanings. Consistent with this possibility, developmental and clinical research has suggested a link between reading performance and the ability to compare visual spatial/temporal patterns with auditory temporal patterns. Here, we provide converging behavioral and electrophysiological evidence suggesting that greater behavioral ability to judge auditory-visual synchrony (Experiment 1) and greater sensitivity of an electrophysiological marker of auditory-visual synchrony processing (Experiment 2) both predict superior reading comprehension performance, accounting for 16% and 25% of the variance, respectively. These results support the idea that the mechanisms that detect auditory-visual synchrony contribute to reading comprehension.

  16. A motion capture study to measure the feeling of synchrony in romantic couples and in professional musicians

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Delphine Preissmann

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The feeling of synchrony is fundamental for most social activities and prosocial behaviors. However, little is known about the behavioral correlates of this feeling and its modulation by intergroup differences. We previously showed that the subjective feeling of synchrony in subjects involved in a mirror imitation task was modulated by objective behavioral measures, as well as contextual factors such as task difficulty and duration of the task performance. In the present study, we extended our methodology to investigate possible interindividual differences. We hypothesized that being in a romantic relationship or being a professional musician can modulate both implicit and explicit synchronisation and the feeling of synchrony as well as the ability to detect synchrony from a third person perspective. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find significant differences between people in a romantic relationship and control subjects. However, we observed differences between musicians and control subjects. For the implicit synchrony (spontaneous synchronization during walking, the results revealed that musicians that had never met before spontaneously synchronized their movements earlier among themselves than control subjects, but not better than people sharing a romantic relationship. Moreover, in explicit behavioral synchronisation tasks (mirror game, musicians reported earlier feeling of synchrony and had less speed errors than control subjects. This was in interaction with tasks difficulty as these differences appeared only in tasks with intermediate difficulty. Finally, when subjects had to judge synchrony from a third person perspective, musicians had a better performance to identify if they were present or not in the videos. Taken together, our results suggest that being a professional musician can play a role in the feeling of synchrony and its underlying mechanisms.

  17. Brief Report: A Pilot Study of Parent-Child Biobehavioral Synchrony in Autism Spectrum Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Jason K.; Fenning, Rachel M.; Howland, Mariann A.; Baucom, Brian R.; Moffitt, Jacquelyn; Erath, Stephen A.

    2015-01-01

    The theory of biobehavioral synchrony proposes that the predictive power of parent-child attunement likely lies in the manner with which behaviors are aligned with relevant biological processes. Symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may challenge the formation of behavioral and physiological synchrony, but maintenance of such parent-child…

  18. Interpersonal synchrony enhanced through 20 Hz phase-coupled dual brain stimulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knoblich, Günther; Dunne, Laura; Keller, Peter E.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Synchronous movement is a key component of social behavior in several species including humans. Recent theories have suggested a link between interpersonal synchrony of brain oscillations and interpersonal movement synchrony. The present study investigated this link. Using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) applied over the left motor cortex, we induced beta band (20 Hz) oscillations in pairs of individuals who both performed a finger-tapping task with the right hand. In-phase or anti-phase oscillations were delivered during a preparatory period prior to movement and while the tapping task was performed. In-phase 20 Hz stimulation enhanced interpersonal movement synchrony, compared with anti-phase or sham stimulation, particularly for the initial taps following the preparatory period. This was confirmed in an analysis comparing real vs pseudo pair surrogate data. No enhancement was observed for stimulation frequencies of 2 Hz (matching the target movement frequency) or 10 Hz (alpha band). Thus, phase-coupling of beta band neural oscillations across two individuals’ (resting) motor cortices supports the interpersonal alignment of sensorimotor processes that regulate rhythmic action initiation, thereby facilitating the establishment of synchronous movement. Phase-locked dual brain stimulation provides a promising method to study causal effects of interpersonal brain synchrony on social, sensorimotor and cognitive processes. PMID:28119510

  19. POPULATION SYNCHRONY WITHIN AND AMONG LEPIDOPTERA SPECIES IN RELATION TO WEATHER, PHYLOGENY, AND LARVEL PHENOLOGY

    Science.gov (United States)

    1. The population dynamics of native herbivore species in central Appalachian deciduous forests were studied by analysing patterns of synchrony among intra- and interspecific populations and weather. 2. Spatial synchrony of 10 Lepidoptera species and three weather variables (min...

  20. Somatic VHL gene alterations in MEN2-associated medullary thyroid carcinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koch, Christian A; Brouwers, Frederieke M; Vortmeyer, Alexander O; Tannapfel, Andrea; Libutti, Steven K; Zhuang, Zhengping; Pacak, Karel; Neumann, Hartmut PH; Paschke, Ralf

    2006-01-01

    Germline mutations in RET are responsible for multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2), an autosomal dominantly inherited cancer syndrome that is characterized by medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), pheochromocytoma, and parathyroid hyperplasia/adenoma. Recent studies suggest a 'second hit' mechanism resulting in amplification of mutant RET. Somatic VHL gene alterations are implicated in the pathogenesis of MEN2 pheochromocytomas. We hypothesized that somatic VHL gene alterations are also important in the pathogenesis of MEN2-associated MTC. We analyzed 6 MTCs and 1 C-cell hyperplasia (CCH) specimen from 7 patients with MEN2A and RET germline mutations in codons 609, 618, 620, or 634, using microdissection, microsatellite analysis, phosphorimage densitometry, and VHL mutation analysis. First, we searched for allelic imbalance between mutant and wild-type RET by using the polymorphic markers D10S677, D10S1239, and RET on thyroid tissue from these patients. Evidence for RET amplification by this technique could be demonstrated in 3 of 6 MTCs. We then performed LOH analysis using D3S1038 and D3S1110 which map to the VHL gene locus at 3p25/26. VHL gene deletion was present in 3 MTCs. These 3 MTCs also had an allelic imbalance between mutant and wild-type RET. Mutation analysis of the VHL gene showed a somatic frameshift mutation in 1 MTC that also demonstrated LOH at 3p25/26. In the 2 other MTCs with allelic imbalance of RET and somatic VHL gene deletion, no somatic VHL mutation could be detected. The CCH specimen did neither reveal RET imbalance nor somatic VHL gene alterations. These data suggest that a RET germline mutation is necessary for development of CCH, that allelic imbalance between mutant and wild-type RET may set off tumorigenesis, and that somatic VHL gene alterations may not play a major role in tumorigenesis of MEN2A-associated MTC

  1. A Motion Capture Study to Measure the Feeling of Synchrony in Romantic Couples and in Professional Musicians

    KAUST Repository

    Preissmann, Delphine

    2016-10-27

    The feeling of synchrony is fundamental for most social activities and prosocial behaviors. However, little is known about the behavioral correlates of this feeling and its modulation by intergroup differences. We previously showed that the subjective feeling of synchrony in subjects involved in a mirror imitation task was modulated by objective behavioral measures, as well as contextual factors such as task difficulty and duration of the task performance. In the present study, we extended our methodology to investigate possible interindividual differences. We hypothesized that being in a romantic relationship or being a professional musician can modulate both implicit and explicit synchronization and the feeling of synchrony as well as the ability to detect synchrony from a third person perspective. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find significant differences between people in a romantic relationship and control subjects. However, we observed differences between musicians and control subjects. For the implicit synchrony (spontaneous synchronization during walking), the results revealed that musicians that had never met before spontaneously synchronized their movements earlier among themselves than control subjects, but not better than people sharing a romantic relationship. Moreover, in explicit behavioral synchronization tasks (mirror game), musicians reported earlier feeling of synchrony and had less speed errors than control subjects. This was in interaction with tasks difficulty as these differences appeared only in tasks with intermediate difficulty. Finally, when subjects had to judge synchrony from a third person perspective, musicians had a better performance to identify if they were present or not in the videos. Taken together, our results suggest that being a professional musician can play a role in the feeling of synchrony and its underlying mechanisms. © 2016 Preissmann, Charbonnier, Chagué, Antonietti, Llobera, Ansermet and Magistretti.

  2. A joint behavioral and emotive analysis of synchrony in music therapy of children with autism spectrum disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paola Venuti

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Background Synchrony is an essential component of interactive exchanges. In mother-infant interaction, synchrony underlies reciprocity and emotive regulation. A severe lack of synchrony is indeed a core issue within the communication and interaction deficit that characterizes autism spectrum disorders (ASD in accordance with the DSM-5 classification. Based on emerging evidence that music therapy can improve the communication and regulation ability in children with ASD, we aim to verify quantitatively whether: 1 children with ASD improve synchrony with their therapist during music therapy sessions, and 2 this ability persists in different structured contexts. Participants and procedure Twenty-five children, aged from 4 to 6 years (M = 57.80, SD = 16.70, with an autistic disorder diagnosis based on DSM IV-TR and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS, participated in the study. An observational tool for coding behaviors and emotive states of synchrony (Child Behavioral and Emotional status Code [CBEC] and Adult Behavioral and Emotional status Code [ABEC] was applied in video recorded sessions of improvisational music therapy (IMT for the subject-therapist pair. For each subject, we considered the 20 central minutes of the first, tenth and twentieth session of IMT. To verify the persistence of effect in a different context with a different adult, we administered and coded the interactive ADOS section (anticipation of a routine with objects applied after session 20 of therapy. Results During the IMT cycle, the amount of synchronic activity increases, with a significant difference from Session 1 to Session 20 in behavioral synchrony and emotional attunement. Also, the increase of synchrony is confirmed at the end of the therapy cycle as measured by an interactive ADOS section. Conclusions Synchrony is an effective indicator of efficacy for music therapy in children with ASD, in particular to evaluate the expansion of positive emotive

  3. Geographic variation in forest composition and precipitation predict the synchrony of forest insect outbreaks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyle J. Haynes; Andrew M. Liebhold; Ottar N. Bjørnstad; Andrew J. Allstadt; Randall S. Morin

    2018-01-01

    Evaluating the causes of spatial synchrony in population dynamics in nature is notoriously difficult due to a lack of data and appropriate statistical methods. Here, we use a recently developed method, a multivariate extension of the local indicators of spatial autocorrelation statistic, to map geographic variation in the synchrony of gypsy moth outbreaks. Regression...

  4. Active Drumming Experience Increases Infants' Sensitivity to Audiovisual Synchrony during Observed Drumming Actions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerson, Sarah A; Schiavio, Andrea; Timmers, Renee; Hunnius, Sabine

    2015-01-01

    In the current study, we examined the role of active experience on sensitivity to multisensory synchrony in six-month-old infants in a musical context. In the first of two experiments, we trained infants to produce a novel multimodal effect (i.e., a drum beat) and assessed the effects of this training, relative to no training, on their later perception of the synchrony between audio and visual presentation of the drumming action. In a second experiment, we then contrasted this active experience with the observation of drumming in order to test whether observation of the audiovisual effect was as effective for sensitivity to multimodal synchrony as active experience. Our results indicated that active experience provided a unique benefit above and beyond observational experience, providing insights on the embodied roots of (early) music perception and cognition.

  5. Pioglitazone administration alters ovarian gene expression in aging obese lethal yellow mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weber Mitch

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS are often treated with insulin-sensitizing agents, e.g. thiazolidinediones (TZD, which have been shown to reduce androgen levels and improved ovulatory function. Acting via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR gamma, TZD alter the expression of a large variety of genes. Lethal yellow (LY; C57BL/6J Ay/a mice, possessing a mutation (Ay in the agouti gene locus, exhibit progressive obesity, reproductive dysfunction, and altered metabolic regulation similar to women with PCOS. The current study was designed to test the hypothesis that prolonged treatment of aging LY mice with the TZD, pioglitazone, alters the ovarian expression of genes that may impact reproduction. Methods Female LY mice received daily oral doses of either 0.01 mg pioglitazone (n = 4 or an equal volume of vehicle (DMSO; n = 4 for 8 weeks. At the end of treatment, ovaries were removed and DNA microarrays were used to analyze differential gene expression. Results Twenty-seven genes showed at least a two-fold difference in ovarian expression with pioglitazone treatment. These included leptin, angiopoietin, angiopoietin-like 4, Foxa3, PGE1 receptor, resistin-like molecule-alpha (RELM, and actin-related protein 6 homolog (ARP6. For most altered genes, pioglitazone changed levels of expression to those seen in untreated C57BL/6J(a/a non-mutant lean mice. Conclusion TZD administration may influence ovarian function via numerous diverse mechanisms that may or may not be directly related to insulin/IGF signaling.

  6. Group Rhythmic Synchrony and Attention in Children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander K Khalil

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Synchrony, or the coordinated processing of time, is an often-overlooked yet critical context for human interaction. This study tests the relationship between the ability to synchronize rhythmically in a group setting with the ability to attend in 102 elementary schoolchildren. Impairments in temporal processing have frequently been shown to exist in clinical populations with learning disorders, particularly those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD. Based on this evidence, we hypothesized that the ability to synchronize rhythmically in a group setting—an instance of the type of temporal processing necessary for successful interaction and learning—would be correlated with the ability to attend across the continuum of the population. A music class is an ideal setting for the study of interpersonal timing. In order to measure synchrony in this context, we constructed instruments that allowed the recording and measurement of individual rhythmic performance. The SWAN teacher questionnaire was used as a measurement of attentional behavior. We find that the ability to synchronize with others in a group music class can predict a child’s attentional behavior.

  7. Active Drumming Experience Increases Infants' Sensitivity to Audiovisual Synchrony during Observed Drumming Actions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah A Gerson

    Full Text Available In the current study, we examined the role of active experience on sensitivity to multisensory synchrony in six-month-old infants in a musical context. In the first of two experiments, we trained infants to produce a novel multimodal effect (i.e., a drum beat and assessed the effects of this training, relative to no training, on their later perception of the synchrony between audio and visual presentation of the drumming action. In a second experiment, we then contrasted this active experience with the observation of drumming in order to test whether observation of the audiovisual effect was as effective for sensitivity to multimodal synchrony as active experience. Our results indicated that active experience provided a unique benefit above and beyond observational experience, providing insights on the embodied roots of (early music perception and cognition.

  8. Active Drumming Experience Increases Infants’ Sensitivity to Audiovisual Synchrony during Observed Drumming Actions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timmers, Renee; Hunnius, Sabine

    2015-01-01

    In the current study, we examined the role of active experience on sensitivity to multisensory synchrony in six-month-old infants in a musical context. In the first of two experiments, we trained infants to produce a novel multimodal effect (i.e., a drum beat) and assessed the effects of this training, relative to no training, on their later perception of the synchrony between audio and visual presentation of the drumming action. In a second experiment, we then contrasted this active experience with the observation of drumming in order to test whether observation of the audiovisual effect was as effective for sensitivity to multimodal synchrony as active experience. Our results indicated that active experience provided a unique benefit above and beyond observational experience, providing insights on the embodied roots of (early) music perception and cognition. PMID:26111226

  9. Utilizing time-frequency amplitude and phase synchrony measure to assess feedback processing in a gambling task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watts, Adreanna T M; Tootell, Anne V; Fix, Spencer T; Aviyente, Selin; Bernat, Edward M

    2018-04-29

    The neurophysiological mechanisms involved in the evaluation of performance feedback have been widely studied in the ERP literature over the past twenty years, but understanding has been limited by the use of traditional time-domain amplitude analytic approaches. Gambling outcome valence has been identified as an important factor modulating event-related potential (ERP) components, most notably the feedback negativity (FN). Recent work employing time-frequency analysis has shown that processes indexed by the FN are confounded in the time-domain and can be better represented as separable feedback-related processes in the theta (3-7 Hz) and delta (0-3 Hz) frequency bands. In addition to time-frequency amplitude analysis, phase synchrony measures have begun to further our understanding of performance evaluation by revealing how feedback information is processed within and between various brain regions. The current study aimed to provide an integrative assessment of time-frequency amplitude, inter-trial phase synchrony, and inter-channel phase synchrony changes following monetary feedback in a gambling task. Results revealed that time-frequency amplitude activity explained separable loss and gain processes confounded in the time-domain. Furthermore, phase synchrony measures explained unique variance above and beyond amplitude measures and demonstrated enhanced functional integration between medial prefrontal and bilateral frontal, motor, and occipital regions for loss relative to gain feedback. These findings demonstrate the utility of assessing time-frequency amplitude, inter-trial phase synchrony, and inter-channel phase synchrony together to better elucidate the neurophysiology of feedback processing. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  10. More than reflections: Empathy in motivational interviewing includes language style synchrony between therapist and client

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lord, Sarah Peregrine; Sheng, Elisa; Imel, Zac E.; Baer, John; Atkins, David C.

    2016-01-01

    Empathy is a basic psychological process that involves the development of synchrony in dyads. It is also a foundational ingredient in specific, evidence-based behavioral treatments like motivational interviewing (MI). Ratings of therapist empathy typically rely on a gestalt, “felt sense” of therapist understanding and the presence of specific verbal behaviors like reflective listening. These ratings do not provide a direct test of psychological processes like behavioral synchrony that are theorized to be an important component of empathy in psychotherapy. To explore a new objective indicator of empathy, we hypothesized that synchrony in language style (i.e., matching how statements are phrased) between client and therapists would predict gestalt ratings of empathy over and above the contribution of reflections. We analyzed 122 MI transcripts with high and low empathy ratings based on the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity (MITI) global rating scale. Linguistic inquiry and word count was used to estimate language style synchrony (LSS) of adjacent client and therapist talk turns. High empathy sessions showed greater LSS across 11 language style categories compared to low empathy sessions (p empathy vs. low empathy sessions (d = 0.62). Regression analyses showed that LSS was predictive of empathy ratings over and above reflection counts; a 1 SD increase in LSS is associated with 2.4 times increase in the odds of a high empathy rating, controlling for therapist reflections (odds ratio = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.36, 4.24, p empathy ratings are related to synchrony in language style, over and above synchrony of content as measured by therapist reflections. Novel indicators of therapist empathy may have implications for the study of MI process as well as the training of therapists. PMID:25892166

  11. Cell synchrony techniques. I. A comparison of methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grdina, D.J.; Meistrich, M.L.; Meyn, R.E.; Johnson, T.S.; White, R.A.

    1984-01-01

    Selected cell synchrony techniques, as applied to asynchronous populations of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, have been compared. Aliquots from the same culture of exponentially growing cells were synchronized using mitotic selection, mitotic selection and hydroxyurea block, centrifugal elutriation, or an EPICS V cell sorter. Sorting of cells was achieved after staining cells with Hoechst 33258. After syncronization by the various methods the relative distribution of cells in G/sub 1/, S, or G/sub 2/ + M phases of the cell cycle was determined by flow cytometry. Fractions of synchronized cells obtained from each method were replated and allowed to progress through a second cell cycle. Mitotic selection gave rise to relatively pure and unperturbed early G/sub 1/ phase cells. While cell synchrony rapidly dispersed with time, cells progressed through the cell cycle in 12 hr. Sorting with the EPIC V on the modal G/sub 1/ peak yielded a relatively pure but heterogeneous G/sub 1/ population (i.e. early to late G/sub 1/). Again, synchrony dispersed with time, but cell-cycle progression required 14 hr. With centrifugal elutriation, several different cell populations synchronized throughout the cell cycle could be rapidly obtained with a purity comparable to mitotic selection and cell sorting. It was concluded that, either alone or in combination with blocking agents such as hydroxyurea, elutriation and mitotic selection were both excellent methods for synchronizing CHO cells. Cell sorting exhibited limitations in sample size and time required for synchronizing CHO cells. Its major advantage would be its ability to isolate cell populations unique with respect to selected cellular parameters. 19 references, 9 figures.

  12. Integrative analysis of copy number alteration and gene expression profiling in ovarian clear cell adenocarcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sung, Chang Ohk; Choi, Chel Hun; Ko, Young-Hyeh; Ju, Hyunjeong; Choi, Yoon-La; Kim, Nyunsu; Kang, So Young; Ha, Sang Yun; Choi, Kyusam; Bae, Duk-Soo; Lee, Jeong-Won; Kim, Tae-Joong; Song, Sang Yong; Kim, Byoung-Gie

    2013-05-01

    Ovarian clear cell adenocarcinoma (Ov-CCA) is a distinctive subtype of ovarian epithelial carcinoma. In this study, we performed array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and paired gene expression microarray of 19 fresh-frozen samples and conducted integrative analysis. For the copy number alterations, significantly amplified regions (false discovery rate [FDR] q genes demonstrating frequent copy number alterations (>25% of samples) that correlated with gene expression (FDR genes were mainly located on 8p11.21, 8p21.2-p21.3, 8q22.1, 8q24.3, 17q23.2-q23.3, 19p13.3, and 19p13.11. Among the regions, 8q24.3 was found to contain the most genes (30 of 94 genes) including PTK2. The 8q24.3 region was indicated as the most significant region, as supported by copy number, GISTIC, and integrative analysis. Pathway analysis using differentially expressed genes on 8q24.3 revealed several major nodes, including PTK2. In conclusion, we identified a set of 94 candidate genes with frequent copy number alterations that correlated with gene expression. Specific chromosomal alterations, such as the 8q24.3 gain containing PTK2, could be a therapeutic target in a subset of Ov-CCAs. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  13. Accounting for sampling error when inferring population synchrony from time-series data: a Bayesian state-space modelling approach with applications.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hugues Santin-Janin

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Data collected to inform time variations in natural population size are tainted by sampling error. Ignoring sampling error in population dynamics models induces bias in parameter estimators, e.g., density-dependence. In particular, when sampling errors are independent among populations, the classical estimator of the synchrony strength (zero-lag correlation is biased downward. However, this bias is rarely taken into account in synchrony studies although it may lead to overemphasizing the role of intrinsic factors (e.g., dispersal with respect to extrinsic factors (the Moran effect in generating population synchrony as well as to underestimating the extinction risk of a metapopulation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The aim of this paper was first to illustrate the extent of the bias that can be encountered in empirical studies when sampling error is neglected. Second, we presented a space-state modelling approach that explicitly accounts for sampling error when quantifying population synchrony. Third, we exemplify our approach with datasets for which sampling variance (i has been previously estimated, and (ii has to be jointly estimated with population synchrony. Finally, we compared our results to those of a standard approach neglecting sampling variance. We showed that ignoring sampling variance can mask a synchrony pattern whatever its true value and that the common practice of averaging few replicates of population size estimates poorly performed at decreasing the bias of the classical estimator of the synchrony strength. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The state-space model used in this study provides a flexible way of accurately quantifying the strength of synchrony patterns from most population size data encountered in field studies, including over-dispersed count data. We provided a user-friendly R-program and a tutorial example to encourage further studies aiming at quantifying the strength of population synchrony to account for

  14. Time-delay-induced phase-transition to synchrony in coupled bursting neurons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adhikari, Bhim Mani; Prasad, Awadhesh; Dhamala, Mukeshwar

    2011-06-01

    Signal transmission time delays in a network of nonlinear oscillators are known to be responsible for a variety of interesting dynamic behaviors including phase-flip transitions leading to synchrony or out of synchrony. Here, we uncover that phase-flip transitions are general phenomena and can occur in a network of coupled bursting neurons with a variety of coupling types. The transitions are marked by nonlinear changes in both temporal and phase-space characteristics of the coupled system. We demonstrate these phase-transitions with Hindmarsh-Rose and Leech-Heart interneuron models and discuss the implications of these results in understanding collective dynamics of bursting neurons in the brain.

  15. Infrequent alterations of the P53 gene in rat skin cancers induced by ionising-radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, Y.; Burns, F.J.; Garte, S.J.; Hosselet, S.; New York Univ., NY

    1996-01-01

    Radiation carcinogenesis almost certainly involves multiple genetic alterations. Identification of such genetic alterations would provide information to help understand better the molecular mechanism or radiation carcinogenesis. The energy released by ionizing radiation has the potential to produce DNA strand breaks, major gene deletions or rearrangements, and other base damages. Alterations of the p53 gene, a common tumour suppressor gene altered in human cancers, were examined in radiation-induced rat skin cancers. Genomic DNA from a total of 33rat skin cancers induced by ionizing radiation was examined by Southern blot hybridization for abnormal restriction fragment patterns in the p53 gene. A abnormal p53 restriction pattern was found in one of 16 cancers induced by electron radiation and in one of nine cancers induced by neon ions. The genomic DNA from representative cancers, including the two with an abnormal restriction pattern was further examined by polymerase chain reaction amplification and direct sequencing in exons 5-8 of the p53 gene. The results showed that one restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)-positive cancer induced by electron radiation had a partial gene deletion which was defined approximately between exons 2-8, while none of the other cancers showed sequence changes. Our results indicate that the alterations in the critical binding region of the p53 gene are infrequent in rat skin cancers induced by either electron or neon ion radiation. (Author)

  16. Inferring causal genomic alterations in breast cancer using gene expression data

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background One of the primary objectives in cancer research is to identify causal genomic alterations, such as somatic copy number variation (CNV) and somatic mutations, during tumor development. Many valuable studies lack genomic data to detect CNV; therefore, methods that are able to infer CNVs from gene expression data would help maximize the value of these studies. Results We developed a framework for identifying recurrent regions of CNV and distinguishing the cancer driver genes from the passenger genes in the regions. By inferring CNV regions across many datasets we were able to identify 109 recurrent amplified/deleted CNV regions. Many of these regions are enriched for genes involved in many important processes associated with tumorigenesis and cancer progression. Genes in these recurrent CNV regions were then examined in the context of gene regulatory networks to prioritize putative cancer driver genes. The cancer driver genes uncovered by the framework include not only well-known oncogenes but also a number of novel cancer susceptibility genes validated via siRNA experiments. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first effort to systematically identify and validate drivers for expression based CNV regions in breast cancer. The framework where the wavelet analysis of copy number alteration based on expression coupled with the gene regulatory network analysis, provides a blueprint for leveraging genomic data to identify key regulatory components and gene targets. This integrative approach can be applied to many other large-scale gene expression studies and other novel types of cancer data such as next-generation sequencing based expression (RNA-Seq) as well as CNV data. PMID:21806811

  17. What Iconic Gesture Fragments Reveal about Gesture-Speech Integration: When Synchrony Is Lost, Memory Can Help

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obermeier, Christian; Holle, Henning; Gunter, Thomas C.

    2011-01-01

    The present series of experiments explores several issues related to gesture-speech integration and synchrony during sentence processing. To be able to more precisely manipulate gesture-speech synchrony, we used gesture fragments instead of complete gestures, thereby avoiding the usual long temporal overlap of gestures with their coexpressive…

  18. Dissociable effects of dopamine on neuronal firing rate and synchrony in the dorsal striatum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John M Burkhardt

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies showed that dopamine depletion leads to both changes in firing rate and in neuronal synchrony in the basal ganglia. Since dopamine D1 and D2 receptors are preferentially expressed in striatonigral and striatopallidal medium spiny neurons, respectively, we investigated the relative contribution of lack of D1 and/or D2-type receptor activation to the changes in striatal firing rate and synchrony observed after dopamine depletion. Similar to what was observed after dopamine depletion, co-administration of D1 and D2 antagonists to mice chronically implanted with multielectrode arrays in the striatum caused significant changes in firing rate, power of the local field potential (LFP oscillations, and synchrony measured by the entrainment of neurons to striatal local field potentials. However, although blockade of either D1 or D2 type receptors produced similarly severe akinesia, the effects on neural activity differed. Blockade of D2 receptors affected the firing rate of medium spiny neurons and the power of the LFP oscillations substantially, but it did not affect synchrony to the same extent. In contrast, D1 blockade affected synchrony dramatically, but had less substantial effects on firing rate and LFP power. Furthermore, there was no consistent relation between neurons changing firing rate and changing LFP entrainment after dopamine blockade. Our results suggest that the changes in rate and entrainment to the LFP observed in medium spiny neurons after dopamine depletion are somewhat dissociable, and that lack of D1- or D2-type receptor activation can exert independent yet interactive pathological effects during the progression of Parkinson’s disease.

  19. Measure of synchrony in the activity of intrinsic cardiac neurons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Longpré, Jean-Philippe; Salavatian, Siamak; Jacquemet, Vincent; Beaumont, Eric; Armour, J Andrew; Ardell, Jeffrey L

    2014-01-01

    Recent multielectrode array recordings in ganglionated plexi of canine atria have opened the way to the study of population dynamics of intrinsic cardiac neurons. These data provide critical insights into the role of local processing that these ganglia play in the regulation of cardiac function. Low firing rates, marked non-stationarity, interplay with the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems and artifacts generated by myocardial activity create new constraints not present in brain recordings for which almost all neuronal analysis techniques have been developed. We adapted and extended the jitter-based synchrony index (SI) to (1) provide a robust and computationally efficient tool for assessing the level and statistical significance of SI between cardiac neurons, (2) estimate the bias on SI resulting from neuronal activity possibly hidden in myocardial artifacts, (3) quantify the synchrony or anti-synchrony between neuronal activity and the phase in the cardiac and respiratory cycles. The method was validated on firing time series from a total of 98 individual neurons identified in 8 dog experiments. SI ranged from −0.14 to 0.66, with 23 pairs of neurons with SI > 0.1. The estimated bias due to artifacts was typically <1%. Strongly cardiovascular- and pulmonary-related neurons (SI > 0.5) were found. Results support the use of jitter-based SI in the context of intrinsic cardiac neurons. (paper)

  20. Collective Efficacy in Sports and Physical Activities: Perceived Emotional Synchrony and Shared Flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zumeta, Larraitz N.; Oriol, Xavier; Telletxea, Saioa; Amutio, Alberto; Basabe, Nekane

    2016-01-01

    This cross-sectional study analyzes the relationship between collective efficacy and two psychosocial processes involved in collective sport-physical activities. It argues that in-group identification and fusion with the group will affect collective efficacy (CE). A sample of 276 university students answered different scales regarding their participation in collective physical and sport activities. Multiple-mediation analyses showed that shared flow and perceived emotional synchrony mediate the relationship between in-group identification and CE, whereas the relationship between identity fusion and CE was only mediated by perceived emotional synchrony. Results suggest that both psychosocial processes explain the positive effects of in-group identification and identity fusion with the group in collective efficacy. Specifically, the role of perceived emotional synchrony in explaining the positive effects of participation in collective sport-physical activities is underlined. In sum, this study highlights the utility of collective actions and social identities to explain the psychosocial processes related to collective efficacy in physical and sports activities. Finally, practical implications are discussed. PMID:26779077

  1. Genetic and epigenetic alteration among three homoeologous genes of a class E MADS box gene in hexaploid wheat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shitsukawa, Naoki; Tahira, Chikako; Kassai, Ken-Ichiro; Hirabayashi, Chizuru; Shimizu, Tomoaki; Takumi, Shigeo; Mochida, Keiichi; Kawaura, Kanako; Ogihara, Yasunari; Murai, Koji

    2007-06-01

    Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a hexaploid species with A, B, and D ancestral genomes. Most bread wheat genes are present in the genome as triplicated homoeologous genes (homoeologs) derived from the ancestral species. Here, we report that both genetic and epigenetic alterations have occurred in the homoeologs of a wheat class E MADS box gene. Two class E genes are identified in wheat, wheat SEPALLATA (WSEP) and wheat LEAFY HULL STERILE1 (WLHS1), which are homologs of Os MADS45 and Os MADS1 in rice (Oryza sativa), respectively. The three wheat homoeologs of WSEP showed similar genomic structures and expression profiles. By contrast, the three homoeologs of WLHS1 showed genetic and epigenetic alterations. The A genome WLHS1 homoeolog (WLHS1-A) had a structural alteration that contained a large novel sequence in place of the K domain sequence. A yeast two-hybrid analysis and a transgenic experiment indicated that the WLHS1-A protein had no apparent function. The B and D genome homoeologs, WLHS1-B and WLHS1-D, respectively, had an intact MADS box gene structure, but WLHS1-B was predominantly silenced by cytosine methylation. Consequently, of the three WLHS1 homoeologs, only WLHS1-D functions in hexaploid wheat. This is a situation where three homoeologs are differentially regulated by genetic and epigenetic mechanisms.

  2. Concerning RNA-guided gene drives for the alteration of wild populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esvelt, Kevin M; Smidler, Andrea L; Catteruccia, Flaminia; Church, George M

    2014-07-17

    Gene drives may be capable of addressing ecological problems by altering entire populations of wild organisms, but their use has remained largely theoretical due to technical constraints. Here we consider the potential for RNA-guided gene drives based on the CRISPR nuclease Cas9 to serve as a general method for spreading altered traits through wild populations over many generations. We detail likely capabilities, discuss limitations, and provide novel precautionary strategies to control the spread of gene drives and reverse genomic changes. The ability to edit populations of sexual species would offer substantial benefits to humanity and the environment. For example, RNA-guided gene drives could potentially prevent the spread of disease, support agriculture by reversing pesticide and herbicide resistance in insects and weeds, and control damaging invasive species. However, the possibility of unwanted ecological effects and near-certainty of spread across political borders demand careful assessment of each potential application. We call for thoughtful, inclusive, and well-informed public discussions to explore the responsible use of this currently theoretical technology.

  3. Quality level of a treatment by Cyberknife with Synchrony; Niveau de qualite d'un traitement par le CyberKnife avec Synchrony

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khawaja, M.S.A.; Noel, A. [CRAN UMR 7039, CNRS, 54 - Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy (France); Centre Alexis-Vautrin, 54 - Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy (France); Nancy-1 Univ., 54 (France); Marchesi, V. [Centre Alexis-Vautrin, 54 - Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy (France); Wolf, D. [INPL CRAN UMR 7039, CNRS, 54 - Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy (France)

    2009-10-15

    The Cyberknife and its Synchrony associated subsystem represent a very reliable mean to treat the tumors of soft tissues moving with respiration. It allows to guarantee a high quality of treatment because of sub-millimetric accuracy whatever be the complexity degree of the patient respiration cycle. (N.C.)

  4. Neuromolecular Imaging Shows Temporal Synchrony Patterns between Serotonin and Movement within Neuronal Motor Circuits in the Brain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia A. Broderick

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The present discourse links the electrical and chemical properties of the brain with neurotransmitters and movement behaviors to further elucidate strategies to diagnose and treat brain disease. Neuromolecular imaging (NMI, based on electrochemical principles, is used to detect serotonin in nerve terminals (dorsal and ventral striata and somatodendrites (ventral tegmentum of reward/motor mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal brain circuits. Neuronal release of serotonin is detected at the same time and in the same animal, freely moving and unrestrained, while open-field behaviors are monitored via infrared photobeams. The purpose is to emphasize the unique ability of NMI and the BRODERICK PROBE® biosensors to empirically image a pattern of temporal synchrony, previously reported, for example, in Aplysia using central pattern generators (CPGs, serotonin and cerebral peptide-2. Temporal synchrony is reviewed within the context of the literature on central pattern generators, neurotransmitters and movement disorders. Specifically, temporal synchrony data are derived from studies on psychostimulant behavior with and without cocaine while at the same time and continuously, serotonin release in motor neurons within basal ganglia, is detected. The results show that temporal synchrony between the neurotransmitter, serotonin and natural movement occurs when the brain is NOT injured via, e.g., trauma, addictive drugs or psychiatric illness. In striking contrast, in the case of serotonin and cocaine-induced psychostimulant behavior, a different form of synchrony and also asynchrony can occur. Thus, the known dysfunctional movement behavior produced by cocaine may well be related to the loss of temporal synchrony, the loss of the ability to match serotonin in brain with motor activity. The empirical study of temporal synchrony patterns in humans and animals may be more relevant to the dynamics of motor circuits and movement behaviors than are studies of

  5. Neuromolecular Imaging Shows Temporal Synchrony Patterns between Serotonin and Movement within Neuronal Motor Circuits in the Brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broderick, Patricia A

    2013-06-21

    The present discourse links the electrical and chemical properties of the brain with neurotransmitters and movement behaviors to further elucidate strategies to diagnose and treat brain disease. Neuromolecular imaging (NMI), based on electrochemical principles, is used to detect serotonin in nerve terminals (dorsal and ventral striata) and somatodendrites (ventral tegmentum) of reward/motor mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal brain circuits. Neuronal release of serotonin is detected at the same time and in the same animal, freely moving and unrestrained, while open-field behaviors are monitored via infrared photobeams. The purpose is to emphasize the unique ability of NMI and the BRODERICK PROBE® biosensors to empirically image a pattern of temporal synchrony, previously reported, for example, in Aplysia using central pattern generators (CPGs), serotonin and cerebral peptide-2. Temporal synchrony is reviewed within the context of the literature on central pattern generators, neurotransmitters and movement disorders. Specifically, temporal synchrony data are derived from studies on psychostimulant behavior with and without cocaine while at the same time and continuously, serotonin release in motor neurons within basal ganglia, is detected. The results show that temporal synchrony between the neurotransmitter, serotonin and natural movement occurs when the brain is NOT injured via, e.g., trauma, addictive drugs or psychiatric illness. In striking contrast, in the case of serotonin and cocaine-induced psychostimulant behavior, a different form of synchrony and also asynchrony can occur. Thus, the known dysfunctional movement behavior produced by cocaine may well be related to the loss of temporal synchrony, the loss of the ability to match serotonin in brain with motor activity. The empirical study of temporal synchrony patterns in humans and animals may be more relevant to the dynamics of motor circuits and movement behaviors than are studies of static parameters

  6. Altered gene-expression profile in rat plasma and promoted body ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Altered gene-expression profile in rat plasma and promoted body and brain development ... The study was aimed to explore how the prenatal EE impacts affect the ... positively promote the body and nervous system development of offspring, ...

  7. Methamphetamine and HIV-Tat alter murine cardiac DNA methylation and gene expression

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koczor, Christopher A., E-mail: ckoczor@emory.edu; Fields, Earl; Jedrzejczak, Mark J.; Jiao, Zhe; Ludaway, Tomika; Russ, Rodney; Shang, Joan; Torres, Rebecca A.; Lewis, William

    2015-11-01

    This study addresses the individual and combined effects of HIV-1 and methamphetamine (N-methyl-1-phenylpropan-2-amine, METH) on cardiac dysfunction in a transgenic mouse model of HIV/AIDS. METH is abused epidemically and is frequently associated with acquisition of HIV-1 infection or AIDS. We employed microarrays to identify mRNA differences in cardiac left ventricle (LV) gene expression following METH administration (10 d, 3 mg/kg/d, subcutaneously) in C57Bl/6 wild-type littermates (WT) and Tat-expressing transgenic (TG) mice. Arrays identified 880 differentially expressed genes (expression fold change > 1.5, p < 0.05) following METH exposure, Tat expression, or both. Using pathway enrichment analysis, mRNAs encoding polypeptides for calcium signaling and contractility were altered in the LV samples. Correlative DNA methylation analysis revealed significant LV DNA methylation changes following METH exposure and Tat expression. By combining these data sets, 38 gene promoters (27 related to METH, 11 related to Tat) exhibited differences by both methods of analysis. Among those, only the promoter for CACNA1C that encodes L-type calcium channel Cav1.2 displayed DNA methylation changes concordant with its gene expression change. Quantitative PCR verified that Cav1.2 LV mRNA abundance doubled following METH. Correlative immunoblots specific for Cav1.2 revealed a 3.5-fold increase in protein abundance in METH LVs. Data implicate Cav1.2 in calcium dysregulation and hypercontractility in the murine LV exposed to METH. They suggest a pathogenetic role for METH exposure to promote LV dysfunction that outweighs Tat-induced effects. - Highlights: • HIV-1 Tat and methamphetamine (METH) alter cardiac gene expression and epigenetics. • METH impacts gene expression or epigenetics more significantly than Tat expression. • METH alters cardiac mitochondrial function and calcium signaling independent of Tat. • METH alters DNA methylation, expression, and protein abundance of

  8. Methamphetamine and HIV-Tat alter murine cardiac DNA methylation and gene expression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koczor, Christopher A.; Fields, Earl; Jedrzejczak, Mark J.; Jiao, Zhe; Ludaway, Tomika; Russ, Rodney; Shang, Joan; Torres, Rebecca A.; Lewis, William

    2015-01-01

    This study addresses the individual and combined effects of HIV-1 and methamphetamine (N-methyl-1-phenylpropan-2-amine, METH) on cardiac dysfunction in a transgenic mouse model of HIV/AIDS. METH is abused epidemically and is frequently associated with acquisition of HIV-1 infection or AIDS. We employed microarrays to identify mRNA differences in cardiac left ventricle (LV) gene expression following METH administration (10 d, 3 mg/kg/d, subcutaneously) in C57Bl/6 wild-type littermates (WT) and Tat-expressing transgenic (TG) mice. Arrays identified 880 differentially expressed genes (expression fold change > 1.5, p < 0.05) following METH exposure, Tat expression, or both. Using pathway enrichment analysis, mRNAs encoding polypeptides for calcium signaling and contractility were altered in the LV samples. Correlative DNA methylation analysis revealed significant LV DNA methylation changes following METH exposure and Tat expression. By combining these data sets, 38 gene promoters (27 related to METH, 11 related to Tat) exhibited differences by both methods of analysis. Among those, only the promoter for CACNA1C that encodes L-type calcium channel Cav1.2 displayed DNA methylation changes concordant with its gene expression change. Quantitative PCR verified that Cav1.2 LV mRNA abundance doubled following METH. Correlative immunoblots specific for Cav1.2 revealed a 3.5-fold increase in protein abundance in METH LVs. Data implicate Cav1.2 in calcium dysregulation and hypercontractility in the murine LV exposed to METH. They suggest a pathogenetic role for METH exposure to promote LV dysfunction that outweighs Tat-induced effects. - Highlights: • HIV-1 Tat and methamphetamine (METH) alter cardiac gene expression and epigenetics. • METH impacts gene expression or epigenetics more significantly than Tat expression. • METH alters cardiac mitochondrial function and calcium signaling independent of Tat. • METH alters DNA methylation, expression, and protein abundance of

  9. Spaceflight induces both transient and heritable alterations in DNA methylation and gene expression in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ou Xiufang [Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetic of MOE and Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China); Long Likun [Inspection and Quarantine Technology Centre of Zhongshan Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Zhongshan 528400, Guangdong Province (China); Zhang Yunhong; Xue Yiqun; Liu Jingchun; Lin Xiuyun [Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetic of MOE and Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China); Liu Bao [Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetic of MOE and Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024 (China)], E-mail: baoliu6677@yahoo.com.cn

    2009-03-09

    Spaceflight represents a complex environmental condition in which several interacting factors such as cosmic radiation, microgravity and space magnetic fields are involved, which may provoke stress responses and jeopardize genome integrity. Given the inherent property of epigenetic modifications to respond to intrinsic as well as external perturbations, it is conceivable that epigenetic markers like DNA methylation may undergo alterations in response to spaceflight. We report here that extensive alteration in both DNA methylation and gene expression occurred in rice plants subjected to a spaceflight, as revealed by a set of characterized sequences including 6 transposable elements (TEs) and 11 cellular genes. We found that several features characterize the alterations: (1) All detected alterations are hypermethylation events; (2) whereas alteration in both CG and CNG methylation occurred in the TEs, only alteration in CNG methylation occurred in the cellular genes; (3) alteration in expression includes both up- and down-regulations, which did not show a general correlation with alteration in methylation; (4) altered methylation patterns in both TEs and cellular genes are heritable to progenies at variable frequencies; however, stochastic reversion to wild-type patterns and further de novo changes in progenies are also apparent; and (5) the altered expression states in both TEs and cellular genes are also heritable to selfed progenies but with markedly lower transmission frequencies than altered DNA methylation states. Furthermore, we found that a set of genes encoding for the various putative DNA methyltransferases, 5-methylcytosine DNA glycosylases, the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeller (DDM1) and siRNA-related proteins are extremely sensitive to perturbation by spaceflight, which might be an underlying cause for the altered methylation patterns in the space-flown plants. We discuss implications of spaceflight-induced epigenetic variations with regard to health safety

  10. Spaceflight induces both transient and heritable alterations in DNA methylation and gene expression in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ou Xiufang; Long Likun; Zhang Yunhong; Xue Yiqun; Liu Jingchun; Lin Xiuyun; Liu Bao

    2009-01-01

    Spaceflight represents a complex environmental condition in which several interacting factors such as cosmic radiation, microgravity and space magnetic fields are involved, which may provoke stress responses and jeopardize genome integrity. Given the inherent property of epigenetic modifications to respond to intrinsic as well as external perturbations, it is conceivable that epigenetic markers like DNA methylation may undergo alterations in response to spaceflight. We report here that extensive alteration in both DNA methylation and gene expression occurred in rice plants subjected to a spaceflight, as revealed by a set of characterized sequences including 6 transposable elements (TEs) and 11 cellular genes. We found that several features characterize the alterations: (1) All detected alterations are hypermethylation events; (2) whereas alteration in both CG and CNG methylation occurred in the TEs, only alteration in CNG methylation occurred in the cellular genes; (3) alteration in expression includes both up- and down-regulations, which did not show a general correlation with alteration in methylation; (4) altered methylation patterns in both TEs and cellular genes are heritable to progenies at variable frequencies; however, stochastic reversion to wild-type patterns and further de novo changes in progenies are also apparent; and (5) the altered expression states in both TEs and cellular genes are also heritable to selfed progenies but with markedly lower transmission frequencies than altered DNA methylation states. Furthermore, we found that a set of genes encoding for the various putative DNA methyltransferases, 5-methylcytosine DNA glycosylases, the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeller (DDM1) and siRNA-related proteins are extremely sensitive to perturbation by spaceflight, which might be an underlying cause for the altered methylation patterns in the space-flown plants. We discuss implications of spaceflight-induced epigenetic variations with regard to health safety

  11. Gene expression alterations associated with outcome in aromatase inhibitor-treated ER+ early-stage breast cancer patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gravgaard Thomsen, Karina Hedelund; Lyng, Maria Bibi; Elias, Daniel

    2015-01-01

    predictive of outcome of ER+ breast cancer patients treated with AIs are needed. Global gene expression analysis was performed on ER+ primary breast cancers from patients treated with adjuvant AI monotherapy; half experienced recurrence (median follow-up 6.7 years). Gene expression alterations were validated...... by qRT-PCR, and functional studies evaluating the effect of siRNA-mediated gene knockdown on cell growth were performed. Twenty-six genes, including TFF3, DACH1, RGS5, and GHR, were shown to exhibit altered expression in tumors from patients with recurrence versus non-recurrent (fold change ≥1.5, p ....05), and the gene expression alterations were confirmed using qRT-PCR. Ten of these 26 genes could be linked in a network associated with cellular proliferation, growth, and development. TFF3, which encodes for trefoil factor 3 and is an estrogen-responsive oncogene shown to play a functional role in tamoxifen...

  12. Alterations of the TP53 Gene in Gastric and Esophageal Carcinogenesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marilanda Ferreira Bellini

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available TP53 genes is one of more important tumor suppressor gene, which acts as a potent transcription factor with fundamental role in the maintenance of genetic stability. The development of esophageal and gastric cancers is a multistep process resulting in successive accumulation of genetic alterations that culminates in the malignant transformation. Thus, this study highlights the participation of the main genetic alterations of the TP53 gene in esophageal and gastric carcinogenesis. Among these changes, high frequency of TP53 mutations, loss of heterozygosity (LOH, overexpression of the p53 protein, and consequently loss of p53 function, which would be early events in esophageal and gastric cancers, as well as an important biomarker of the prognosis and treatment response. Furthermore, Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs of TP53 have been implicated in the development and prognosis of several cancers, mainly TP53 codon 72 polymorphism whose role has been extensively studied in relation to susceptibility for esophageal and gastric cancer development.

  13. Collective efficacy in sports and physical activities: perceived emotional synchrony and shared flow

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Larraitz Nerea Zumeta

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This cross-sectional study analyzes the relationship between collective efficacy and two psychosocial processes involved in collective sport-physical activities. It argues that in-group identification and fusion with the group will affect collective efficacy (CE. A sample of 276 university students answered different scales regarding their participation in collective physical and sport activities. Multiple-mediation analyses showed that shared flow and perceived emotional synchrony mediate the relationship between in-group identification and CE, whereas the relationship between identity fusion and CE was only mediated by perceived emotional synchrony. Results suggest that both psychosocial processes explain the positive effects of in-group identification and identity fusion with the group in collective efficacy. Especially, the role of perceived emotional synchrony in explaining the positive effects of participation in collective sport-physical activities is underlined. In sum, this study remarks the utility of collective actions and social identities to explain the psychosocial processes related to collective efficacy in physical and sports activities. Finally, practical implications are discussed.

  14. Characteristics of nobiletin-mediated alteration of gene expression in cultured cell lines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nemoto, Kiyomitsu, E-mail: nemoto@u-shizuoka-ken.ac.jp [Department of Molecular Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526 (Japan); Ikeda, Ayaka; Yoshida, Chiaki; Kimura, Junko; Mori, Junki [Department of Molecular Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526 (Japan); Fujiwara, Hironori [Department of Anti-Dementia Functional Food Development, Research Center of Supercritical Fluid Technology, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-7 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8579 (Japan); Yokosuka, Akihito; Mimaki, Yoshihiro [Department of Medicinal Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, 1432-1 Horinouchi, Hachioji 192-0392 (Japan); Ohizumi, Yasushi [Department of Molecular Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526 (Japan); Department of Anti-Dementia Functional Food Development, Research Center of Supercritical Fluid Technology, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-7 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8579 (Japan); Laboratory of Kampo Medicines, Yokohama College of Pharmacy, 601 Matano-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama 245-0066 (Japan); Degawa, Masakuni [Department of Molecular Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526 (Japan)

    2013-02-15

    Highlights: ► Nobiletin-mediated alterations of gene expression were examined with DNA microarrays. ► Three organ-derived cell lines were treated with 100 μM nobiletin for 24 h. ► In all cell lines, 3 endoplasmic reticulum stress-responsive genes were up-regulated. ► Some cell cycle-regulating and oxidative stress-promoting genes were down-regulated. ► These alterations may contribute to nobiletin-mediated biological effects. -- Abstract: Nobiletin, a polymethoxylated flavonoid that is highly contained in the peels of citrus fruits, exerts a wide variety of beneficial effects, including anti-proliferative effects in cancer cells, repressive effects in hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia, and ameliorative effects in dementia at in vitro and in vivo levels. In the present study, to further understand the mechanisms of these actions of nobiletin, the nobiletin-mediated alterations of gene expression in three organ-derived cell lines – 3Y1 rat fibroblasts, HuH-7 human hepatocarcinoma cells, and SK-N-SH human neuroblastoma cells – were first examined with DNA microarrays. In all three cell lines, treatments with nobiletin (100 μM) for 24 h resulted in more than 200% increases in the expression levels of five genes, including the endoplasmic reticulum stress-responsive genes Ddit3, Trib3, and Asns, and in less than 50% decreases in the expression levels of seven genes, including the cell cycle-regulating genes Ccna2, Ccne2, and E2f8 and the oxidative stress-promoting gene Txnip. It was also confirmed that in each nobiletin-treated cell line, the levels of the DDIT3 (DNA-damage-inducible transcript 3, also known as CHOP and GADD153) and ASNS (asparagine synthetase) proteins were increased, while the level of the TXNIP (thioredoxin-interacting protein, also known as VDUP1 and TBP-2) protein was decreased. All these findings suggest that nobiletin exerts a wide variety of biological effects, at least partly, through induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress and

  15. Statistical detection of EEG synchrony using empirical bayesian inference.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Archana K Singh

    Full Text Available There is growing interest in understanding how the brain utilizes synchronized oscillatory activity to integrate information across functionally connected regions. Computing phase-locking values (PLV between EEG signals is a popular method for quantifying such synchronizations and elucidating their role in cognitive tasks. However, high-dimensionality in PLV data incurs a serious multiple testing problem. Standard multiple testing methods in neuroimaging research (e.g., false discovery rate, FDR suffer severe loss of power, because they fail to exploit complex dependence structure between hypotheses that vary in spectral, temporal and spatial dimension. Previously, we showed that a hierarchical FDR and optimal discovery procedures could be effectively applied for PLV analysis to provide better power than FDR. In this article, we revisit the multiple comparison problem from a new Empirical Bayes perspective and propose the application of the local FDR method (locFDR; Efron, 2001 for PLV synchrony analysis to compute FDR as a posterior probability that an observed statistic belongs to a null hypothesis. We demonstrate the application of Efron's Empirical Bayes approach for PLV synchrony analysis for the first time. We use simulations to validate the specificity and sensitivity of locFDR and a real EEG dataset from a visual search study for experimental validation. We also compare locFDR with hierarchical FDR and optimal discovery procedures in both simulation and experimental analyses. Our simulation results showed that the locFDR can effectively control false positives without compromising on the power of PLV synchrony inference. Our results from the application locFDR on experiment data detected more significant discoveries than our previously proposed methods whereas the standard FDR method failed to detect any significant discoveries.

  16. Statistical detection of EEG synchrony using empirical bayesian inference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Archana K; Asoh, Hideki; Takeda, Yuji; Phillips, Steven

    2015-01-01

    There is growing interest in understanding how the brain utilizes synchronized oscillatory activity to integrate information across functionally connected regions. Computing phase-locking values (PLV) between EEG signals is a popular method for quantifying such synchronizations and elucidating their role in cognitive tasks. However, high-dimensionality in PLV data incurs a serious multiple testing problem. Standard multiple testing methods in neuroimaging research (e.g., false discovery rate, FDR) suffer severe loss of power, because they fail to exploit complex dependence structure between hypotheses that vary in spectral, temporal and spatial dimension. Previously, we showed that a hierarchical FDR and optimal discovery procedures could be effectively applied for PLV analysis to provide better power than FDR. In this article, we revisit the multiple comparison problem from a new Empirical Bayes perspective and propose the application of the local FDR method (locFDR; Efron, 2001) for PLV synchrony analysis to compute FDR as a posterior probability that an observed statistic belongs to a null hypothesis. We demonstrate the application of Efron's Empirical Bayes approach for PLV synchrony analysis for the first time. We use simulations to validate the specificity and sensitivity of locFDR and a real EEG dataset from a visual search study for experimental validation. We also compare locFDR with hierarchical FDR and optimal discovery procedures in both simulation and experimental analyses. Our simulation results showed that the locFDR can effectively control false positives without compromising on the power of PLV synchrony inference. Our results from the application locFDR on experiment data detected more significant discoveries than our previously proposed methods whereas the standard FDR method failed to detect any significant discoveries.

  17. Prior Knowledge Facilitates Mutual Gaze Convergence and Head Nodding Synchrony in Face-to-face Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thepsoonthorn, C; Yokozuka, T; Miura, S; Ogawa, K; Miyake, Y

    2016-12-02

    As prior knowledge is claimed to be an essential key to achieve effective education, we are interested in exploring whether prior knowledge enhances communication effectiveness. To demonstrate the effects of prior knowledge, mutual gaze convergence and head nodding synchrony are observed as indicators of communication effectiveness. We conducted an experiment on lecture task between lecturer and student under 2 conditions: prior knowledge and non-prior knowledge. The students in prior knowledge condition were provided the basic information about the lecture content and were assessed their understanding by the experimenter before starting the lecture while the students in non-prior knowledge had none. The result shows that the interaction in prior knowledge condition establishes significantly higher mutual gaze convergence (t(15.03) = 6.72, p < 0.0001; α = 0.05, n = 20) and head nodding synchrony (t(16.67) = 1.83, p = 0.04; α = 0.05, n = 19) compared to non-prior knowledge condition. This study reveals that prior knowledge facilitates mutual gaze convergence and head nodding synchrony. Furthermore, the interaction with and without prior knowledge can be evaluated by measuring or observing mutual gaze convergence and head nodding synchrony.

  18. Naturalistic music and dance: Cortical phase synchrony in musicians and dancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poikonen, Hanna; Toiviainen, Petri; Tervaniemi, Mari

    2018-01-01

    Expertise in music has been investigated for decades and the results have been applied not only in composition, performance and music education, but also in understanding brain plasticity in a larger context. Several studies have revealed a strong connection between auditory and motor processes and listening to and performing music, and music imagination. Recently, as a logical next step in music and movement, the cognitive and affective neurosciences have been directed towards expertise in dance. To understand the versatile and overlapping processes during artistic stimuli, such as music and dance, it is necessary to study them with continuous naturalistic stimuli. Thus, we used long excerpts from the contemporary dance piece Carmen presented with and without music to professional dancers, musicians, and laymen in an EEG laboratory. We were interested in the cortical phase synchrony within each participant group over several frequency bands during uni- and multimodal processing. Dancers had strengthened theta and gamma synchrony during music relative to silence and silent dance, whereas the presence of music decreased systematically the alpha and beta synchrony in musicians. Laymen were the only group of participants with significant results related to dance. Future studies are required to understand whether these results are related to some other factor (such as familiarity to the stimuli), or if our results reveal a new point of view to dance observation and expertise.

  19. Naturalistic music and dance: Cortical phase synchrony in musicians and dancers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toiviainen, Petri; Tervaniemi, Mari

    2018-01-01

    Expertise in music has been investigated for decades and the results have been applied not only in composition, performance and music education, but also in understanding brain plasticity in a larger context. Several studies have revealed a strong connection between auditory and motor processes and listening to and performing music, and music imagination. Recently, as a logical next step in music and movement, the cognitive and affective neurosciences have been directed towards expertise in dance. To understand the versatile and overlapping processes during artistic stimuli, such as music and dance, it is necessary to study them with continuous naturalistic stimuli. Thus, we used long excerpts from the contemporary dance piece Carmen presented with and without music to professional dancers, musicians, and laymen in an EEG laboratory. We were interested in the cortical phase synchrony within each participant group over several frequency bands during uni- and multimodal processing. Dancers had strengthened theta and gamma synchrony during music relative to silence and silent dance, whereas the presence of music decreased systematically the alpha and beta synchrony in musicians. Laymen were the only group of participants with significant results related to dance. Future studies are required to understand whether these results are related to some other factor (such as familiarity to the stimuli), or if our results reveal a new point of view to dance observation and expertise. PMID:29672597

  20. Mechanisms of social synchrony between circadian activity rhythms in cohabiting marmosets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bessa, Zoélia Camila Moura; Melo, Paula Rocha De; Gonçalves, Bruno S B; Azevedo, Carolina V M De

    2018-01-26

    In marmosets, social synchrony between circadian profiles of activity is stronger in animals that cohabit in a family. The activity of three breeding pairs was recorded by actiwatches to investigate the mechanisms involved in the synchrony between the circadian activity profiles during cohabitation in marmoset reproductive pairs. The dyads were submitted to LD 12:12 (21 days) and LL: 1) cohabitation (24 days), 2) removal of the cage mate (20 days), 3) reintroduction of the mate into the cage of the 1 st situation (30 days) and 4) removal of the cage mate (7 days). Next, they were rejoined and maintained in LD 12:12 (11 days). In conditions involving cohabitation of pair, the general and maximum correlation indexes between circadian profiles were higher in cage mates compared to animals of the same or different sex with which they maintain only acoustic and olfactive contact. This strong synchrony between rhythms was accompanied by a stable phase relationship at the activity onset and offset, with identical circadian periods between mates. When the pairs were separated, there was a break in stability in the phase relationships between activity profiles with different circadian periods and a greater phase angle difference between rhythms of cage mates. During separation, two females and one male progressively anticipated the activity onset and offset in a phase similar to that in previous conditions, expressing entrainment to the mate. During the first reintroduction, two pairs exhibited signs of masking in rhythm. Although modulation in the rhythm of some animals has been observed through acoustic cues from animals outside the colony, we suggest that cohabitation favors strong synchrony between the circadian activity profiles of marmoset reproductive pairs involving synchronization by entrainment and masking. Further studies in the absence of external social cues are necessary to clarify the role of these mechanisms on social synchronization in marmosets.

  1. Synchrony detection and amplification by silicon neurons with STDP synapses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bofill-i-petit, Adria; Murray, Alan F

    2004-09-01

    Spike-timing dependent synaptic plasticity (STDP) is a form of plasticity driven by precise spike-timing differences between presynaptic and postsynaptic spikes. Thus, the learning rules underlying STDP are suitable for learning neuronal temporal phenomena such as spike-timing synchrony. It is well known that weight-independent STDP creates unstable learning processes resulting in balanced bimodal weight distributions. In this paper, we present a neuromorphic analog very large scale integration (VLSI) circuit that contains a feedforward network of silicon neurons with STDP synapses. The learning rule implemented can be tuned to have a moderate level of weight dependence. This helps stabilise the learning process and still generates binary weight distributions. From on-chip learning experiments we show that the chip can detect and amplify hierarchical spike-timing synchrony structures embedded in noisy spike trains. The weight distributions of the network emerging from learning are bimodal.

  2. Effects of flowering phenology and synchrony on the reproductive success of a long-flowering shrub

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Pérez, Javier; Traveset, Anna

    2016-01-01

    Flowering phenology and synchrony with biotic and abiotic resources are crucial traits determining the reproductive success in insect-pollinated plants. In seasonal climates, plants flowering for long periods should assure reproductive success when resources are more predictable. In this work, we evaluated the relationship between flowering phenology and synchrony and reproductive success in Hypericum balearicum, a shrub flowering all year round but mainly during spring and summer. We studied two contrasting localities (differing mostly in rainfall) during 3 years, and at different biological scales spanning from localities to individual flowers and fruits. We first monitored (monthly) flowering phenology and reproductive success (fruit and seed set) of plants, and assessed whether in the locality with higher rainfall plants had longer flowering phenology and synchrony and relatively higher reproductive success within or outside the flowering peak. Secondly, we censused pollinators on H. balearicum individuals and measured reproductive success along the flowering peak of each locality to test for an association between (i) richness and abundance of pollinators and (ii) fruit and seed set, and seed weight. We found that most flowers (∼90 %) and the highest fruit set (∼70 %) were produced during the flowering peak of each locality. Contrary to expectations, plants in the locality with lower rainfall showed more relaxed flowering phenology and synchrony and set more fruits outside the flowering peak. During the flowering peak of each locality, the reproductive success of early-flowering individuals depended on a combination of both pollinator richness and abundance and rainfall; by contrast, reproductive success of late-flowering individuals was most dependent on rainfall. Plant species flowering for long periods in seasonal climates, thus, appear to be ideal organisms to understand how flowering phenology and synchrony match with biotic and abiotic resources, and

  3. In Sync and in Control: A Meta-Analysis of Parent-Child Positive Behavioral Synchrony and Youth Self-Regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Molly; Bilms, Joanie; Suveg, Cynthia

    2017-12-01

    A growing body of research has highlighted the connection between parent-child positive behavioral synchrony and youth self-regulation; however, this association has yet to be the focus of a meta-analytic review. Therefore, the present meta-analysis aimed to estimate the magnitude of the relation between parent-child positive behavioral synchrony and youth self-regulation and to identify moderator variables that can explain the variability in the degree of this association across the extant literature. A thorough literature search of two major databases, in addition to scanning the reference sections of relevant articles, yielded a total of 10 peer-reviewed articles (24 effect sizes, 658 children) that were eligible for inclusion in the current meta-analysis. Results from the overall mean effect size calculation using a random-effects model indicated that parent-child positive behavioral synchrony was significantly, positively correlated with youth self-regulation and the effect size was medium. Children's ages at the time of synchrony and self-regulation measurements, as well as parent gender, served as significant moderator variables. Findings from the present meta-analysis can help to refine existing theoretical models on the role of the parent-child relationship in youth adjustment. Prevention and intervention efforts may benefit from an increased emphasis on building parent-child positive behavioral synchrony to promote youth self-regulation and thus children's overall well-being. © 2016 Family Process Institute.

  4. The Effect of Delayed Visual Feedback on Synchrony Perception in a Tapping Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirjam Keetels

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Sensory events following a motor action are, within limits, interpreted as a causal consequence of those actions. For example, the clapping of the hands is initiated by the motor system, but subsequently visual, auditory, and tactile information is provided and processed. In the present study we examine the effect of temporal disturbances in this chain of motor-sensory events. Participants are instructed to tap a surface with their finger in synchrony with a chain of 20 sound clicks (ISI 750 ms. We examined the effect of additional visual information on this ‘tap-sound’-synchronization task. During tapping, subjects will see a video of their own tapping hand on a screen in front of them. The video can either be in synchrony with the tap (real-time recording, or can be slightly delayed (∼40–160 ms. In a control condition, no video is provided. We explore whether ‘tap-sound’ synchrony will be shifted as a function of the delayed visual feedback. Results will provide fundamental insights into how the brain preserves a causal interpretation of motor actions and their sensory consequences.

  5. A Case of Hand Waving: Action Synchrony and Person Perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macrae, C. Neil; Duffy, Oonagh K.; Miles, Lynden K.; Lawrence, Julie

    2008-01-01

    While previous research has demonstrated that people's movements can become coordinated during social interaction, little is known about the cognitive consequences of behavioral synchrony. Given intimate links between the systems that regulate perception and action, we hypothesized that the synchronization of movements during a dyadic interaction…

  6. Genetic influences on phase synchrony of brain oscillations supporting response inhibition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Viktor; Anokhin, Andrey P; Lindenberger, Ulman

    2017-05-01

    Phase synchronization of neuronal oscillations is a fundamental mechanism underlying cognitive processing and behavior, including context-dependent response production and inhibition. Abnormalities in neural synchrony can lead to abnormal information processing and contribute to cognitive and behavioral deficits in neuropsychiatric disorders. However, little is known about genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences in cortical oscillatory dynamics underlying response inhibition. This study examined heritability of event-related phase synchronization of brain oscillations in 302 young female twins including 94 MZ and 57 DZ pairs performing a cued Go/No-Go version of the Continuous Performance Test (CPT). We used the Phase Locking Index (PLI) to assess inter-trial phase clustering (synchrony) in several frequency bands in two time intervals after stimulus onset (0-300 and 301-600ms). Response inhibition (i.e., successful response suppression in No-Go trials) was characterized by a transient increase in phase synchronization of delta- and theta-band oscillations in the fronto-central midline region. Genetic analysis showed significant heritability of the phase locking measures related to response inhibition, with 30 to 49% of inter-individual variability being accounted for by genetic factors. This is the first study providing evidence for heritability of task-related neural synchrony. The present results suggest that PLI can serve as an indicator of genetically transmitted individual differences in neural substrates of response inhibition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Maternal depression and anxiety, social synchrony, and infant regulation of negative and positive emotions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granat, Adi; Gadassi, Reuma; Gilboa-Schechtman, Eva; Feldman, Ruth

    2017-02-01

    Maternal postpartum depression (PPD) exerts long-term negative effects on infants; yet the mechanisms by which PPD disrupts emotional development are not fully clear. Utilizing an extreme-case design, 971 women reported symptoms of depression and anxiety following childbirth and 215 high and low on depressive symptomatology reported again at 6 months. Of these, mothers diagnosed with major depressive disorder (n = 22), anxiety disorders (n = 19), and controls (n = 59) were visited at 9 months. Mother-infant interaction was microcoded for maternal and infant's social behavior and synchrony. Infant negative and positive emotional expression and self-regulation were tested in 4 emotion-eliciting paradigms: anger with mother, anger with stranger, joy with mother, and joy with stranger. Infants of depressed mothers displayed less social gaze and more gaze aversion. Gaze and touch synchrony were lowest for depressed mothers, highest for anxious mothers, and midlevel among controls. Infants of control and anxious mothers expressed less negative affect with mother compared with stranger; however, maternal presence failed to buffer negative affect in the depressed group. Maternal depression chronicity predicted increased self-regulatory behavior during joy episodes, and touch synchrony moderated the effects of PPD on infant self-regulation. Findings describe subtle microlevel processes by which maternal depression across the postpartum year disrupts the development of infant emotion regulation and suggest that diminished social synchrony, low differentiation of attachment and nonattachment contexts, and increased self-regulation during positive moments may chart pathways for the cross-generational transfer of emotional maladjustment from depressed mothers to their infants. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. Reduction in Cortical Gamma Synchrony during Depolarized State of Slow Wave Activity in Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    EUNJIN eHWANG

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available EEG gamma band oscillations have been proposed to account for the neural synchronization crucial for perceptual integration. While increased gamma power and synchronization is generally observed during cognitive tasks performed during wake, several studies have additionally reported increased gamma power during sleep or anesthesia, raising questions about the characteristics of gamma oscillation during impaired consciousness and its role in conscious processing. Phase-amplitude modulation has been observed between slow wave activity (SWA, 0.5–4 Hz and gamma oscillations during ketamine/xylazine anesthesia or sleep, showing increased gamma activity corresponding to the depolarized (ON state of SWA. Here we divided gamma activity into its ON and OFF (hyperpolarized state components based on the phase of SWA induced by ketamine/xylazine anesthesia and compared their power and synchrony with wake state levels in mice. We further investigated the state-dependent changes in both gamma power and synchrony across primary motor and primary somatosensory cortical regions and their interconnected thalamic regions throughout anesthesia and recovery. As observed previously, gamma power was as high as during wake specifically during the ON state of SWA. However, the synchrony of this gamma activity between somatosensory-motor cortical regions was significantly reduced compared to the baseline wake state. In addition, the somatosensory-motor cortical synchrony of gamma oscillations was reduced and restored in an anesthetic state-dependent manner, reflecting the changing depth of anesthesia. Our results provide evidence that during anesthesia changes in long-range information integration between cortical regions might be more critical for changes in consciousness than changes in local gamma oscillatory power.

  9. Altered Expression of Genes Implicated in Xylan Biosynthesis Affects Penetration Resistance against Powdery Mildew.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chowdhury, Jamil; Lück, Stefanie; Rajaraman, Jeyaraman; Douchkov, Dimitar; Shirley, Neil J; Schwerdt, Julian G; Schweizer, Patrick; Fincher, Geoffrey B; Burton, Rachel A; Little, Alan

    2017-01-01

    Heteroxylan has recently been identified as an important component of papillae, which are formed during powdery mildew infection of barley leaves. Deposition of heteroxylan near the sites of attempted fungal penetration in the epidermal cell wall is believed to enhance the physical resistance to the fungal penetration peg and hence to improve pre-invasion resistance. Several glycosyltransferase (GT) families are implicated in the assembly of heteroxylan in the plant cell wall, and are likely to work together in a multi-enzyme complex. Members of key GT families reported to be involved in heteroxylan biosynthesis are up-regulated in the epidermal layer of barley leaves during powdery mildew infection. Modulation of their expression leads to altered susceptibility levels, suggesting that these genes are important for penetration resistance. The highest level of resistance was achieved when a GT43 gene was co-expressed with a GT47 candidate gene, both of which have been predicted to be involved in xylan backbone biosynthesis. Altering the expression level of several candidate heteroxylan synthesis genes can significantly alter disease susceptibility. This is predicted to occur through changes in the amount and structure of heteroxylan in barley papillae.

  10. Comparison of gene expression profiles altered by comfrey and riddelliine in rat liver.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Lei; Mei, Nan; Dial, Stacey; Fuscoe, James; Chen, Tao

    2007-11-01

    Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is a perennial plant and has been consumed by humans as a vegetable, a tea and an herbal medicine for more than 2000 years. It, however, is hepatotoxic and carcinogenic in experimental animals and hepatotoxic in humans. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) exist in many plants and many of them cause liver toxicity and/or cancer in humans and experimental animals. In our previous study, we found that the mutagenicity of comfrey was associated with the PAs contained in the plant. Therefore, we suggest that carcinogenicity of comfrey result from those PAs. To confirm our hypothesis, we compared the expression of genes and processes of biological functions that were altered by comfrey (mixture of the plant with PAs) and riddelliine (a prototype of carcinogenic PA) in rat liver for carcinogenesis in this study. Groups of 6 Big Blue Fisher 344 rats were treated with riddelliine at 1 mg/kg body weight by gavage five times a week for 12 weeks or fed a diet containing 8% comfrey root for 12 weeks. Animals were sacrificed one day after the last treatment and the livers were isolated for gene expression analysis. The gene expressions were investigated using Applied Biosystems Rat Whole Genome Survey Microarrays and the biological functions were analyzed with Ingenuity Analysis Pathway software. Although there were large differences between the significant genes and between the biological processes that were altered by comfrey and riddelliine, there were a number of common genes and function processes that were related to carcinogenesis. There was a strong correlation between the two treatments for fold-change alterations in expression of drug metabolizing and cancer-related genes. Our results suggest that the carcinogenesis-related gene expression patterns resulting from the treatments of comfrey and riddelliine are very similar, and PAs contained in comfrey are the main active components responsible for carcinogenicity of the plant.

  11. Patient-ventilator trigger dys-synchrony: a common phenomenon with important implications

    OpenAIRE

    MacIntyre, Neil

    2013-01-01

    Patient-ventilator trigger dys-synchronies are common with the use of assisted forms of mechanical ventilatory support, including non-invasive mechanical ventilatory support (NIV). Future system designs need to address this in order to improve the effectiveness of NIV.

  12. ORGANIC MATTER AND CRUDE PROTEIN DEGRADATION SYNCHRONY IN DIETS SELECTED BY RANGE GOATS.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Ramírez Orduña

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available The study was carried out with the aim to asses the synchrony of organic matter and crude protein degradation in the rumen of diets selected by range goats through two years. Five esophageal cannulated adult male goats were used to collect extrusa samples during summer (August 9–13 and autumn (November 29 –December 3 of 2006, winter (February 20 – 24, spring (April 29 –May 5, summer (September 10–15 and autumn (December 4–8 of 2007 and winter (February 20 – 25 and spring (May 9 –13 of 2008. Extrusa samples were subjected to chemical analysis to determine organic matter (OM, crude protein (CP in situ and in vitro true digestibility of dry matter. OM and CP intake were estimated by total fecal collection. Effective extent of degradation of the OM and CP was calculated hourly and total 24 hours. From the hourly quantity of OM and CP degraded, a synchrony index of CP to OM was calculated, and from the total 24 hours degradation, degraded organic matter intake and crude protein intake were also estimated. Sampling date was the main effect that determined the variation of diet OM and CP degradation parameters. Degraded crude protein intake as a proportion of degraded OM was affected by sampling date and was correlated to rainfall. During winter of the first year degraded crude protein intake was below the requirements for maintenance or to promote growth for range goats weighing 40 kg. Even though, synchrony index between OM and CP degradation was affected by sampling date goats maintained a high synchrony index throughout the years.

  13. Chronic ultraviolet exposure-induced p53 gene alterations in sencar mouse skin carcinogenesis model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tong, Ying; Smith, M.A.; Tucker, S.B.

    1997-01-01

    Alterations of the tumor suppressor gene p53 have been found in ultraviolet radiation (UVR) related human skin cancers and in UVR-induced murine skin tumors. However, links between p53 gene alterations and the stages of carcinogenesis induced by UVR have not been clearly defined. We established a chronic UVR exposure-induced Sencar mouse skin carcinogenesis model to determine the frequency of p53 gene alterations in different stages of carcinogenesis, including UV-exposed skin, papillomas, squamous-cell carcinomas (SCCs), and malignant spindle-cell tumors (SCTs). A high incidence of SCCs and SCTs were found in this model. Positive p53 nuclear staining was found in 10137 (27%) of SCCs and 12124 (50%) of SCTs, but was not detected in normal skin or papillomas. DNA was isolated from 40 paraffin-embedded normal skin, UV-exposed skin, and tumor sections. The p53 gene (exons 5 and 6) was amplified from the sections by using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Subsequent single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) assay and sequencing analysis revealed one point mutation in exon 6 (coden 193, C → A transition) from a UV-exposed skin sample, and seven point mutations in exon 5 (codens 146, 158, 150, 165, and 161, three C → T, two C → A, one C → G, and one A → T transition, respectively) from four SCTs, two SCCs and one UV-exposed skin sample. These experimental results demonstrate that alterations in the p53 gene are frequent events in chronic UV exposure-induced SCCs and later stage SCTs in Sencar mouse skin. 40 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab

  14. Clinical evaluation of R202Q alteration of MEFV genes in Turkish children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comak, Elif; Akman, Sema; Koyun, Mustafa; Dogan, Cagla Serpil; Gokceoglu, Arife Uslu; Arikan, Yunus; Keser, Ibrahim

    2014-12-01

    To date, over 200 alterations have been reported in Mediterranean fever (MEFV) genes, but it is not clear whether all these alterations are disease-causing mutations. This study aims to evaluate the clinical features of the children with R202Q alteration. The medical records of children with R202Q alteration were reviewed retrospectively. A total of 225 children, with 113 males, were included. Fifty-five patients were heterozygous, 30 patients were homozygous for R202Q, and 140 patients were compound heterozygous. Classical familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) phenotype was present in 113 patients: 2 heterozygous and 7 homozygous R202Q, 46 double homozygous R202Q and M694V, and 58 compound heterozygous. The main clinical characteristics of the patients were abdominal pain in 71.5 %, fever in 37.7 %, arthralgia/myalgia in 30.2 %, arthritis in 10.2 %, chest pain in 14.6 % and erysipelas-like erythema in 13.3 %. The frequency of abdominal pain was significantly lower in patients with homozygous R202Q alteration (p = 0.021), whereas patients with heterozygous R202Q mutations, though not statistically significant, had a higher frequency of arthralgia/myalgia (40.0 %, p = 0.05). R202Q alteration of the MEFV gene leads to symptoms consistent with FMF in some cases. This alteration may be associated with a mild phenotype and shows phenotypic differences other than the common MEFV mutations.

  15. Functioning within a relationship : Mother-infant synchrony and infant sleep

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Graag, Jolien A.; Cox, Ralf F. A.; Hasselman, Fred; Jansen, Jarno; de Weerth, Carolina

    The aim of this study was to investigate the coupling of the biological system of infant sleep and the social system of mother-infant synchrony. Before birth and shortly after birth the systems appear to be connected, but it is unclear whether this remains the case over time. This study therefore

  16. Century-scale Changes in Environmental Synchrony and Variability and their Effects on Populations of Birds and Reproduction of Trees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koenig, W.

    2016-12-01

    The ecological impacts of modern global climate change are detectable in a wide variety of phenomena ranging from shifts in species ranges to changes in community composition and human disease dynamics. Thus far, however, little attention has been given to temporal changes in environmental spatial synchrony-the coincident change in abundance or value across the landscape-or environmental variability, despite the importance of these factors as drivers of population rescue and extinction and reproductive dynamics of both animal and plant populations. We quantified spatial synchrony of widespread North American wintering birds species using Audubon Christmas Bird Counts over the past 50 years and seed set variability (mast fruiting) among trees over the past century and found that both spatial synchrony of the birds and seed set variability have significantly increased over these time periods. The first of these results was mirrored by significant increases in spatial synchrony of mean maximum air temperature across North America, primarily during the summer, while the second is consistent with the hypothesis that climate change is resulting in greater seed set variability. These findings suggest the potential for temporal changes in envioronmental synchrony and variability to be affecting a wide range of ecological phenomena by influencing the probability of population rescue and extinction and by affecting ecosystem processes that rely on the resource pulses provided by mast fruiting plants.

  17. Alteration of apoptosis-related genes in postmenopausal women with uterine prolapse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saatli, Bahadir; Kizildag, Sefa; Cagliyan, Erkan; Dogan, Erbil; Saygili, Ugur

    2014-07-01

    We aimed to compare expression levels of antiapoptotic and proapoptotic genes in parametrial and vaginal tissues from postmenopausal women with and without pelvic organ prolapse (POP). We hypothesized that the expression of genes that induce apoptosis may be altered in vaginal and parametrial tissues in postmenopausal women with POP. Samples of vaginal and parametrial tissues were obtained from postmenopausal women with (n = 10) and without (n = 10) POP who underwent vaginal or abdominal hysterectomy. Expression levels of antiapoptotic (BCL-2, BCL-XL) and proapoptotic (BAX, BAD) genes were studied by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Gene expression levels of BCL-2 (P gene expression levels of BCL-2 (p gene expression levels differed significantly between postmenopausal women with and without POP. Bcl-2 family genes were overexpressed in the parametrium of patients with POP compared with vaginal tissue, suggesting that the processes responsible for POP have a greater effect on parametrial tissue than vaginal tissue during the development of POP.

  18. Alterations of tumor suppressor genes (Rb, p16, p27 and p53) and an increased FDG uptake in lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sasaki, Masayuki; Sugio, Kenji; Kuwabara, Yasuo

    2003-01-01

    The FDG uptake in lung cancer is considered to reflect the degree of malignancy, while alterations of some tumor suppressor genes are considered to be related to the malignant biological behavior of tumors. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between FDG-PET and alterations in the tumor suppression genes of lung cancer. We examined 28 patients with primary lung cancer who underwent FDG-PET before surgery consisting of 17 patients with adenocarcinoma, 10 with squamous cell carcinoma and 1 with large cell carcinoma. The FDG-PET findings were evaluated based on the standardized uptake value (SUV). Alterations in the tumor suppressor genes, Rb, p16, p27 and p53, were evaluated immunohistochemically. The FDG uptake in lung cancer with alteration in each tumor suppressor gene tended to be higher than in those genes without alterations, although the differences were not significant. In 15 tumors with alterations in either tumor suppressor genes, the FDG uptake was 6.83±3.21. On the other hand, the mean FDG uptake was 1.95 in 2 tumors without alterations in any genes. The difference in the FDG uptake between the 2 groups was statistically significant (p<0.001). In conclusion, the presence of abnormalities in the tumor suppressor genes, which results in an accelerated cell proliferation, is thus considered to increase the FDG uptake in lung cancer. (author)

  19. Measures of spike train synchrony for data with multiple time scales

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Satuvuori, Eero; Mulansky, Mario; Bozanic, Nebojsa; Malvestio, Irene; Zeldenrust, Fleur; Lenk, Kerstin; Kreuz, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    Background Measures of spike train synchrony are widely used in both experimental and computational neuroscience. Time-scale independent and parameter-free measures, such as the ISI-distance, the SPIKE-distance and SPIKE-synchronization, are preferable to time scale parametric measures, since by

  20. REGIONAL DYNAMICS OF WETLAND-BREEDING FROGS AND TOADS: TURNOVER AND SYNCHRONY

    Science.gov (United States)

    We used data from a statewide frog monitoring network to investigate population turnover and synchrony in eight wetland-breeding species. We found that subpopulations at many sites turn over frequently, with breeding choruses absent or undetectable in most years. Frequencies of d...

  1. Mother-infant circadian rhythm: development of individual patterns and dyadic synchrony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Karen A; Burr, Robert L; Spieker, Susan; Lee, Jungeun; Chen, Jessica

    2014-12-01

    Mutual circadian rhythm is an early and essential component in the development of maternal-infant physiological synchrony. The aim of this to examine the longitudinal pattern of maternal-infant circadian rhythm and rhythm synchrony as measured by rhythm parameters. In-home dyadic actigraphy monitoring at infant age 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Forty-three healthy mother-infant pairs. Circadian parameters derived from cosinor and non-parametric analysis including mesor, magnitude, acrophase, L5 and M10 midpoints (midpoint of lowest 5 and highest 10h of activity), amplitude, interdaily stability (IS), and intradaily variability (IV). Mothers experienced early disruption of circadian rhythm, with re-establishment of rhythm over time. Significant time effects were noted in increasing maternal magnitude, amplitude, and IS and decreasing IV (pcircadian pattern with significant time effects for increasing mesor, magnitude, amplitude, L5, IS, and IV (pcircadian rhythm. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Target genes discovery through copy number alteration analysis in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, De-Leung; Chen, Yen-Hsieh; Shih, Jou-Ho; Lin, Chi-Hung; Jou, Yuh-Shan; Chen, Chian-Feng

    2013-12-21

    High-throughput short-read sequencing of exomes and whole cancer genomes in multiple human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cohorts confirmed previously identified frequently mutated somatic genes, such as TP53, CTNNB1 and AXIN1, and identified several novel genes with moderate mutation frequencies, including ARID1A, ARID2, MLL, MLL2, MLL3, MLL4, IRF2, ATM, CDKN2A, FGF19, PIK3CA, RPS6KA3, JAK1, KEAP1, NFE2L2, C16orf62, LEPR, RAC2, and IL6ST. Functional classification of these mutated genes suggested that alterations in pathways participating in chromatin remodeling, Wnt/β-catenin signaling, JAK/STAT signaling, and oxidative stress play critical roles in HCC tumorigenesis. Nevertheless, because there are few druggable genes used in HCC therapy, the identification of new therapeutic targets through integrated genomic approaches remains an important task. Because a large amount of HCC genomic data genotyped by high density single nucleotide polymorphism arrays is deposited in the public domain, copy number alteration (CNA) analyses of these arrays is a cost-effective way to reveal target genes through profiling of recurrent and overlapping amplicons, homozygous deletions and potentially unbalanced chromosomal translocations accumulated during HCC progression. Moreover, integration of CNAs with other high-throughput genomic data, such as aberrantly coding transcriptomes and non-coding gene expression in human HCC tissues and rodent HCC models, provides lines of evidence that can be used to facilitate the identification of novel HCC target genes with the potential of improving the survival of HCC patients.

  3. Hyper-Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation: Experimental Manipulation of Inter-Brain Synchrony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline Szymanski

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available We walk together, we watch together, we win together: Interpersonally coordinated actions are omnipresent in everyday life, yet the associated neural mechanisms are not well understood. Available evidence suggests that the synchronization of oscillatory activity across brains may provide a mechanism for the temporal alignment of actions between two or more individuals. In an attempt to provide a direct test of this hypothesis, we applied transcranial alternating current stimulation simultaneously to two individuals (hyper-tACS who were asked to drum in synchrony at a set pace. Thirty-eight female-female dyads performed the dyadic drumming in the course of 3 weeks under three different hyper-tACS stimulation conditions: same-phase-same-frequency; different-phase-different-frequency; sham. Based on available evidence and theoretical considerations, stimulation was applied over right frontal and parietal sites in the theta frequency range. We predicted that same-phase-same-frequency stimulation would improve interpersonal action coordination, expressed as the degree of synchrony in dyadic drumming, relative to the other two conditions. Contrary to expectations, both the same-phase-same-frequency and the different-phase-different-frequency conditions were associated with greater dyadic drumming asynchrony relative to the sham condition. No influence of hyper-tACS on behavioral performance was seen when participants were asked to drum separately in synchrony to a metronome. Individual and dyad preferred drumming tempo was also unaffected by hyper-tACS. We discuss limitations of the present version of the hyper-tACS paradigm, and suggest avenues for future research.

  4. Hyper-Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation: Experimental Manipulation of Inter-Brain Synchrony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szymanski, Caroline; Müller, Viktor; Brick, Timothy R; von Oertzen, Timo; Lindenberger, Ulman

    2017-01-01

    We walk together, we watch together, we win together: Interpersonally coordinated actions are omnipresent in everyday life, yet the associated neural mechanisms are not well understood. Available evidence suggests that the synchronization of oscillatory activity across brains may provide a mechanism for the temporal alignment of actions between two or more individuals. In an attempt to provide a direct test of this hypothesis, we applied transcranial alternating current stimulation simultaneously to two individuals (hyper-tACS) who were asked to drum in synchrony at a set pace. Thirty-eight female-female dyads performed the dyadic drumming in the course of 3 weeks under three different hyper-tACS stimulation conditions: same-phase-same-frequency; different-phase-different-frequency; sham. Based on available evidence and theoretical considerations, stimulation was applied over right frontal and parietal sites in the theta frequency range. We predicted that same-phase-same-frequency stimulation would improve interpersonal action coordination, expressed as the degree of synchrony in dyadic drumming, relative to the other two conditions. Contrary to expectations, both the same-phase-same-frequency and the different-phase-different-frequency conditions were associated with greater dyadic drumming asynchrony relative to the sham condition. No influence of hyper-tACS on behavioral performance was seen when participants were asked to drum separately in synchrony to a metronome. Individual and dyad preferred drumming tempo was also unaffected by hyper-tACS. We discuss limitations of the present version of the hyper-tACS paradigm, and suggest avenues for future research.

  5. Altered global gene expression profiles in human gastrointestinal epithelial Caco2 cells exposed to nanosilver

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saura C. Sahu

    Full Text Available Extensive consumer exposure to food- and cosmetics-related consumer products containing nanosilver is of public safety concern. Therefore, there is a need for suitable in vitro models and sensitive predictive rapid screening methods to assess their toxicity. Toxicogenomic profile showing subtle changes in gene expressions following nanosilver exposure is a sensitive toxicological endpoint for this purpose. We evaluated the Caco2 cells and global gene expression profiles as tools for predictive rapid toxicity screening of nanosilver. We evaluated and compared the gene expression profiles of Caco-2 cells exposed to 20 nm and 50 nm nanosilver at a concentration 2.5 μg/ml. The global gene expression analysis of Caco2 cells exposed to 20 nm nanosilver showed that a total of 93 genes were altered at 4 h exposure, out of which 90 genes were up-regulated and 3 genes were down-regulated. The 24 h exposure of 20 nm silver altered 15 genes in Caco2 cells, out of which 14 were up-regulated and one was down-regulated. The most pronounced changes in gene expression were detected at 4 h. The greater size (50 nm nanosilver at 4 h exposure altered more genes by more different pathways than the smaller (20 nm one. Metallothioneins and heat shock proteins were highly up-regulated as a result of exposure to both the nanosilvers. The cellular pathways affected by the nanosilver exposure is likely to lead to increased toxicity. The results of our study presented here suggest that the toxicogenomic characterization of Caco2 cells is a valuable in vitro tool for assessing toxicity of nanomaterials such as nanosilver. Keywords: Nanosilver, Silver nanoparticles, Nanoparticles, Toxicogenomics, DNA microarray, Global gene expression profiles, Caco2 cells

  6. Alteration of plant meristem function by manipulation of the Retinoblastoma-like plant RRB gene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durfee, Tim [Madison, WI; Feiler, Heidi [Albany, CA; Gruissem, Wilhelm [Forch, CH; Jenkins, Susan [Martinez, CA; Roe, Judith [Manhattan, KS; Zambryski, Patricia [Berkeley, CA

    2007-01-16

    This invention provides methods and compositions for altering the growth, organization, and differentiation of plant tissues. The invention is based on the discovery that, in plants, genetically altering the levels of Retinoblastoma-related gene (RRB) activity produces dramatic effects on the growth, proliferation, organization, and differentiation of plant meristem.

  7. Synchronous spikes are necessary but not sufficient for a synchrony code in populations of spiking neurons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grewe, Jan; Kruscha, Alexandra; Lindner, Benjamin; Benda, Jan

    2017-03-07

    Synchronous activity in populations of neurons potentially encodes special stimulus features. Selective readout of either synchronous or asynchronous activity allows formation of two streams of information processing. Theoretical work predicts that such a synchrony code is a fundamental feature of populations of spiking neurons if they operate in specific noise and stimulus regimes. Here we experimentally test the theoretical predictions by quantifying and comparing neuronal response properties in tuberous and ampullary electroreceptor afferents of the weakly electric fish Apteronotus leptorhynchus These related systems show similar levels of synchronous activity, but only in the more irregularly firing tuberous afferents a synchrony code is established, whereas in the more regularly firing ampullary afferents it is not. The mere existence of synchronous activity is thus not sufficient for a synchrony code. Single-cell features such as the irregularity of spiking and the frequency dependence of the neuron's transfer function determine whether synchronous spikes possess a distinct meaning for the encoding of time-dependent signals.

  8. JC virus induces altered patterns of cellular gene expression: Interferon-inducible genes as major transcriptional targets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verma, Saguna; Ziegler, Katja; Ananthula, Praveen; Co, Juliene K.G.; Frisque, Richard J.; Yanagihara, Richard; Nerurkar, Vivek R.

    2006-01-01

    Human polyomavirus JC (JCV) infects 80% of the population worldwide. Primary infection, typically occurring during childhood, is asymptomatic in immunocompetent individuals and results in lifelong latency and persistent infection. However, among the severely immunocompromised, JCV may cause a fatal demyelinating disease, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Virus-host interactions influencing persistence and pathogenicity are not well understood, although significant regulation of JCV activity is thought to occur at the level of transcription. Regulation of the JCV early and late promoters during the lytic cycle is a complex event that requires participation of both viral and cellular factors. We have used cDNA microarray technology to analyze global alterations in gene expression in JCV-permissive primary human fetal glial cells (PHFG). Expression of more than 400 cellular genes was altered, including many that influence cell proliferation, cell communication and interferon (IFN)-mediated host defense responses. Genes in the latter category included signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1), interferon stimulating gene 56 (ISG56), myxovirus resistance 1 (MxA), 2'5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS), and cig5. The expression of these genes was further confirmed in JCV-infected PHFG cells and the human glioblastoma cell line U87MG to ensure the specificity of JCV in inducing this strong antiviral response. Results obtained by real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analyses supported the microarray data and provide temporal information related to virus-induced changes in the IFN response pathway. Our data indicate that the induction of an antiviral response may be one of the cellular factors regulating/controlling JCV replication in immunocompetent hosts and therefore constraining the development of PML

  9. Altered gene expression in human placentas after IVF/ICSI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelissen, Ewka C M; Dumoulin, John C M; Busato, Florence; Ponger, Loïc; Eijssen, Lars M; Evers, Johannes L H; Tost, Jörg; van Montfoort, Aafke P A

    2014-12-01

    Is gene expression in placental tissue of IVF/ICSI patients altered when compared with a spontaneously conceived group, and are these alterations due to loss of imprinting (LOI) in the case of imprinted genes? An altered imprinted gene expression of H19 and Pleckstrin homology-like domain family A member 2 (PHLDA2), which was not due to LOI, was observed in human placentas after IVF/ICSI and several biological pathways were significantly overrepresented and mostly up-regulated. Genomic imprinting plays an important role in placental biology and in placental adaptive responses triggered by external stimuli. Changes in placental development and function can have dramatic effects on the fetus and its ability to cope with the intrauterine environment. An increased frequency of placenta-related problems as well as an adverse perinatal outcome is seen in IVF/ICSI derived pregnancies, but the role of placental epigenetic deregulation is not clear yet. In this prospective cohort study, a total of 115 IVF/ICSI and 138 control couples were included during pregnancy. After applying several exclusion criteria (i.e. preterm birth or stillbirth, no placental samples, pregnancy complications or birth defects), respectively, 81 and 105 placentas from IVF/ICSI and control pregnancies remained for analysis. Saliva samples were collected from both parents. We quantitatively analysed the mRNA expression of several growth-related imprinted genes [H19, insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), PHLDA2, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1C (CDKN1C), mesoderm-specific transcript homolog (MEST) isoform α and β by quantitative PCR] after standardization against three housekeeping genes [Succinate dehydrogenase A (SDHA), YWHAZ and TATA-binding protein (TBP)]. A quantitative allele-specific expression analysis of the differentially expressed imprinted genes was performed to investigate LOI, independent of the mechanism of imprinting. Furthermore, a microarray analysis was carried out (n = 10 in

  10. Identification of mechanosensitive genes during skeletal development: alteration of genes associated with cytoskeletal rearrangement and cell signalling pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rolfe, Rebecca A; Nowlan, Niamh C; Kenny, Elaine M; Cormican, Paul; Morris, Derek W; Prendergast, Patrick J; Kelly, Daniel; Murphy, Paula

    2014-01-20

    Mechanical stimulation is necessary for regulating correct formation of the skeleton. Here we test the hypothesis that mechanical stimulation of the embryonic skeletal system impacts expression levels of genes implicated in developmentally important signalling pathways in a genome wide approach. We use a mutant mouse model with altered mechanical stimulation due to the absence of limb skeletal muscle (Splotch-delayed) where muscle-less embryos show specific defects in skeletal elements including delayed ossification, changes in the size and shape of cartilage rudiments and joint fusion. We used Microarray and RNA sequencing analysis tools to identify differentially expressed genes between muscle-less and control embryonic (TS23) humerus tissue. We found that 680 independent genes were down-regulated and 452 genes up-regulated in humeri from muscle-less Spd embryos compared to littermate controls (at least 2-fold; corrected p-value ≤0.05). We analysed the resulting differentially expressed gene sets using Gene Ontology annotations to identify significant enrichment of genes associated with particular biological processes, showing that removal of mechanical stimuli from muscle contractions affected genes associated with development and differentiation, cytoskeletal architecture and cell signalling. Among cell signalling pathways, the most strongly disturbed was Wnt signalling, with 34 genes including 19 pathway target genes affected. Spatial gene expression analysis showed that both a Wnt ligand encoding gene (Wnt4) and a pathway antagonist (Sfrp2) are up-regulated specifically in the developing joint line, while the expression of a Wnt target gene, Cd44, is no longer detectable in muscle-less embryos. The identification of 84 genes associated with the cytoskeleton that are down-regulated in the absence of muscle indicates a number of candidate genes that are both mechanoresponsive and potentially involved in mechanotransduction, converting a mechanical stimulus

  11. Genetic Alterations within the DENND1A Gene in Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eriksen, Mette B; Nielsen, Michael F B; Brusgaard, Klaus

    2013-01-01

    sequencing. SNP genotyping was tested by allelic discrimination in real-time PCR in the additional patients and controls. Sequencing of the DENND1A gene identified eight SNPs; seven were not known to be associated with any diseases. One missense SNP was detected (rs189947178, A/C), potentially altering......Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disease among premenopausal women, is caused by both genes and environment. We and others previously reported association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the DENND1A gene and PCOS. We therefore sequenced the DENND1A gene...... and FG-score or PCOS diagnosis, this could be a false positive finding. In conclusion, sequence analysis of the DENND1A gene of patients with PCOS did not identify alterations that alone could be responsible for the PCOS pathogenesis, but a missense SNP (rs189947178) was identified in one patient...

  12. Cognition, attention et conscience : la synchronie dans l’esprit

    OpenAIRE

    Ward, Lawrence

    2011-01-01

    Professeur à British Columbia University (Vancouver, Canada), invité par l’Assemblée des professeurs à l’initiative des Prs Alain Berthoz et Stanislas Dehaene, a donné en mai 2010, quatre conférences intitulées « Cognition, attention et conscience : la synchronie dans l’esprit »

  13. Stratification of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) genomes by gene-directed copy number alteration (CNA) analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiesen, H-J; Steinbeck, F; Maruschke, M; Koczan, D; Ziems, B; Hakenberg, O W

    2017-01-01

    Tumorigenic processes are understood to be driven by epi-/genetic and genomic alterations from single point mutations to chromosomal alterations such as insertions and deletions of nucleotides up to gains and losses of large chromosomal fragments including products of chromosomal rearrangements e.g. fusion genes and proteins. Overall comparisons of copy number alterations (CNAs) presented in 48 clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) genomes resulted in ratios of gene losses versus gene gains between 26 ccRCC Fuhrman malignancy grades G1 (ratio 1.25) and 20 G3 (ratio 0.58). Gene losses and gains of 15762 CNA genes were mapped to 795 chromosomal cytoband loci including 280 KEGG pathways. CNAs were classified according to their contribution to Fuhrman tumour gradings G1 and G3. Gene gains and losses turned out to be highly structured processes in ccRCC genomes enabling the subclassification and stratification of ccRCC tumours in a genome-wide manner. CNAs of ccRCC seem to start with common tumour related gene losses flanked by CNAs specifying Fuhrman grade G1 losses and CNA gains favouring grade G3 tumours. The appearance of recurrent CNA signatures implies the presence of causal mechanisms most likely implicated in the pathogenesis and disease-outcome of ccRCC tumours distinguishing lower from higher malignant tumours. The diagnostic quality of initial 201 genes (108 genes supporting G1 and 93 genes G3 phenotypes) has been successfully validated on published Swiss data (GSE19949) leading to a restricted CNA gene set of 171 CNA genes of which 85 genes favour Fuhrman grade G1 and 86 genes Fuhrman grade G3. Regarding these gene sets overall survival decreased with the number of G3 related gene losses plus G3 related gene gains. CNA gene sets presented define an entry to a gene-directed and pathway-related functional understanding of ongoing copy number alterations within and between individual ccRCC tumours leading to CNA genes of prognostic and predictive value.

  14. Prognostic and predictive value of VHL gene alteration in renal cell carcinoma: a meta-analysis and review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Bum Jun; Kim, Jung Han; Kim, Hyeong Su; Zang, Dae Young

    2017-02-21

    The von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene is often inactivated in sporadic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) by mutation or promoter hypermethylation. The prognostic or predictive value of VHL gene alteration is not well established. We conducted this meta-analysis to evaluate the association between the VHL alteration and clinical outcomes in patients with RCC. We searched PUBMED, MEDLINE and EMBASE for articles including following terms in their titles, abstracts, or keywords: 'kidney or renal', 'carcinoma or cancer or neoplasm or malignancy', 'von Hippel-Lindau or VHL', 'alteration or mutation or methylation', and 'prognostic or predictive'. There were six studies fulfilling inclusion criteria and a total of 633 patients with clear cell RCC were included in the study: 244 patients who received anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy in the predictive value analysis and 419 in the prognostic value analysis. Out of 663 patients, 410 (61.8%) had VHL alteration. The meta-analysis showed no association between the VHL gene alteration and overall response rate (relative risk = 1.47 [95% CI, 0.81-2.67], P = 0.20) or progression free survival (hazard ratio = 1.02 [95% CI, 0.72-1.44], P = 0.91) in patients with RCC who received VEGF-targeted therapy. There was also no correlation between the VHL alteration and overall survival (HR = 0.80 [95% CI, 0.56-1.14], P = 0.21). In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicates that VHL gene alteration has no prognostic or predictive value in patients with clear cell RCC.

  15. Brain-to-brain synchrony in parent-child dyads and the relationship with emotion regulation revealed by fNIRS-based hyperscanning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reindl, Vanessa; Gerloff, Christian; Scharke, Wolfgang; Konrad, Kerstin

    2018-05-25

    Parent-child synchrony, the coupling of behavioral and biological signals during social contact, may fine-tune the child's brain circuitries associated with emotional bond formation and the child's development of emotion regulation. Here, we examined the neurobiological underpinnings of these processes by measuring parent's and child's prefrontal neural activity concurrently with functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning. Each child played both a cooperative and a competitive game with the parent, mostly the mother, as well as an adult stranger. During cooperation, parent's and child's brain activities synchronized in the dorsolateral prefrontal and frontopolar cortex (FPC), which was predictive for their cooperative performance in subsequent trials. No significant brain-to-brain synchrony was observed in the conditions parent-child competition, stranger-child cooperation and stranger-child competition. Furthermore, parent-child compared to stranger-child brain-to-brain synchrony during cooperation in the FPC mediated the association between the parent's and the child's emotion regulation, as assessed by questionnaires. Thus, we conclude that brain-to-brain synchrony may represent an underlying neural mechanism of the emotional connection between parent and child, which is linked to the child's development of adaptive emotion regulation. Future studies may uncover whether brain-to-brain synchrony can serve as a neurobiological marker of the dyad's socio-emotional interaction, which is sensitive to risk conditions, and can be modified by interventions. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  16. Left ventricular synchrony assessed by phase analysis of gated myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging in healthy subjects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Yuetao; Wang Jianfeng; Yang Minfu; Niu Rong

    2013-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the value of Cedars-Sinai quantitative gated SPECT (QGS) phase analysis for left ventricular synchrony assessment in healthy subjects. Methods: Seventy-four healthy subjects (41 males, 33 females,average age: (60±13) years) underwent both rest and exercise 99 Tc m -MIBI G-MPI. QGS software was used to analyze the reconstructed rest gated SPECT images automatically, and then the parameters of left ventricular synchrony including phase bandwidth (BW) and phase standard deviation (SD) were obtained. The influences of gender and age (age<60 years, n=36; age ≥ 60 years, n=38) on left ventricular systolic synchronicity were analyzed. The phase angle for original segmental contraction was measured to determine the onset of the ventricular contraction using 17-segment model. Forty healthy subjects were selected by simple random sampling method to evaluate the intra-observer and interobserver repeatability of QGS phase analysis software. Two-sample t test and linear correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: The BW and SD of left ventricular in healthy subjects were (37.22 ±11.71)°, (11.84±5.39)° respectively. Comparisons between male and female for BW and SD yielded no statistical significance (BW: (36.00±9.70)°, (38.73±13.84)°; SD: (11.88±5.56)°, (11.79±5.26)°; t=0.96 and-0.07, both P>0.05); whereas the older subjects (age≥60 years) had larger BW than the others (age<60 years ; (39.95± 12.65)°, (34.33± 10.00)°; t=-2.11, P<0.05) and no statistical significance was shown for SD between the two age groups ((11.18±4.31)°, (12.54±6.33)°; t=1.08, P>0.05). Of the 74 subjects, the mechanical activation started from the ventricular base to apex in 54 subjects (73%), and from apex to base in only 20 subjects (27%). High repeatability of phase analysis was observed for both intra-observer and inter-observer (r=0.867-0.906, all P<0.001). Conclusions: Good left ventricular segmental synchrony is shown in healthy

  17. Reduced orienting to audiovisual synchrony in infancy predicts autism diagnosis at 3 years of age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falck-Ytter, Terje; Nyström, Pär; Gredebäck, Gustaf; Gliga, Teodora; Bölte, Sven

    2018-01-23

    Effective multisensory processing develops in infancy and is thought to be important for the perception of unified and multimodal objects and events. Previous research suggests impaired multisensory processing in autism, but its role in the early development of the disorder is yet uncertain. Here, using a prospective longitudinal design, we tested whether reduced visual attention to audiovisual synchrony is an infant marker of later-emerging autism diagnosis. We studied 10-month-old siblings of children with autism using an eye tracking task previously used in studies of preschoolers. The task assessed the effect of manipulations of audiovisual synchrony on viewing patterns while the infants were observing point light displays of biological motion. We analyzed the gaze data recorded in infancy according to diagnostic status at 3 years of age (DSM-5). Ten-month-old infants who later received an autism diagnosis did not orient to audiovisual synchrony expressed within biological motion. In contrast, both infants at low-risk and high-risk siblings without autism at follow-up had a strong preference for this type of information. No group differences were observed in terms of orienting to upright biological motion. This study suggests that reduced orienting to audiovisual synchrony within biological motion is an early sign of autism. The findings support the view that poor multisensory processing could be an important antecedent marker of this neurodevelopmental condition. © 2018 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  18. Fluid and flexible minds: Intelligence reflects synchrony in the brain’s intrinsic network architecture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael A. Ferguson

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Human intelligence has been conceptualized as a complex system of dissociable cognitive processes, yet studies investigating the neural basis of intelligence have typically emphasized the contributions of discrete brain regions or, more recently, of specific networks of functionally connected regions. Here we take a broader, systems perspective in order to investigate whether intelligence is an emergent property of synchrony within the brain’s intrinsic network architecture. Using a large sample of resting-state fMRI and cognitive data (n = 830, we report that the synchrony of functional interactions within and across distributed brain networks reliably predicts fluid and flexible intellectual functioning. By adopting a whole-brain, systems-level approach, we were able to reliably predict individual differences in human intelligence by characterizing features of the brain’s intrinsic network architecture. These findings hold promise for the eventual development of neural markers to predict changes in intellectual function that are associated with neurodevelopment, normal aging, and brain disease. In our study, we aimed to understand how individual differences in intellectual functioning are reflected in the intrinsic network architecture of the human brain. We applied statistical methods, known as spectral decompositions, in order to identify individual differences in the synchronous patterns of spontaneous brain activity that reliably predict core aspects of human intelligence. The synchrony of brain activity at rest across multiple discrete neural networks demonstrated positive relationships with fluid intelligence. In contrast, global synchrony within the brain’s network architecture reliably, and inversely, predicted mental flexibility, a core facet of intellectual functioning. The multinetwork systems approach described here represents a methodological and conceptual extension of earlier efforts that related differences in

  19. Speaker detection for conversational robots using synchrony between audio and video

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Noulas, A.; Englebienne, G.; Terwijn, B.; Kröse, B.; Hanheide, M.; Zender, H.

    2010-01-01

    This paper compares different methods for detecting the speaking person when multiple persons are interacting with a robot. We evaluate the state-of-the-art speaker detection methods on the iCat robot. These methods use the synchrony between audio and video to locate the most probable speaker. We

  20. Altered choroid plexus gene expression in major depressive disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cortney Ann Turner

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Given the emergent interest in biomarkers for mood disorders, we assessed gene expression in the choroid plexus, the region that produces cerebrospinal fluid (CSF, in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD. Genes that are expressed in the choroid plexus (CP can be secreted into the CSF and may be potential biomarker candidates. Given that we have previously shown that fibroblast growth factor family members are differentially expressed in post-mortem brain of subjects with MDD and the CP is a known source of growth factors in the brain, we posed the question whether growth factor dysregulation would be found in the CP of subjects with MDD. We performed laser capture microscopy of the choroid plexus at the level of the hippocampus in subjects with MDD and psychiatrically normal controls. We then extracted, amplified, labeled and hybridized the cRNA to Illumina BeadChips to assess gene expression. In controls, the most highly abundant known transcript was transthyretin. Moreover, half of the 14 most highly expressed transcripts in controls encode ribosomal proteins. Using BeadStudio software, we identified 169 transcripts differentially expressed (p< 0.05 between control and MDD samples. Using pathway analysis we noted that the top network altered in subjects with MDD included multiple members of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ pathway. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR confirmed downregulation of several transcripts that interact with the extracellular matrix in subjects with MDD. These results suggest that there may be an altered cytoskeleton in the choroid plexus in MDD subjects that may lead to a disrupted blood-CSF-brain barrier.

  1. Epigenetic Alteration by DNA Promoter Hypermethylation of Genes Related to Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) Signaling in Cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khin, Sann Sanda [Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Division of Diagnostic Molecular Pathology, Kobe 650-0017 (Japan); Pathology Research Unit, Department of Medical Research (Central Myanmar), Naypyitaw, Union of (Myanmar); Kitazawa, Riko [Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Division of Diagnostic Molecular Pathology, Kobe 650-0017 (Japan); Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Toon 791-0295, Ehime (Japan); Kondo, Takeshi; Idei, Yuka; Fujimoto, Masayo [Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Division of Diagnostic Molecular Pathology, Kobe 650-0017 (Japan); Haraguchi, Ryuma [Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Toon 791-0295, Ehime (Japan); Mori, Kiyoshi [Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Division of Diagnostic Molecular Pathology, Kobe 650-0017 (Japan); Kitazawa, Sohei, E-mail: kitazawa@m.ehime-u.ac.jp [Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Division of Diagnostic Molecular Pathology, Kobe 650-0017 (Japan); Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Toon 791-0295, Ehime (Japan)

    2011-03-03

    Epigenetic alterations in cancer, especially DNA methylation and histone modification, exert a significant effect on the deregulated expression of cancer-related genes and lay an epigenetic pathway to carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Global hypomethylation and local hypermethylation of CpG islands in the promoter region, which result in silencing tumor suppressor genes, constitute general and major epigenetic modification, the hallmark of the neoplastic epigenome. Additionally, methylation-induced gene silencing commonly affects a number of genes and increases with cancer progression. Indeed, cancers with a high degree of methylation (CpG island methylator phenotype/CIMP) do exist and represent a distinct subset of certain cancers including colorectal, bladder and kidney. On the other hand, signals from the microenvironment, especially those from transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), induce targeted de novo epigenetic alterations of cancer-related genes. While TGF-β signaling has been implicated in two opposite roles in cancer, namely tumor suppression and tumor promotion, its deregulation is also partly induced by epigenetic alteration itself. Although the epigenetic pathway to carcinogenesis and cancer progression has such reciprocal complexity, the important issue is to identify genes or signaling pathways that are commonly silenced in various cancers in order to find early diagnostic and therapeutic targets. In this review, we focus on the epigenetic alteration by DNA methylation and its role in molecular modulations of the TGF-β signaling pathway that cause or underlie altered cancer-related gene expression in both phases of early carcinogenesis and late cancer progression.

  2. Epigenetic Alteration by DNA Promoter Hypermethylation of Genes Related to Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) Signaling in Cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khin, Sann Sanda; Kitazawa, Riko; Kondo, Takeshi; Idei, Yuka; Fujimoto, Masayo; Haraguchi, Ryuma; Mori, Kiyoshi; Kitazawa, Sohei

    2011-01-01

    Epigenetic alterations in cancer, especially DNA methylation and histone modification, exert a significant effect on the deregulated expression of cancer-related genes and lay an epigenetic pathway to carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Global hypomethylation and local hypermethylation of CpG islands in the promoter region, which result in silencing tumor suppressor genes, constitute general and major epigenetic modification, the hallmark of the neoplastic epigenome. Additionally, methylation-induced gene silencing commonly affects a number of genes and increases with cancer progression. Indeed, cancers with a high degree of methylation (CpG island methylator phenotype/CIMP) do exist and represent a distinct subset of certain cancers including colorectal, bladder and kidney. On the other hand, signals from the microenvironment, especially those from transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), induce targeted de novo epigenetic alterations of cancer-related genes. While TGF-β signaling has been implicated in two opposite roles in cancer, namely tumor suppression and tumor promotion, its deregulation is also partly induced by epigenetic alteration itself. Although the epigenetic pathway to carcinogenesis and cancer progression has such reciprocal complexity, the important issue is to identify genes or signaling pathways that are commonly silenced in various cancers in order to find early diagnostic and therapeutic targets. In this review, we focus on the epigenetic alteration by DNA methylation and its role in molecular modulations of the TGF-β signaling pathway that cause or underlie altered cancer-related gene expression in both phases of early carcinogenesis and late cancer progression

  3. Chronic unpredictable stress alters gene expression in rat single dentate granule cells

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Qin, Y.J.; Karst, H.; Joëls, M.

    2004-01-01

    The rat adrenal hormone corticosterone binds to low and high affinity receptors, discretely localized in brain, including the dentate gyrus. Differential activation of the two receptor types under physiological conditions alters gene expression and functional characteristics of hippocampal neurones.

  4. Volitional enhancement of firing synchrony and oscillation by neuronal operant conditioning: interaction with neurorehabilitation and brain-machine interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakurai, Yoshio; Song, Kichan; Tachibana, Shota; Takahashi, Susumu

    2014-01-01

    In this review, we focus on neuronal operant conditioning in which increments in neuronal activities are directly rewarded without behaviors. We discuss the potential of this approach to elucidate neuronal plasticity for enhancing specific brain functions and its interaction with the progress in neurorehabilitation and brain-machine interfaces. The key to-be-conditioned activities that this paper emphasizes are synchronous and oscillatory firings of multiple neurons that reflect activities of cell assemblies. First, we introduce certain well-known studies on neuronal operant conditioning in which conditioned enhancements of neuronal firing were reported in animals and humans. These studies demonstrated the feasibility of volitional control over neuronal activity. Second, we refer to the recent studies on operant conditioning of synchrony and oscillation of neuronal activities. In particular, we introduce a recent study showing volitional enhancement of oscillatory activity in monkey motor cortex and our study showing selective enhancement of firing synchrony of neighboring neurons in rat hippocampus. Third, we discuss the reasons for emphasizing firing synchrony and oscillation in neuronal operant conditioning, the main reason being that they reflect the activities of cell assemblies, which have been suggested to be basic neuronal codes representing information in the brain. Finally, we discuss the interaction of neuronal operant conditioning with neurorehabilitation and brain-machine interface (BMI). We argue that synchrony and oscillation of neuronal firing are the key activities required for developing both reliable neurorehabilitation and high-performance BMI. Further, we conclude that research of neuronal operant conditioning, neurorehabilitation, BMI, and system neuroscience will produce findings applicable to these interrelated fields, and neuronal synchrony and oscillation can be a common important bridge among all of them.

  5. Altered epigenetic regulation of homeobox genes in human oral squamous cell carcinoma cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marcinkiewicz, Katarzyna M.; Gudas, Lorraine J., E-mail: ljgudas@med.cornell.edu

    2014-01-01

    To gain insight into oral squamous cell carcinogenesis, we performed deep sequencing (RNAseq) of non-tumorigenic human OKF6-TERT1R and tumorigenic SCC-9 cells. Numerous homeobox genes are differentially expressed between OKF6-TERT1R and SCC-9 cells. Data from Oncomine, a cancer microarray database, also show that homeobox (HOX) genes are dysregulated in oral SCC patients. The activity of Polycomb repressive complexes (PRC), which causes epigenetic modifications, and retinoic acid (RA) signaling can control HOX gene transcription. HOXB7, HOXC10, HOXC13, and HOXD8 transcripts are higher in SCC-9 than in OKF6-TERT1R cells; using ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation) we detected PRC2 protein SUZ12 and the epigenetic H3K27me3 mark on histone H3 at these genes in OKF6-TERT1R, but not in SCC-9 cells. In contrast, IRX1, IRX4, SIX2 and TSHZ3 transcripts are lower in SCC-9 than in OKF6-TERT1R cells. We detected SUZ12 and the H3K27me3 mark at these genes in SCC-9, but not in OKF6-TERT1R cells. SUZ12 depletion increased HOXB7, HOXC10, HOXC13, and HOXD8 transcript levels and decreased the proliferation of OKF6-TERT1R cells. Transcriptional responses to RA are attenuated in SCC-9 versus OKF6-TERT1R cells. SUZ12 and H3K27me3 levels were not altered by RA at these HOX genes in SCC-9 and OKF6-TERT1R cells. We conclude that altered activity of PRC2 is associated with dysregulation of homeobox gene expression in human SCC cells, and that this dysregulation potentially plays a role in the neoplastic transformation of oral keratinocytes. - Highlights: • RNAseq elucidates differences between non-tumorigenic and tumorigenic oral keratinocytes. • Changes in HOX mRNA in SCC-9 vs. OKF6-TERT1R cells are a result of altered epigenetic regulation. • RNAseq shows that retinoic acid (RA) influences gene expression in both OKF6-TERT1R and SCC-9 cells.

  6. Altered epigenetic regulation of homeobox genes in human oral squamous cell carcinoma cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marcinkiewicz, Katarzyna M.; Gudas, Lorraine J.

    2014-01-01

    To gain insight into oral squamous cell carcinogenesis, we performed deep sequencing (RNAseq) of non-tumorigenic human OKF6-TERT1R and tumorigenic SCC-9 cells. Numerous homeobox genes are differentially expressed between OKF6-TERT1R and SCC-9 cells. Data from Oncomine, a cancer microarray database, also show that homeobox (HOX) genes are dysregulated in oral SCC patients. The activity of Polycomb repressive complexes (PRC), which causes epigenetic modifications, and retinoic acid (RA) signaling can control HOX gene transcription. HOXB7, HOXC10, HOXC13, and HOXD8 transcripts are higher in SCC-9 than in OKF6-TERT1R cells; using ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation) we detected PRC2 protein SUZ12 and the epigenetic H3K27me3 mark on histone H3 at these genes in OKF6-TERT1R, but not in SCC-9 cells. In contrast, IRX1, IRX4, SIX2 and TSHZ3 transcripts are lower in SCC-9 than in OKF6-TERT1R cells. We detected SUZ12 and the H3K27me3 mark at these genes in SCC-9, but not in OKF6-TERT1R cells. SUZ12 depletion increased HOXB7, HOXC10, HOXC13, and HOXD8 transcript levels and decreased the proliferation of OKF6-TERT1R cells. Transcriptional responses to RA are attenuated in SCC-9 versus OKF6-TERT1R cells. SUZ12 and H3K27me3 levels were not altered by RA at these HOX genes in SCC-9 and OKF6-TERT1R cells. We conclude that altered activity of PRC2 is associated with dysregulation of homeobox gene expression in human SCC cells, and that this dysregulation potentially plays a role in the neoplastic transformation of oral keratinocytes. - Highlights: • RNAseq elucidates differences between non-tumorigenic and tumorigenic oral keratinocytes. • Changes in HOX mRNA in SCC-9 vs. OKF6-TERT1R cells are a result of altered epigenetic regulation. • RNAseq shows that retinoic acid (RA) influences gene expression in both OKF6-TERT1R and SCC-9 cells

  7. Audiovisual Speech Synchrony Measure: Application to Biometrics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gérard Chollet

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Speech is a means of communication which is intrinsically bimodal: the audio signal originates from the dynamics of the articulators. This paper reviews recent works in the field of audiovisual speech, and more specifically techniques developed to measure the level of correspondence between audio and visual speech. It overviews the most common audio and visual speech front-end processing, transformations performed on audio, visual, or joint audiovisual feature spaces, and the actual measure of correspondence between audio and visual speech. Finally, the use of synchrony measure for biometric identity verification based on talking faces is experimented on the BANCA database.

  8. Alteration of the SETBP1 gene and splicing pathway genes SF3B1, U2AF1, and SRSF2 in childhood acute myeloid leukemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Hyun-Woo; Kim, Hye-Ran; Baek, Hee-Jo; Kook, Hoon; Cho, Duck; Shin, Jong-Hee; Suh, Soon-Pal; Ryang, Dong-Wook; Shin, Myung-Geun

    2015-01-01

    Recurrent somatic SET-binding protein 1 (SETBP1) and splicing pathway gene mutations have recently been found in atypical chronic myeloid leukemia and other hematologic malignancies. These mutations have been comprehensively analyzed in adult AML, but not in childhood AML. We investigated possible alteration of the SETBP1, splicing factor 3B subunit 1 (SF3B1), U2 small nuclear RNA auxiliary factor 1 (U2AF1), and serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 2 (SRSF2) genes in childhood AML. Cytogenetic and molecular analyses were performed to reveal chromosomal and genetic alterations. Sequence alterations in the SETBP1, SF3B1, U2AF1, and SRSF2 genes were examined by using direct sequencing in a cohort of 53 childhood AML patients. Childhood AML patients did not harbor any recurrent SETBP1 gene mutations, although our study did identify a synonymous mutation in one patient. None of the previously reported aberrations in the mutational hotspot of SF3B1, U2AF1, and SRSF2 were identified in any of the 53 patients. Alterations of the SETBP1 gene or SF3B1, U2AF1, and SRSF2 genes are not common genetic events in childhood AML, implying that the mutations are unlikely to exert a driver effect in myeloid leukemogenesis during childhood.

  9. Epigenetic Alteration by DNA Promoter Hypermethylation of Genes Related to Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β Signaling in Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kiyoshi Mori

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Epigenetic alterations in cancer, especially DNA methylation and histone modification, exert a significant effect on the deregulated expression of cancer-related genes and lay an epigenetic pathway to carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Global hypomethylation and local hypermethylation of CpG islands in the promoter region, which result in silencing tumor suppressor genes, constitute general and major epigenetic modification, the hallmark of the neoplastic epigenome. Additionally, methylation-induced gene silencing commonly affects a number of genes and increases with cancer progression. Indeed, cancers with a high degree of methylation (CpG island methylator phenotype/CIMP do exist and represent a distinct subset of certain cancers including colorectal, bladder and kidney. On the other hand, signals from the microenvironment, especially those from transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β, induce targeted de novo epigenetic alterations of cancer-related genes. While TGF-β signaling has been implicated in two opposite roles in cancer, namely tumor suppression and tumor promotion, its deregulation is also partly induced by epigenetic alteration itself. Although the epigenetic pathway to carcinogenesis and cancer progression has such reciprocal complexity, the important issue is to identify genes or signaling pathways that are commonly silenced in various cancers in order to find early diagnostic and therapeutic targets. In this review, we focus on the epigenetic alteration by DNA methylation and its role in molecular modulations of the TGF-β signaling pathway that cause or underlie altered cancer-related gene expression in both phases of early carcinogenesis and late cancer progression.

  10. Disruption in neural phase synchrony is related to identification of inattentional deafness in real-world setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callan, Daniel E; Gateau, Thibault; Durantin, Gautier; Gonthier, Nicolas; Dehais, Frédéric

    2018-06-01

    Individuals often have reduced ability to hear alarms in real world situations (e.g., anesthesia monitoring, flying airplanes) when attention is focused on another task, sometimes with devastating consequences. This phenomenon is called inattentional deafness and usually occurs under critical high workload conditions. It is difficult to simulate the critical nature of these tasks in the laboratory. In this study, dry electroencephalography is used to investigate inattentional deafness in real flight while piloting an airplane. The pilots participating in the experiment responded to audio alarms while experiencing critical high workload situations. It was found that missed relative to detected alarms were marked by reduced stimulus evoked phase synchrony in theta and alpha frequencies (6-14 Hz) from 120 to 230 ms poststimulus onset. Correlation of alarm detection performance with intertrial coherence measures of neural phase synchrony showed different frequency and time ranges for detected and missed alarms. These results are consistent with selective attentional processes actively disrupting oscillatory coherence in sensory networks not involved with the primary task (piloting in this case) under critical high load conditions. This hypothesis is corroborated by analyses of flight parameters showing greater maneuvering associated with difficult phases of flight occurring during missed alarms. Our results suggest modulation of neural oscillation is a general mechanism of attention utilizing enhancement of phase synchrony to sharpen alarm perception during successful divided attention, and disruption of phase synchrony in brain networks when attentional demands of the primary task are great, such as in the case of inattentional deafness. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Immunosenescence Is Associated With Altered Gene Expression And Epigenetic Regulation In Primary And Secondary Immune Organs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Corinne eSidler

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Deterioration of the immune system (immunosenescence with age is associated with an increased susceptibility to infection, autoimmune disease and cancer, and reduced responsiveness to vaccination. Immunosenescence entails a reduced supply of naïve T cells from the thymus and increased specialization of peripheral T cell clones. Both thymic involution and peripheral T cell homeostasis are thought to involve cellular senescence. In order to analyze this at the molecular level, we studied gene expression profiles, epigenetic status and genome stability in the thymus and spleen of 1-month, 4-month and 18-month-old Long Evans rats. In the thymus, altered gene expression, DNA and histone hypomethylation, increased genome instability and apoptosis were observed in 18-month-old animals compared to 1- and 4-month-old animals. In the spleen, alterations in gene expression and epigenetic regulation occurred already by the age of 4 months compared to 1 month and persisted in 18-month-old compared to 1-month-old rats. In both organs, these changes were accompanied by the altered composition of resident T cell populations. Our study suggests that both senescence and apoptosis may be involved in altered organ function.

  12. Genetic variants alter T-bet binding and gene expression in mucosal inflammatory disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katrina Soderquest

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The polarization of CD4+ T cells into distinct T helper cell lineages is essential for protective immunity against infection, but aberrant T cell polarization can cause autoimmunity. The transcription factor T-bet (TBX21 specifies the Th1 lineage and represses alternative T cell fates. Genome-wide association studies have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs that may be causative for autoimmune diseases. The majority of these polymorphisms are located within non-coding distal regulatory elements. It is considered that these genetic variants contribute to disease by altering the binding of regulatory proteins and thus gene expression, but whether these variants alter the binding of lineage-specifying transcription factors has not been determined. Here, we show that SNPs associated with the mucosal inflammatory diseases Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis (UC and celiac disease, but not rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis, are enriched at T-bet binding sites. Furthermore, we identify disease-associated variants that alter T-bet binding in vitro and in vivo. ChIP-seq for T-bet in individuals heterozygous for the celiac disease-associated SNPs rs1465321 and rs2058622 and the IBD-associated SNPs rs1551398 and rs1551399, reveals decreased binding to the minor disease-associated alleles. Furthermore, we show that rs1465321 is an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL for the neighboring gene IL18RAP, with decreased T-bet binding associated with decreased expression of this gene. These results suggest that genetic polymorphisms may predispose individuals to mucosal autoimmune disease through alterations in T-bet binding. Other disease-associated variants may similarly act by modulating the binding of lineage-specifying transcription factors in a tissue-selective and disease-specific manner.

  13. Rescue of Metabolic Alterations in AR113Q Skeletal Muscle by Peripheral Androgen Receptor Gene Silencing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisa Giorgetti

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA, a progressive degenerative disorder, is caused by a CAG/glutamine expansion in the androgen receptor (polyQ AR. Recent studies demonstrate that skeletal muscle is an important site of toxicity that contributes to the SBMA phenotype. Here, we sought to identify critical pathways altered in muscle that underlie disease manifestations in AR113Q mice. This led to the unanticipated identification of gene expression changes affecting regulators of carbohydrate metabolism, similar to those triggered by denervation. AR113Q muscle exhibits diminished glycolysis, altered mitochondria, and an impaired response to exercise. Strikingly, the expression of genes regulating muscle energy metabolism is rescued following peripheral polyQ AR gene silencing by antisense oligonucleotides (ASO, a therapeutic strategy that alleviates disease. Our data establish the occurrence of a metabolic imbalance in SBMA muscle triggered by peripheral expression of the polyQ AR and indicate that alterations in energy utilization contribute to non-neuronal disease manifestations.

  14. Altered Clock and Lipid Metabolism-Related Genes in Atherosclerotic Mice Kept with Abnormal Lighting Condition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhu Zhu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. The risk of atherosclerosis is elevated in abnormal lipid metabolism and circadian rhythm disorder. We investigated whether abnormal lighting condition would have influenced the circadian expression of clock genes and clock-controlled lipid metabolism-related genes in ApoE-KO mice. Methods. A mouse model of atherosclerosis with circadian clock genes expression disorder was established using ApoE-KO mice (ApoE-KO LD/DL mice by altering exposure to light. C57 BL/6J mice (C57 mice and ApoE-KO mice (ApoE-KO mice exposed to normal day and night and normal diet served as control mice. According to zeitgeber time samples were acquired, to test atheromatous plaque formation, serum lipids levels and rhythmicity, clock genes, and lipid metabolism-related genes along with Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1 levels and rhythmicity. Results. Atherosclerosis plaques were formed in the aortic arch of ApoE-KO LD/DL mice. The serum lipids levels and oscillations in ApoE-KO LD/DL mice were altered, along with the levels and diurnal oscillations of circadian genes, lipid metabolism-associated genes, and Sirt1 compared with the control mice. Conclusions. Abnormal exposure to light aggravated plaque formation and exacerbated disorders of serum lipids and clock genes, lipid metabolism genes and Sirt1 levels, and circadian oscillation.

  15. Shared Gene Expression Alterations in Nasal and Bronchial Epithelium for Lung Cancer Detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-07-01

    We previously derived and validated a bronchial epithelial gene expression biomarker to detect lung cancer in current and former smokers. Given that bronchial and nasal epithelial gene expression are similarly altered by cigarette smoke exposure, we sought to determine if cancer-associated gene expression might also be detectable in the more readily accessible nasal epithelium. Nasal epithelial brushings were prospectively collected from current and former smokers undergoing diagnostic evaluation for pulmonary lesions suspicious for lung cancer in the AEGIS-1 (n = 375) and AEGIS-2 (n = 130) clinical trials and gene expression profiled using microarrays. All statistical tests were two-sided. We identified 535 genes that were differentially expressed in the nasal epithelium of AEGIS-1 patients diagnosed with lung cancer vs those with benign disease after one year of follow-up ( P  cancer-associated gene expression alterations between the two airway sites ( P  lung cancer classifier derived in the AEGIS-1 cohort that combined clinical factors (age, smoking status, time since quit, mass size) and nasal gene expression (30 genes) had statistically significantly higher area under the curve (0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.74 to 0.89, P  = .01) and sensitivity (0.91; 95% CI = 0.81 to 0.97, P  = .03) than a clinical-factor only model in independent samples from the AEGIS-2 cohort. These results support that the airway epithelial field of lung cancer-associated injury in ever smokers extends to the nose and demonstrates the potential of using nasal gene expression as a noninvasive biomarker for lung cancer detection. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Maternal Diabetes Alters Expression of MicroRNAs that Regulate Genes Critical for Neural Tube Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seshadri Ramya

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Maternal diabetes is known to cause neural tube defects (NTDs in embryos and neuropsychological deficits in infants. Several metabolic pathways and a plethora of genes have been identified to be deregulated in developing brain of embryos by maternal diabetes, although the exact mechanism remains unknown. Recently, miRNAs have been shown to regulate genes involved in brain development and maturation. Therefore, we hypothesized that maternal diabetes alters the expression of miRNAs that regulate genes involved in biological pathways critical for neural tube development and closure during embryogenesis. To address this, high throughput miRNA expression profiling in neural stem cells (NSCs isolated from the forebrain of embryos from normal or streptozotocin-induced diabetic pregnancy was carried out. It is known that maternal diabetes results in fetal hypoglycemia/hyperglycemia or hypoxia. Hence, NSCs from embryos of control pregnant mice were exposed to low or high glucose or hypoxia in vitro. miRNA pathway analysis revealed distinct deregulation of several biological pathways, including axon guidance pathway, which are critical for brain development in NSCs exposed to different treatments. Among the differentially expressed miRNAs, the miRNA-30 family members which are predicted to target genes involved in brain development was upregulated in NSCs from embryos of diabetic pregnancy when compared to control. miRNA-30b was found to be upregulated while its target gene Sirtuin 1 (Sirt1, as revealed by luciferase assay, was down regulated in NSCs from embryos of diabetic pregnancy. Further, overexpression of miRNA-30b in NSCs, resulted in decreased expression of Sirt1 protein, and altered the neuron/glia ratio. On the other hand, siRNA mediated knockdown of Sirt1 in NSCs promoted astrogenesis, indicating that miRNA-30b alters lineage specification via Sirt1. Overall, these results suggest that maternal diabetes alters the genes involved in neural tube

  17. Molecular biologic study about the non-small cell lung carcinoma (2) : p53 gene alteration in non-small cell lung carcinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Jong Ho; Zo, Jae Ill; Paik, Hee Jong; Kim, Mi Hee

    1996-12-01

    The main purpose of this research was to identify of the p53 and 3p gene alteration in non-small cell lung cancer patients residing in Korea. Furthermore, we analyzed the relationship between the p53 and 3p gene alterations and the clinicopathologic results of lung cancer patients. And we have investigated the role of PCR-LOH in analyzing tumor samples for LOH of defined chromosomal loci. We have used the 40 samples obtained from the lung cancer patients who were diagnosed and operated curatively at Korea Cancer Center Hospital. We have isolated the high molecular weight. DNA from the tumors and normal tissues. And we have amplified the DNA with PCR method and used the microsatellite assay method to detect the altered p53 and 3p gene. The conclusions were as follow: 1) The 3p gene alteration was observed in 9/39 (23.1%) and p53 gene alteration was observed in 15/40 (37.5%) of resected non-small cell lung cancer. 2) There was no correlations between the 3p or p53 gene alterations and prognosis of patients, but further study is necessary. 3) PCR-LOH is a very useful tool for analyzing small amount of tumor samples for loss of heterozygosity of defined chromosomal loci. (author). 10 refs

  18. Gene expression profile and genomic alterations in colonic tumours induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) in rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Femia, Angelo Pietro; Luceri, Cristina; Toti, Simona; Giannini, Augusto; Dolara, Piero; Caderni, Giovanna

    2010-01-01

    Azoxymethane (AOM) or 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced colon carcinogenesis in rats shares many phenotypical similarities with human sporadic colon cancer and is a reliable model for identifying chemopreventive agents. Genetic mutations relevant to human colon cancer have been described in this model, but comprehensive gene expression and genomic analysis have not been reported so far. Therefore, we applied genome-wide technologies to study variations in gene expression and genomic alterations in DMH-induced colon cancer in F344 rats. For gene expression analysis, 9 tumours (TUM) and their paired normal mucosa (NM) were hybridized on 4 × 44K Whole rat arrays (Agilent) and selected genes were validated by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Functional analysis on microarray data was performed by GenMAPP/MappFinder analysis. Array-comparative genomic hybridization (a-CGH) was performed on 10 paired TUM-NM samples hybridized on Rat genome arrays 2 × 105K (Agilent) and the results were analyzed by CGH Analytics (Agilent). Microarray gene expression analysis showed that Defcr4, Igfbp5, Mmp7, Nos2, S100A8 and S100A9 were among the most up-regulated genes in tumours (Fold Change (FC) compared with NM: 183, 48, 39, 38, 36 and 32, respectively), while Slc26a3, Mptx, Retlna and Muc2 were strongly down-regulated (FC: -500; -376, -167, -79, respectively). Functional analysis showed that pathways controlling cell cycle, protein synthesis, matrix metalloproteinases, TNFα/NFkB, and inflammatory responses were up-regulated in tumours, while Krebs cycle, the electron transport chain, and fatty acid beta oxidation were down-regulated. a-CGH analysis showed that four TUM out of ten had one or two chromosomal aberrations. Importantly, one sample showed a deletion on chromosome 18 including Apc. The results showed complex gene expression alterations in adenocarcinomas encompassing many altered pathways. While a-CGH analysis showed a low degree of genomic imbalance, it is interesting to

  19. A universal order parameter for synchrony in networks of limit cycle oscillators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schröder, Malte; Timme, Marc; Witthaut, Dirk

    2017-07-01

    We analyze the properties of order parameters measuring synchronization and phase locking in complex oscillator networks. First, we review network order parameters previously introduced and reveal several shortcomings: none of the introduced order parameters capture all transitions from incoherence over phase locking to full synchrony for arbitrary, finite networks. We then introduce an alternative, universal order parameter that accurately tracks the degree of partial phase locking and synchronization, adapting the traditional definition to account for the network topology and its influence on the phase coherence of the oscillators. We rigorously prove that this order parameter is strictly monotonously increasing with the coupling strength in the phase locked state, directly reflecting the dynamic stability of the network. Furthermore, it indicates the onset of full phase locking by a diverging slope at the critical coupling strength. The order parameter may find applications across systems where different types of synchrony are possible, including biological networks and power grids.

  20. Altered gene expression profiles in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of type 2 diabetic rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul-Rahman Omar

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There has been an increasing body of epidemiologic and biochemical evidence implying the role of cerebral insulin resistance in Alzheimer-type dementia. For a better understanding of the insulin effect on the central nervous system, we performed microarray-based global gene expression profiling in the hippocampus, striatum and prefrontal cortex of streptozotocin-induced and spontaneously diabetic Goto-Kakizaki rats as model animals for type 1 and type 2 diabetes, respectively. Results Following pathway analysis and validation of gene lists by real-time polymerase chain reaction, 30 genes from the hippocampus, such as the inhibitory neuropeptide galanin, synuclein gamma and uncoupling protein 2, and 22 genes from the prefrontal cortex, e.g. galanin receptor 2, protein kinase C gamma and epsilon, ABCA1 (ATP-Binding Cassette A1, CD47 (Cluster of Differentiation 47 and the RET (Rearranged During Transfection protooncogene, were found to exhibit altered expression levels in type 2 diabetic model animals in comparison to non-diabetic control animals. These gene lists proved to be partly overlapping and encompassed genes related to neurotransmission, lipid metabolism, neuronal development, insulin secretion, oxidative damage and DNA repair. On the other hand, no significant alterations were found in the transcriptomes of the corpus striatum in the same animals. Changes in the cerebral gene expression profiles seemed to be specific for the type 2 diabetic model, as no such alterations were found in streptozotocin-treated animals. Conclusions According to our knowledge this is the first characterization of the whole-genome expression changes of specific brain regions in a diabetic model. Our findings shed light on the complex role of insulin signaling in fine-tuning brain functions, and provide further experimental evidence in support of the recently elaborated theory of type 3 diabetes.

  1. Microarray Analysis Reveals Higher Gestational Folic Acid Alters Expression of Genes in the Cerebellum of Mice Offspring—A Pilot Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Subit Barua

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Folate is a water-soluble vitamin that is critical for nucleotide synthesis and can modulate methylation of DNA by altering one-carbon metabolism. Previous studies have shown that folate status during pregnancy is associated with various congenital defects including the risk of aberrant neural tube closure. Maternal exposure to a methyl supplemented diet also can alter DNA methylation and gene expression, which may influence the phenotype of offspring. We investigated if higher gestational folic acid (FA in the diet dysregulates the expression of genes in the cerebellum of offspring in C57BL/6 J mice. One week before gestation and throughout the pregnancy, groups of dams were supplemented with FA either at 2 mg/kg or 20 mg/kg of diet. Microarray analysis was used to investigate the genome wide gene expression profile in the cerebellum from day old pups. Our results revealed that exposure to the higher dose FA diet during gestation dysregulated expression of several genes in the cerebellum of both male and female pups. Several transcription factors, imprinted genes, neuro-developmental genes and genes associated with autism spectrum disorder exhibited altered expression levels. These findings suggest that higher gestational FA potentially dysregulates gene expression in the offspring brain and such changes may adversely alter fetal programming and overall brain development.

  2. Synchrony-desynchrony in the tripartite model of fear: Predicting treatment outcome in clinically phobic children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benoit Allen, Kristy; Allen, Ben; Austin, Kristin E; Waldron, Jonathan C; Ollendick, Thomas H

    2015-08-01

    The tripartite model of fear posits that the fear response entails three loosely coupled components: subjective distress, behavioral avoidance, and physiological arousal. The concept of synchrony vs. desynchrony describes the degree to which changes in the activation of these components vary together (synchrony), independently, or inversely (both forms of desynchrony) over time. The present study assessed synchrony-desynchrony and its relationship to treatment outcome in a sample of 98 children with specific phobias both prior to and 1 week after receiving one-session treatment, a 3 h cognitive-behavioral intervention. The results suggest an overall pattern of desynchronous change whereby youth improved on behavioral avoidance and subjective distress following treatment, but their level of cardiovascular reactivity remained stable. However, we found evidence that synchronous change on the behavioral avoidance and subjective distress components was related to better treatment outcome, whereas desynchronous change on these components was related to poorer treatment outcome. These findings suggest that a fuller understanding of the three response systems and their interrelations in phobic youth may assist us in the assessment and treatment of these disorders, potentially leading to a more person-centered approach and eventually to enhanced treatment outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Ion Channel Genes and Epilepsy: Functional Alteration, Pathogenic Potential, and Mechanism of Epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Feng; Yan, Li-Min; Su, Tao; He, Na; Lin, Zhi-Jian; Wang, Jie; Shi, Yi-Wu; Yi, Yong-Hong; Liao, Wei-Ping

    2017-08-01

    Ion channels are crucial in the generation and modulation of excitability in the nervous system and have been implicated in human epilepsy. Forty-one epilepsy-associated ion channel genes and their mutations are systematically reviewed. In this paper, we analyzed the genotypes, functional alterations (funotypes), and phenotypes of these mutations. Eleven genes featured loss-of-function mutations and six had gain-of-function mutations. Nine genes displayed diversified funotypes, among which a distinct funotype-phenotype correlation was found in SCN1A. These data suggest that the funotype is an essential consideration in evaluating the pathogenicity of mutations and a distinct funotype or funotype-phenotype correlation helps to define the pathogenic potential of a gene.

  4. Di-(2 ethylhexyl phthalate and flutamide alter gene expression in the testis of immature male rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Frank H

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract We previously demonstrated that the androgenic and anti-androgenic effects of endocrine disruptors (EDs alter reproductive function and exert distinct effects on developing male reproductive organs. To further investigate these effects, we used an immature rat model to examine the effects of di-(2 ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP and flutamide (Flu on the male reproductive system. Immature male SD rats were treated daily with DEHP and Flu on postnatal days (PNDs 21 to 35, in a dose-dependent manner. As results, the weights of the testes, prostate, and seminal vesicle and anogenital distances (AGD decreased significantly in response to high doses of DEHP or Flu. Testosterone (T levels significantly decreased in all DEHP- treated groups, whereas luteinizing hormone (LH plasma levels were not altered by any of the two treatments at PND 36. However, treatment with DEHP or Flu induced histopathological changes in the testes, wherein degeneration and disorders of Leydig cells, germ cells and dilatation of tubular lumen were observed in a dose-dependent manner. Conversely, hyperplasia and denseness of Leydig, Sertoli and germ cells were observed in rats given with high doses of Flu. The results by cDNA microarray analysis indicated that 1,272 genes were up-regulated by more than two-fold, and 1,969 genes were down-regulated in response to DEHP, Flu or both EDs. These genes were selected based on their markedly increased or decreased expression levels. These genes have been also classified on the basis of gene ontology (e.g., steroid hormone biosynthetic process, regulation of transcription, signal transduction, metabolic process, biosynthetic process.... Significant decreases in gene expression were observed in steroidogenic genes (i.e., Star, Cyp11a1 and Hsd3b. In addition, the expression of a common set of target genes, including CaBP1, Vav2, Plcd1, Lhx1 and Isoc1, was altered following exposure to EDs, suggesting that they may be marker genes to

  5. Alteration of gene conversion patterns in Sordaria fimicola by supplementation with DNA bases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kitani, Y; Olive, L S

    1970-08-01

    Supplementation with DNA bases in crosses of Sordaria fimicola heterozygous for spore color markers (g(1), h(2)) within the gray-spore (g) locus has been found to cause significant alterations in patterns of gene conversion at the two mutant sites. Each base had its own characteristic effect in altering the conversion pattern, and responses of the two mutant sites to the four bases were different in several ways. Also, the responses of the two involved chromatids of the meiotic bivalent were different.

  6. High reproductive synchrony of Acropora (Anthozoa: Scleractinia) in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Bouwmeester, Jessica

    2015-01-05

    Coral spawning in the northern Gulf of Aqaba has been reported to be asynchronous, making it almost unique when compared to other regions in the world. Here, we document the reproductive condition of Acropora corals in early June 2014 in Dahab, in the Gulf of Aqaba, 125 km south of previous studies conducted in Eilat, Israel. Seventy-eight percent of Acropora colonies from 14 species had mature eggs, indicating that most colonies will spawn on or around the June full moon, with a very high probability of multi-species synchronous spawning. Given the proximity to Eilat, we predict that a comparable sampling protocol would detect similar levels of reproductive synchrony throughout the Gulf of Aqaba consistent with the hypothesis that high levels of spawning synchrony are a feature of all speciose coral assemblages.

  7. Analysis of infant cortical synchrony is constrained by the number of recording electrodes and the recording montage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tokariev, Anton; Vanhatalo, Sampsa; Palva, J Matias

    2016-01-01

    To assess how the recording montage in the neonatal EEG influences the detection of cortical source signals and their phase interactions. Scalp EEG was simulated by forward modeling 20-200 simultaneously active sources covering the cortical surface of a realistic neonatal head model. We assessed systematically how the number of scalp electrodes (11-85), analysis montage, or the size of cortical sources affect the detection of cortical phase synchrony. Statistical metrics were developed for quantifying the resolution and reliability of the montages. The findings converge to show that an increase in the number of recording electrodes leads to a systematic improvement in the detection of true cortical phase synchrony. While there is always a ceiling effect with respect to discernible cortical details, we show that the average and Laplacian montages exhibit superior specificity and sensitivity as compared to other conventional montages. Reliability in assessing true neonatal cortical synchrony is directly related to the choice of EEG recording and analysis configurations. Because of the high conductivity of the neonatal skull, the conventional neonatal EEG recordings are spatially far too sparse for pertinent studies, and this loss of information cannot be recovered by re-montaging during analysis. Future neonatal EEG studies will need prospective planning of recording configuration to allow analysis of spatial details required by each study question. Our findings also advice about the level of details in brain synchrony that can be studied with existing datasets or by using conventional EEG recordings. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Long-Term Trends and Temporal Synchrony in Plankton Richness, Diversity and Biomass Driven by Re-Oligotrophication and Climate across 17 Danish Lakes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Korhan Özkan

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available A two-decade (1989–2008 time series of lake phyto- and zooplankton, water characteristics and climate in 17 Danish lakes was analysed to examine the long term changes and the effects of lake restoration efforts. The analyses of the pair-wise correlations across time series revealed a strong synchrony in climatic variables among the lakes. A significant, but weak increase in air temperature was observed and resulted in a corresponding increase in surface water temperature only in summer. Lake physico-chemical variables had weaker synchrony than climatic variables. Synchrony in water temperature and stratification was stronger than lake chemistry as the former is mostly affected by atmospheric energy flux. Synchrony in the taxonomic richness of the plankton groups and phytoplankton biomass was apparent, to a similar degree as observed for lake chemistry. The synchrony and the temporal trends in lake chemistry and plankton were more pronounced for the lakes with strong re-oligotrophication. Phytoplankton biomass decreased and plankton richness increased in these lakes, with a shift from Chlorophyta dominance towards more heterogeneous phytoplankton communities. Notably, a widespread significant positive trend in plankton richness was observed not only in lakes with strong re-oligotrophication but across all lakes. The widespread increase in plankton richness coincided with widespread decrease in phosphate and total nitrogen concentrations, as well as with the trends in climate indicating a likely joint effect of nutrient reduction and climate in driving lake plankton. However, temporal changes and synchrony as well as the recovery of richness and composition of lake plankton more coherently corresponded with the nutrient loading reduction across the Danish landscape, while the role of climate control of the lake plankton was less pronounced.

  9. Alterations in Gene Expression in Depression: Prospects for Personalize Patient Treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donev, Rossen; Alawam, Khaled

    2015-01-01

    The number of people around the world suffering from depression has dramatically increased in last few decades. It has been predicted that by 2020 depression will become the second most common cause of disability. Furthermore, depression is often misdiagnosed and confused with other psychiatric disorders showing similar symptoms, i.e., anxiety and bipolar disorder, due to the fact that diagnosing is often carried out by medical workers who are not psychiatrically trained. These facts prompt us to prepare this review which focuses on alterations in gene expression in depression. We believe that an in-depth knowledge of molecular bases of behavior in depression and other mood disorders would be of a great benefit for the correct diagnosing of these disorders, as well as for prescribing a treatment that best suits each individual depending on expression alterations in depression-related genes. Therefore, the main aim of this review is to promote further translational research on the biochemistry of mood disorders and take the results further for the design of new targeted therapeutics that can be used for personalized treatment with minimal adverse effects. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Gamma synchrony: towards a translational biomarker for the treatment resistant symptoms of schizophrenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gandal, Michael J.; Edgar, J. Christopher; Klook, Kerstin; Siegel, Steven J.

    2011-01-01

    The lack of efficacy for antipsychotics with respect to negative symptoms and cognitive deficits is a significant obstacle for the treatment of schizophrenia. Developing new drugs to target these symptoms requires appropriate neural biomarkers that can be investigated in model organisms, be used to track treatment response, and provide insight into pathophysiological disease mechanisms. A growing body of evidence indicates that neural oscillations in the gamma frequency range (30–80 Hz) are disturbed in schizophrenia. Gamma synchrony has been shown to mediate a host of sensory and cognitive functions, including perceptual encoding, selective attention, salience, and working memory – neurocognitive processes that are dysfunctional in schizophrenia and largely refractory to treatment. This review summarizes the current state of clinical literature with respect to gamma band responses (GBRs) in schizophrenia, focusing on resting and auditory paradigms. Next, preclinical studies of schizophrenia that have investigated gamma band activity are reviewed to gain insight into neural mechanisms associated with these deficits. We conclude that abnormalities in gamma synchrony are ubiquitous in schizophrenia and likely reflect an elevation in baseline cortical gamma synchrony (‘noise’) coupled with reduced stimulus-evoked GBRs (‘signal’). Such a model likely reflects hippocampal and cortical dysfunction, as well as reduced glutamatergic signaling with downstream GABAergic deficits, but is probably less influenced by dopaminergic abnormalities implicated in schizophrenia. Finally, we propose that analogous signal-to-noise deficits in the flow of cortical information in preclinical models are useful targets for the development of new drugs that target the treatment-resistant symptoms of schizophrenia. PMID:21349276

  11. Aging alters mRNA expression of amyloid transporter genes at the blood-brain barrier.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osgood, Doreen; Miller, Miles C; Messier, Arthur A; Gonzalez, Liliana; Silverberg, Gerald D

    2017-09-01

    Decreased clearance of potentially toxic metabolites, due to aging changes, likely plays a significant role in the accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides and other macromolecules in the brain of the elderly and in the patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aging is the single most important risk factor for AD development. Aβ transport receptor proteins expressed at the blood-brain barrier are significantly altered with age: the efflux transporters lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 and P-glycoprotein are reduced, whereas the influx transporter receptor for advanced glycation end products is increased. These receptors play an important role in maintaining brain biochemical homeostasis. We now report that, in a rat model of aging, gene transcription is altered in aging, as measured by Aβ receptor gene messenger RNA (mRNA) at 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 20, 30, and 36 months. Gene mRNA expression from isolated cerebral microvessels was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 and P-glycoprotein mRNA were significantly reduced in aging, and receptor for advanced glycation end products was increased, in parallel with the changes seen in receptor protein expression. Transcriptional changes appear to play a role in aging alterations in blood-brain barrier receptor expression and Aβ accumulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Spatial synchrony propagates through a forest food web via consumer-resource interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyle J. ​Haynes; Andrew M. Liebhold; Todd M. Fearer; Guiming Wang; Gary W. Norman; Derek M. Johnson

    2009-01-01

    In many study systems, populations fluctuate synchronously across large regions. Several mechanisms have been advanced to explain this, but their importance in nature is often uncertain. Theoretical studies suggest that spatial synchrony initiated in one species through Moran effects may propagate among trophically linked species, but evidence for this in nature is...

  13. Domestication-driven Gossypium profilin 1 (GhPRF1) gene transduces early flowering phenotype in tobacco by spatial alteration of apical/floral-meristem related gene expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandey, Dhananjay K; Chaudhary, Bhupendra

    2016-05-13

    Plant profilin genes encode core cell-wall structural proteins and are evidenced for their up-regulation under cotton domestication. Notwithstanding striking discoveries in the genetics of cell-wall organization in plants, little is explicit about the manner in which profilin-mediated molecular interplay and corresponding networks are altered, especially during cellular signalling of apical meristem determinacy and flower development. Here we show that the ectopic expression of GhPRF1 gene in tobacco resulted in the hyperactivation of apical meristem and early flowering phenotype with increased flower number in comparison to the control plants. Spatial expression alteration in CLV1, a key meristem-determinacy gene, is induced by the GhPRF1 overexpression in a WUS-dependent manner and mediates cell signalling to promote flowering. But no such expression alterations are recorded in the GhPRF1-RNAi lines. The GhPRF1 transduces key positive flowering regulator AP1 gene via coordinated expression of FT4, SOC1, FLC1 and FT1 genes involved in the apical-to-floral meristem signalling cascade which is consistent with our in silico profilin interaction data. Remarkably, these positive and negative flowering regulators are spatially controlled by the Actin-Related Protein (ARP) genes, specifically ARP4 and ARP6 in proximate association with profilins. This study provides a novel and systematic link between GhPRF1 gene expression and the flower primordium initiation via up-regulation of the ARP genes, and an insight into the functional characterization of GhPRF1 gene acting upstream to the flowering mechanism. Also, the transgenic plants expressing GhPRF1 gene show an increase in the plant height, internode length, leaf size and plant vigor. Overexpression of GhPRF1 gene induced early and increased flowering in tobacco with enhanced plant vigor. During apical meristem determinacy and flower development, the GhPRF1 gene directly influences key flowering regulators through ARP-genes

  14. Altered Stress-Induced Regulation of Genes in Monocytes in Adults with a History of Childhood Adversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwaiger, Marion; Grinberg, Marianna; Moser, Dirk; Zang, Johannes C S; Heinrichs, Markus; Hengstler, Jan G; Rahnenführer, Jörg; Cole, Steve; Kumsta, Robert

    2016-09-01

    Exposure to serious or traumatic events early in life can lead to persistent alterations in physiological stress response systems, including enhanced cross talk between the neuroendocrine and immune system. These programming effects may be mechanistically involved in mediating the effects of adverse childhood experience on disease risk in adulthood. We investigated hormonal and genome-wide mRNA expression responses in monocytes to acute stress exposure, in a sample of healthy adults (n=30) with a history of early childhood adversity, and a control group (n=30) without trauma experience. The early adversity group showed altered hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to stress, evidenced by lower ACTH and cortisol responses. Analyses of gene expression patterns showed that stress-responsive transcripts were enriched for genes involved in cytokine activity, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, chemokine activity, and G-protein coupled receptor binding. Differences between groups in stress-induced regulation of gene transcription were observed for genes involved in steroid binding, hormone activity, and G-protein coupled receptor binding. Transcription factor binding motif analysis showed an increased activity of pro-inflammatory upstream signaling in the early adversity group. We also identified transcripts that were differentially correlated with stress-induced cortisol increases between the groups, enriched for genes involved in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and glutamate receptor signaling. We suggest that childhood adversity leads to persistent alterations in transcriptional control of stress-responsive pathways, which-when chronically or repeatedly activated-might predispose individuals to stress-related psychopathology.

  15. Variation in Population Synchrony in a Multi-Species Seabird Community: Response to Changes in Predator Abundance.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gail S Robertson

    Full Text Available Ecologically similar sympatric species, subject to typical environmental conditions, may be expected to exhibit synchronous temporal fluctuations in demographic parameters, while populations of dissimilar species might be expected to show less synchrony. Previous studies have tested for synchrony in different populations of single species, and those including data from more than one species have compared fluctuations in only one demographic parameter. We tested for synchrony in inter-annual changes in breeding population abundance and productivity among four tern species on Coquet Island, northeast England. We also examined how manipulation of one independent environmental variable (predator abundance influenced temporal changes in ecologically similar and dissimilar tern species. Changes in breeding abundance and productivity of ecologically similar species (Arctic Sterna paradisaea, Common S. hirundo and Roseate Terns S. dougallii were synchronous with one another over time, but not with a species with different foraging and breeding behaviour (Sandwich Terns Thalasseus sandvicensis. With respect to changes in predator abundance, there was no clear pattern. Roseate Tern abundance was negatively correlated with that of large gulls breeding on the island from 1975 to 2013, while Common Tern abundance was positively correlated with number of large gulls, and no significant correlations were found between large gull and Arctic and Sandwich Tern populations. Large gull abundance was negatively correlated with productivity of Arctic and Common Terns two years later, possibly due to predation risk after fledging, while no correlation with Roseate Tern productivity was found. The varying effect of predator abundance is most likely due to specific differences in the behaviour and ecology of even these closely-related species. Examining synchrony in multi-species assemblages improves our understanding of how whole communities react to long-term changes

  16. Motor correlates of models of secondary bilateral synchrony and multiple epileptic foci

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Jiruška, Přemysl; Prokš, J.; Otáhal, Jakub; Mareš, Pavel

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 16, č. 7 (2007), s. 627-635 ISSN 1059-1311 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA309/03/0770; GA ČR GA304/05/2582 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5011922 Keywords : epileptic foci * secondary bilateral synchrony * neocortex Subject RIV: ED - Physiology Impact factor: 1.815, year: 2007

  17. Structural (operational) synchrony of EEG alpha activity during an auditory memory task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fingelkurts, Andrew; Fingelkurts, Alexander; Krause, Christina; Kaplan, Alexander; Borisov, Sergei; Sams, Mikko

    2003-09-01

    Memory paradigms are often used in psycho-physiological experiments in order to understand the neural basis underlying cognitive processes. One of the fundamental problems encountered in memory research is how specific and complementary cortical structures interact with each other during episodic encoding and retrieval. A key aspect of the research described below was estimating the coupling of rapid transition processes (in terms of EEG description) which occur in separate cortical areas rather than estimating the routine phase-frequency synchrony in terms of correlation and coherency. It is assumed that these rapid transition processes in the EEG amplitude correspond to the "switching on/off" of brain elemental operations. By making a quantitative estimate of the EEG structural synchrony of alpha-band power between different EEG channels, it was shown that short-term memory has the emergent property of a multiregional neuronal network, and is not the product of strictly hierarchical processing based on convergence through association regions. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the dynamic temporal structure of alpha activity is strongly correlated to the dynamic structure of working memory.

  18. Dance on cortex: enhanced theta synchrony in experts when watching a dance piece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poikonen, Hanna; Toiviainen, Petri; Tervaniemi, Mari

    2018-03-01

    When watching performing arts, a wide and complex network of brain processes emerge. These processes can be shaped by professional expertise. When compared to laymen, dancers have enhanced processes in observation of short dance movement and listening to music. But how do the cortical processes differ in musicians and dancers when watching an audio-visual dance performance? In our study, we presented the participants long excerpts from the contemporary dance choreography of Carmen. During multimodal movement of a dancer, theta phase synchrony over the fronto-central electrodes was stronger in dancers when compared to musicians and laymen. In addition, alpha synchrony was decreased in all groups during large rapid movement when compared to nearly motionless parts of the choreography. Our results suggest an enhanced cortical communication in dancers when watching dance and, further, that this enhancement is rather related to multimodal, cognitive and emotional processes than to simple observation of dance movement. © 2018 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Developmental synchrony of thalamocortical circuits in the neonatal brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poh, Joann S; Li, Yue; Ratnarajah, Nagulan; Fortier, Marielle V; Chong, Yap-Seng; Kwek, Kenneth; Saw, Seang-Mei; Gluckman, Peter D; Meaney, Michael J; Qiu, Anqi

    2015-08-01

    The thalamus is a deep gray matter structure and consists of axonal fibers projecting to the entire cortex, which provide the anatomical support for its sensorimotor and higher-level cognitive functions. There is limited in vivo evidence on the normal thalamocortical development, especially in early life. In this study, we aimed to investigate the developmental patterns of the cerebral cortex, the thalamic substructures, and their connectivity with the cortex in the first few weeks of the postnatal brain. We hypothesized that there is developmental synchrony of the thalamus, its cortical projections, and corresponding target cortical structures. We employed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and divided the thalamus into five substructures respectively connecting to the frontal, precentral, postcentral, temporal, and parietal and occipital cortex. T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure cortical thickness. We found age-related increases in cortical thickness of bilateral frontal cortex and left temporal cortex in the early postnatal brain. We also found that the development of the thalamic substructures was synchronized with that of their respective thalamocortical connectivity in the first few weeks of the postnatal life. In particular, the right thalamo-frontal substructure had the fastest growth in the early postnatal brain. Our study suggests that the distinct growth patterns of the thalamic substructures are in synchrony with those of the cortex in early life, which may be critical for the development of the cortical and subcortical functional specialization. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. HC-Pro silencing suppressor significantly alters the gene expression profile in tobacco leaves and flowers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lehto Kirsi

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background RNA silencing is used in plants as a major defence mechanism against invasive nucleic acids, such as viruses. Accordingly, plant viruses have evolved to produce counter defensive RNA-silencing suppressors (RSSs. These factors interfere in various ways with the RNA silencing machinery in cells, and thereby disturb the microRNA (miRNA mediated endogene regulation and induce developmental and morphological changes in plants. In this study we have explored these effects using previously characterized transgenic tobacco plants which constitutively express (under CaMV 35S promoter the helper component-proteinase (HC-Pro derived from a potyviral genome. The transcript levels of leaves and flowers of these plants were analysed using microarray techniques (Tobacco 4 × 44 k, Agilent. Results Over expression of HC-Pro RSS induced clear phenotypic changes both in growth rate and in leaf and flower morphology of the tobacco plants. The expression of 748 and 332 genes was significantly changed in the leaves and flowers, respectively, in the HC-Pro expressing transgenic plants. Interestingly, these transcriptome alterations in the HC-Pro expressing tobacco plants were similar as those previously detected in plants infected with ssRNA-viruses. Particularly, many defense-related and hormone-responsive genes (e.g. ethylene responsive transcription factor 1, ERF1 were differentially regulated in these plants. Also the expression of several stress-related genes, and genes related to cell wall modifications, protein processing, transcriptional regulation and photosynthesis were strongly altered. Moreover, genes regulating circadian cycle and flowering time were significantly altered, which may have induced a late flowering phenotype in HC-Pro expressing plants. The results also suggest that photosynthetic oxygen evolution, sugar metabolism and energy levels were significantly changed in these transgenic plants. Transcript levels of S

  1. Differential alterations in gene expression profiles contribute to time-dependent effects of nandrolone to prevent denervation atrophy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bauman William A

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Anabolic steroids, such as nandrolone, slow muscle atrophy, but the mechanisms responsible for this effect are largely unknown. Their effects on muscle size and gene expression depend upon time, and the cause of muscle atrophy. Administration of nandrolone for 7 days beginning either concomitantly with sciatic nerve transection (7 days or 29 days later (35 days attenuated denervation atrophy at 35 but not 7 days. We reasoned that this model could be used to identify genes that are regulated by nandrolone and slow denervation atrophy, as well as genes that might explain the time-dependence of nandrolone effects on such atrophy. Affymetrix microarrays were used to profile gene expression changes due to nandrolone at 7 and 35 days and to identify major gene expression changes in denervated muscle between 7 and 35 days. Results Nandrolone selectively altered expression of 124 genes at 7 days and 122 genes at 35 days, with only 20 genes being regulated at both time points. Marked differences in biological function of genes regulated by nandrolone at 7 and 35 days were observed. At 35, but not 7 days, nandrolone reduced mRNA and protein levels for FOXO1, the mTOR inhibitor REDD2, and the calcineurin inhibitor RCAN2 and increased those for ApoD. At 35 days, correlations between mRNA levels and the size of denervated muscle were negative for RCAN2, and positive for ApoD. Nandrolone also regulated genes for Wnt signaling molecules. Comparison of gene expression at 7 and 35 days after denervation revealed marked alterations in the expression of 9 transcriptional coregulators, including Ankrd1 and 2, and many transcription factors and kinases. Conclusions Genes regulated in denervated muscle after 7 days administration of nandrolone are almost entirely different at 7 versus 35 days. Alterations in levels of FOXO1, and of genes involved in signaling through calcineurin, mTOR and Wnt may be linked to the favorable action of nandrolone on

  2. Altered Gene Expression Profile in Mouse Bladder Cancers Induced by Hydroxybutyl(butylnitrosamine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruisheng Yao

    2004-09-01

    Full Text Available A variety of genetic alterations and gene expression changes are involved in the pathogenesis of bladder tumor. To explore these changes, oligonucleotide array analysis was performed on RNA obtained from carcinogen-induced mouse bladder tumors and normal mouse bladder epithelia using Affymetrix (Santa Clara, CA MGU74Av2 GeneChips. Analysis yielded 1164 known genes that were changed in the tumors. Certain of the upregulated genes included EGFR-Ras signaling genes, transcription factors, cell cycle-related genes, and intracellular signaling cascade genes. However, downregulated genes include mitogen-activated protein kinases, cell cycle checkpoint genes, Rab subfamily genes, Rho subfamily genes, and SH2 and SH3 domains-related genes. These genes are involved in a broad range of different pathways including control of cell proliferation, differentiation, cell cycle, signal transduction, and apoptosis. Using the pathway visualization tool GenMAPP, we found that several genes, including TbR-l, STAT1, Smad1, Smad2, Jun, NFκB, and so on, in the TGF-β signaling pathway and p115 RhoGEF, RhoGDl3, MEKK4A/MEKK4B, P13KA, and JNK in the G13 signaling pathway were differentially expressed in the tumors. In summary, we have determined the expression profiles of genes differentially expressed during mouse bladder tumorigenesis. Our results suggest that activation of the EGFR-Ras pathway, uncontrolled cell cycle, aberrant transcription factors, and G13 and TGF-β pathways are involved, and the cross-talk between these pathways seems to play important roles in mouse bladder tumorigenesis.

  3. Synchrony in the snowshoe hare cycle in Northwestern North America, 1970-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    C.J. Krebs; K. Kielland; J.P Bryant; M. O' Donoghue; F. Doyle; C. McIntyre; D. DiFolco; N. Berg; S. Carriere; R. Boonstra; S. Boutin; A. J. Kenney; D. G. Reid; K. Bodony; J. Putera; H. K. Timm; T. Burke.

    2013-01-01

    Snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777) fluctuate in 9–10 year cycles throughout much of their North American range. Regional synchrony has been assumed to be the rule for these cycles, so that hare populations in virtually all of northwestern North America have been assumed to be in phase. We gathered qualitative and quantitative data on...

  4. Dynamics and Synchrony of Pancreatic beta-cells and Islets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Morten Gram

    2006-01-01

    description of these processes and their interactions would provide important input in the search for a better treatment of the disease. The thesis describes several aspects of mathematical modeling of beta-cells relevant for the understanding of glucose stimulated insulin secretion. It consists...... and the synchronized behavior of many coupled beta-cells as well as to the synchrony of islets. Rather than developing new biophysical models, the thesis investigates existing models, their integration and simplifications, and analyzed the corresponding dynamics, in order to use these models for investigating...

  5. Alterations in gene expression profiles between radioresistant and radiosensitive cell lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Fuxiang; Zhou Yunfeng; Xie Conghua; Dai Jing; Cao Zhen; Yu Haijun; Liao Zhengkai; Luo Zhiguo

    2007-01-01

    Objective: To study the-difference of gene expressions by the contrastive model including the cells with same pathological origin and genetic background, but definitely different radioresponse, and to find the main molecular targets related to radiosensitivity. Methods: Human larynx squamous carcinoma cell, Hep -2 was irradiated with dose of 637 cGy repeatedly to establish a radioresistant daughter cell line. The radiobiology characteristics were obtained using clone forming assay. The difference of gene expression between parent and daughter cells was detected by cDNA microarray using two different arrays including 14000 genes respectively. Results: A radioresistant cell strain Hep-2R was isolated from its parental strain Hep-2 cell. The SF 2 , D 0 , α, β for Hep-2R cell line were 0.6798, 3.24, 0.2951 and 0.0363, respectively, while 0.4148, 2.06, 0.1074 and 0.0405 for Hep-2, respectively (for SF 2 , χ 2 =63.957, P<0.001). Compared with Hep-2 cells, the expressions of 41 genes were significantly altered in the radioresistant Hep-2R cells, including 22 genes up-regulated and 19 genes down-regulated, which were involved in DNA repair, regulation of the cell cycle, cell proliferation, cytoskeleton, protein synthesis, cellular metabolism and especially apoptosis which is responsible for the different radiosensitivity between these two larynx cancer cells. The telomere protection protein gene, POT1, was the mostly up-regulated by 3.348 times. Conclusions: There is difference of gene expression between the radioresistant contrastive models. POT1 gene may be the target of radiosensitization. (authors)

  6. Coherence and phase synchrony analyses of EEG signals in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): A study of functional brain connectivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Handayani, Nita; Haryanto, Freddy; Khotimah, Siti Nurul; Arif, Idam; Taruno, Warsito Purwo

    2018-03-01

    This paper presents an EEG study for coherence and phase synchrony in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects. MCI is characterized by cognitive decline, which is an early stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD is a neurodegenerative disorder with symptoms such as memory loss and cognitive impairment. EEG coherence is a statistical measure of correlation between signals from electrodes spatially separated on the scalp. The magnitude of phase synchrony is expressed in the phase locking value (PLV), a statistical measure of neuronal connectivity in the human brain. Brain signals were recorded using an Emotiv Epoc 14-channel wireless EEG at a sampling frequency of 128 Hz. In this study, we used 22 elderly subjects consisted of 10 MCI subjects and 12 healthy subjects as control group. The coherence between each electrode pair was measured for all frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha and beta). In the MCI subjects, the value of coherence and phase synchrony was generally lower than in the healthy subjects especially in the beta frequency. A decline of intrahemisphere coherence in the MCI subjects occurred in the left temporo-parietal-occipital region. The pattern of decline in MCI coherence is associated with decreased cholinergic connectivity along the path that connects the temporal, occipital, and parietal areas of the brain to the frontal area of the brain. EEG coherence and phase synchrony are able to distinguish persons who suffer AD in the early stages from healthy elderly subjects.

  7. Evaluation of cell proliferation, apoptosis, and dna-repair genes as potential biomarkers for ethanol-induced cns alterations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hicks Steven D

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Alcohol use disorders (AUDs lead to alterations in central nervous system (CNS architecture along with impaired learning and memory. Previous work from our group and that of others suggests that one mechanism underlying these changes is alteration of cell proliferation, apoptosis, and DNA-repair in neural stem cells (NSCs produced as a consequence of ethanol-induced effects on the expression of genes related to p53-signaling. This study tests the hypothesis that changes in the expression of p53-signaling genes represent biomarkers of ethanol abuse which can be identified in the peripheral blood of rat drinking models and human AUD subjects and posits that specific changes may be correlated with differences in neuropsychological measures and CNS structure. Results Remarkably, microarray analysis of 350 genes related to p53-signaling in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs of binge-drinking rats revealed 190 genes that were significantly altered after correcting for multiple testing. Moreover, 40 of these genes overlapped with those that we had previously observed to be changed in ethanol-exposed mouse NSCs. Expression changes in nine of these genes were tested for independent confirmation by a custom QuantiGene Plex (QGP assay for a subset of p53-signaling genes, where a consistent trend for decreased expression of mitosis-related genes was observed. One mitosis-related gene (Pttg1 was also changed in human lymphoblasts cultured with ethanol. In PBLs of human AUD subjects seven p53-signaling genes were changed compared with non-drinking controls. Correlation and principal components analysis were then used to identify significant relationships between the expression of these seven genes and a set of medical, demographic, neuropsychological and neuroimaging measures that distinguished AUD and control subjects. Two genes (Ercc1 and Mcm5 showed a highly significant correlation with AUD-induced decreases in the volume of the left

  8. Early maternal alcohol consumption alters hippocampal DNA methylation, gene expression and volume in a mouse model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heidi Marjonen

    Full Text Available The adverse effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy are known, but the molecular events that lead to the phenotypic characteristics are unclear. To unravel the molecular mechanisms, we have used a mouse model of gestational ethanol exposure, which is based on maternal ad libitum ingestion of 10% (v/v ethanol for the first 8 days of gestation (GD 0.5-8.5. Early neurulation takes place by the end of this period, which is equivalent to the developmental stage early in the fourth week post-fertilization in human. During this exposure period, dynamic epigenetic reprogramming takes place and the embryo is vulnerable to the effects of environmental factors. Thus, we hypothesize that early ethanol exposure disrupts the epigenetic reprogramming of the embryo, which leads to alterations in gene regulation and life-long changes in brain structure and function. Genome-wide analysis of gene expression in the mouse hippocampus revealed altered expression of 23 genes and three miRNAs in ethanol-exposed, adolescent offspring at postnatal day (P 28. We confirmed this result by using two other tissues, where three candidate genes are known to express actively. Interestingly, we found a similar trend of upregulated gene expression in bone marrow and main olfactory epithelium. In addition, we observed altered DNA methylation in the CpG islands upstream of the candidate genes in the hippocampus. Our MRI study revealed asymmetry of brain structures in ethanol-exposed adult offspring (P60: we detected ethanol-induced enlargement of the left hippocampus and decreased volume of the left olfactory bulb. Our study indicates that ethanol exposure in early gestation can cause changes in DNA methylation, gene expression, and brain structure of offspring. Furthermore, the results support our hypothesis of early epigenetic origin of alcohol-induced disorders: changes in gene regulation may have already taken place in embryonic stem cells and therefore can be seen in

  9. Feeding period restriction alters the expression of peripheral circadian rhythm genes without changing body weight in mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hagoon Jang

    Full Text Available Accumulating evidence suggests that the circadian clock is closely associated with metabolic regulation. However, whether an impaired circadian clock is a direct cause of metabolic dysregulation such as body weight gain is not clearly understood. In this study, we demonstrate that body weight gain in mice is not significantly changed by restricting feeding period to daytime or nighttime. The expression of peripheral circadian clock genes was altered by feeding period restriction, while the expression of light-regulated hypothalamic circadian clock genes was unaffected by either a normal chow diet (NCD or a high-fat diet (HFD. In the liver, the expression pattern of circadian clock genes, including Bmal1, Clock, and Per2, was changed by different feeding period restrictions. Moreover, the expression of lipogenic genes, gluconeogenic genes, and fatty acid oxidation-related genes in the liver was also altered by feeding period restriction. Given that feeding period restriction does not affect body weight gain with a NCD or HFD, it is likely that the amount of food consumed might be a crucial factor in determining body weight. Collectively, these data suggest that feeding period restriction modulates the expression of peripheral circadian clock genes, which is uncoupled from light-sensitive hypothalamic circadian clock genes.

  10. Active drumming experience increases infants' sensitivity to audiovisual synchrony during observed drumming actions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gerson, S.A.; Schiavio, A.A.R.; Timmers, R.; Hunnius, S.

    2015-01-01

    In the current study, we examined the role of active experience on sensitivity to multisensory synchrony in six-month-old infants in a musical context. In the first of two experiments, we trained infants to produce a novel multimodal effect (i.e., a drum beat) and assessed the effects of this

  11. Oxycodone Self-Administration Induces Alterations in Expression of Integrin, Semaphorin and Ephrin Genes in the Mouse Striatum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vadim Yuferov

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Oxycodone is one a commonly used medication for pain, and is also a widely abused prescription opioid, like other short-acting MOPr agonists. Neurochemical and structural adaptations in brain following chronic MOPr-agonist administration are thought to underlie pathogenesis and persistence of opiate addiction. Many axon guidance molecules, such as integrins, semaphorins, and ephrins may contribute to oxycodone-induced neuroadaptations through alterations in axon-target connections and synaptogenesis, that may be implicated in the behaviors associated with opiate addiction. However, little is known about this important area. The aim of this study is to investigate alterations in expression of selected integrin, semaphorin, ephrins, netrin, and slit genes in the nucleus accumbens (NAc and caudate putamen (CPu of mice following extended 14-day oxycodone self-administration (SA, using RNAseq.Methods: Total RNA from the NAc and CPu were isolated from adult male C57BL/6J mice within 1 h after the last session of oxycodone in a 14-day self-administration paradigm (4h/day, 0.25 mg/kg/infusion, FR1 or from yoked saline controls. Gene expressions were examined using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq technology. RNA-Seq libraries were prepared using Illumina's TruSeq® Stranded Total RNA LT kit. The reads were aligned to the mouse reference genome (version mm10 using STAR. DESeq2 was applied to the counts of protein coding genes to estimate the fold change between the treatment groups. False Discovery Rate (FDR q < 0.1 were used to select genes that have a significant expression change. For selection of a subset of genes related to axon guidance pathway, REACTOME was used.Results: Among 38 known genes of the integrin, semaphorin, and ephrin gene families, RNA-seq data revealed up-regulation of six genes in the NAc: heterodimer receptor, integrins Itgal, Itgb2, and Itgam, and its ligand semaphorin Sema7a, two semaphorin receptors, plexins Plxnd1 and Plxdc1. There was

  12. Ketamine alters lateral prefrontal oscillations in a rule-based working memory task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Liya; Skoblenick, Kevin; Johnston, Kevin; Everling, Stefan

    2018-02-02

    Acute administration of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists in healthy humans and animals produces working memory deficits similar to those observed in schizophrenia. However, it is unclear whether they also lead to altered low-frequency (rule-based prosaccade and antisaccade working memory task, both before and after systemic injections of a subanesthetic dose (delay periods and inter-trial intervals. It also increased task-related alpha-band activities, likely reflecting compromised attention. Beta-band oscillations may be especially relevant to working memory processes, as stronger beta power weakly but significantly predicted shorter saccadic reaction time. Also in beta band, ketamine reduced the performance-related oscillation as well as the rule information encoded in the spectral power. Ketamine also reduced rule information in the spike-field phase consistency in almost all frequencies up to 60Hz. Our findings support NMDAR antagonists in non-human primates as a meaningful model for altered neural oscillations and synchrony, which reflect a disorganized network underlying the working memory deficits in schizophrenia. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Low doses of ketamine-an NMDA receptor blocker-produce working memory deficits similar to those observed in schizophrenia. In the LPFC, a key brain region for working memory, we found that ketamine altered neural oscillatory activities in similar ways that differentiate schizophrenic patients and healthy subjects, during both task and non-task periods. Ketamine induced stronger gamma (30-60Hz) and weaker beta (13-30Hz) oscillations, reflecting local hyperactivity and reduced long-range communications. Furthermore, ketamine reduced performance-related oscillatory activities, as well as the rule information encoded in the oscillations and in the synchrony between single cell activities and oscillations. The ketamine model helps link the molecular and cellular basis of neural oscillatory changes to the working

  13. Metabolic alterations, HFE gene mutations and atherogenic lipoprotein modifications in patients with primary iron overload.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meroño, Tomás; Brites, Fernando; Dauteuille, Carolane; Lhomme, Marie; Menafra, Martín; Arteaga, Alejandra; Castro, Marcelo; Saez, María Soledad; Ballerga, Esteban González; Sorroche, Patricia; Rey, Jorge; Lesnik, Philippe; Sordá, Juan Andrés; Chapman, M John; Kontush, Anatol; Daruich, Jorge

    2015-05-01

    Iron overload (IO) has been associated with glucose metabolism alterations and increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Primary IO is associated with mutations in the HFE gene. To which extent HFE gene mutations and metabolic alterations contribute to the presence of atherogenic lipoprotein modifications in primary IO remains undetermined. The present study aimed to assess small, dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, chemical composition of LDL and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles, and HDL functionality in IO patients. Eighteen male patients with primary IO and 16 sex- and age-matched controls were recruited. HFE mutations (C282Y, H63D and S65C), measures of insulin sensitivity and secretion (calculated from the oral glucose tolerance test), chemical composition and distribution profile of LDL and HDL subfractions (isolated by gradient density ultracentrifugation) and HDL functionality (as cholesterol efflux and antioxidative activity) were studied. IO patients compared with controls exhibited insulin resistance (HOMA-IR (homoeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance): +93%, PHFE genotypes. C282Y homozygotes (n=7) presented a reduced β-cell function and insulin secretion compared with non-C282Y patients (n=11) (-58% and -73%, respectively, PHFE gene mutations are involved in the presence of atherogenic lipoprotein modifications in primary IO. To what extent such alterations could account for an increase in CVD risk remains to be determined.

  14. Analysis of bidirectional pattern synchrony of concentration-secretion pairs: implementation in the human testicular and adrenal axes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Peter Y; Pincus, Steven M; Keenan, Daniel M; Roelfsema, Ferdinand; Veldhuis, Johannes D

    2005-02-01

    The hypothalamo-pituitary-testicular and hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axes are prototypical coupled neuroendocrine systems. In the present study, we contrasted in vivo linkages within and between these two axes using methods without linearity assumptions. We examined 11 young (21-31 yr) and 8 older (62-74 yr) men who underwent frequent (every 2.5 min) blood sampling overnight for paired measurement of LH and testosterone and 35 adults (17 women and 18 men; 26-77 yr old) who underwent adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol measurements every 10 min for 24 h. To mirror physiological interactions, hormone secretion was first deconvolved from serial concentrations with a waveform-independent biexponential elimination model. Feedforward synchrony, feedback synchrony, and the difference in feedforward-feedback synchrony were quantified by the cross-approximate entropy (X-ApEn) statistic. These were applied in a forward (LH concentration template, examining pattern recurrence in testosterone secretion), reverse (testosterone concentration template, examining pattern recurrence in LH secretion), and differential (forward minus reverse) manner, respectively. Analogous concentration-secretion X-ApEn estimates were calculated from ACTH-cortisol pairs. X-ApEn, a scale- and model-independent measure of pattern reproducibility, disclosed 1) greater testosterone-LH feedback coordination than LH-testosterone feedforward synchrony in healthy men and significant and symmetric erosion of both feedforward and feedback linkages with aging; 2) more synchronous ACTH concentration-dependent feedforward than feedback drive of cortisol secretion, independent of gender and age; and 3) enhanced detection of bidirectional physiological regulation by in vivo pairwise concentration-secretion compared with concentration-concentration analyses. The linking of relevant biological input to output signals and vice versa should be useful in the dissection of the reciprocal control of

  15. Gene expression analysis in human osteoblasts exposed to dexamethasone identifies altered developmental pathways as putative drivers of osteoporosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sadlier Denise M

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Osteoporosis, a disease of decreased bone mineral density represents a significant and growing burden in the western world. Aging population structure and therapeutic use of glucocorticoids have contributed in no small way to the increase in the incidence of this disease. Despite substantial investigative efforts over the last number of years the exact molecular mechanism underpinning the initiation and progression of osteoporosis remain to be elucidated. This has meant that no significant advances in therapeutic strategies have emerged, with joint replacement surgery being the mainstay of treatment. Methods In this study we have used an integrated genomics profiling and computational biology based strategy to identify the key osteoblast genes and gene clusters whose expression is altered in response to dexamethasone exposure. Primary human osteoblasts were exposed to dexamethasone in vitro and microarray based transcriptome profiling completed. Results These studies identified approximately 500 osteoblast genes whose expression was altered. Functional characterization of the transcriptome identified developmental networks as being reactivated with 106 development associated genes found to be differentially regulated. Pathway reconstruction revealed coordinate alteration of members of the WNT signaling pathway, including frizzled-2, frizzled-7, DKK1 and WNT5B, whose differential expression in this setting was confirmed by real time PCR. Conclusion The WNT pathway is a key regulator of skeletogenesis as well as differentiation of bone cells. Reactivation of this pathway may lead to altered osteoblast activity resulting in decreased bone mineral density, the pathological hallmark of osteoporosis. The data herein lend weight to the hypothesis that alterations in developmental pathways drive the initiation and progression of osteoporosis.

  16. Alterations in radioresistance of eucaryotic cells after the transfer of genomic wildtype DNA and metallothionein genes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lohrer, H.

    1987-01-01

    The presented paper describes experiments concerning the alteration of radiosensitivity of eucaryotic cells after gene transfer. Ionizing radiation (γ- or X-ray) induces DNA single- or double strand breaks, which are religated by an unknown repair system. Repair deficient cells are highly sensitive to ionizing radiation. In the experiments described, cells from a patient with the heritable disease Ataxia telangiectasia were used as well as two X-ray sensitive CHO mutant cell lines. After gene transfer of an intact human DNA repair gene or a metallothionein gene the cells should regain radioresistance. (orig.) [de

  17. Alteration in expression of defence genes in Pisum sativum after exposure to supplementary ultraviolet-B radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strid, A.

    1993-01-01

    Alterations in the amounts of mRNA for different types of defence genes after exposure of peas to supplementary ultraviolet-B radiation are demonstrated. The expression of the genes which encode the chalcone synthase of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway and glutathione reductase was induced, while a decrease was found for the chloroplastic radical-scavenging enzyme, superoxide dismutase. (author)

  18. Neuroimaging investigations of dorsal stream processing and effects of stimulus synchrony in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanfratello, Lori; Aine, Cheryl; Stephen, Julia

    2018-05-25

    Impairments in auditory and visual processing are common in schizophrenia (SP). In the unisensory realm visual deficits are primarily noted for the dorsal visual stream. In addition, insensitivity to timing offsets between stimuli are widely reported for SP. The aim of the present study was to test at the physiological level differences in dorsal/ventral stream visual processing and timing sensitivity between SP and healthy controls (HC) using MEG and a simple auditory/visual task utilizing a variety of multisensory conditions. The paradigm included all combinations of synchronous/asynchronous and central/peripheral stimuli, yielding 4 task conditions. Both HC and SP groups showed activation in parietal areas (dorsal visual stream) during all multisensory conditions, with parietal areas showing decreased activation for SP relative to HC, and a significantly delayed peak of activation for SP in intraparietal sulcus (IPS). We also observed a differential effect of stimulus synchrony on HC and SP parietal response. Furthermore, a (negative) correlation was found between SP positive symptoms and activity in IPS. Taken together, our results provide evidence of impairment of the dorsal visual stream in SP during a multisensory task, along with an altered response to timing offsets between presented multisensory stimuli. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Alterations in gene expression in mutant amyloid precursor protein transgenic mice lacking Niemann-Pick type C1 protein.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahua Maulik

    Full Text Available Niemann-Pick type C (NPC disease, a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused mostly by mutation in NPC1 gene, is pathologically characterized by the accumulation of free cholesterol in brain and other tissues. This is accompanied by gliosis and loss of neurons in selected brain regions, including the cerebellum. Recent studies have shown that NPC disease exhibits intriguing parallels with Alzheimer's disease, including the presence of neurofibrillary tangles and increased levels of amyloid precursor protein (APP-derived β-amyloid (Aβ peptides in vulnerable brain neurons. To evaluate the role of Aβ in NPC disease, we determined the gene expression profile in selected brain regions of our recently developed bigenic ANPC mice, generated by crossing APP transgenic (Tg mice with heterozygous Npc1-deficient mice. The ANPC mice exhibited exacerbated neuronal and glial pathology compared to other genotypes [i.e., APP-Tg, double heterozygous (Dhet, Npc1-null and wild-type mice]. Analysis of expression profiles of 86 selected genes using real-time RT-PCR arrays showed a wide-spectrum of alterations in the four genotypes compared to wild-type controls. The changes observed in APP-Tg and Dhet mice are limited to only few genes involved mostly in the regulation of cholesterol metabolism, whereas Npc1-null and ANPC mice showed alterations in the expression profiles of a number of genes regulating cholesterol homeostasis, APP metabolism, vesicular trafficking and cell death mechanism in both hippocampus and cerebellum compared to wild-type mice. Intriguingly, ANPC and Npc1-null mice, with some exceptions, exhibited similar changes, although more genes were differentially expressed in the affected cerebellum than the relatively spared hippocampus. The altered gene profiles were found to match with the corresponding protein levels. These results suggest that lack of Npc1 protein can alter the expression profile of selected transcripts as well as proteins, and

  20. Cpt1a gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells as an early biomarker of diet-related metabolic alterations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rubén Díaz-Rúa

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Research on biomarkers that provide early information about the development of future metabolic alterations is an emerging discipline. Gene expression analysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC is a promising tool to identify subjects at risk of developing diet-related diseases. Objective: We analysed PBMC expression of key energy homeostasis-related genes in a time-course analysis in order to find out early markers of metabolic alterations due to sustained intake of high-fat (HF and high-protein (HP diets. Design: We administered HF and HP diets (4 months to adult Wistar rats in isocaloric conditions to a control diet, mainly to avoid overweight associated with the intake of hyperlipidic diets and, thus, to be able to characterise markers of metabolically obese normal-weight (MONW syndrome. PBMC samples were collected at different time points of dietary treatment and expression of relevant energy homeostatic genes analysed by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Serum parameters related with metabolic syndrome, as well as fat deposition in liver, were also analysed. Results: The most outstanding results were those obtained for the expression of the lipolytic gene carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a (Cpt1a. Cpt1a expression in PBMC increased after only 1 month of exposure to both unbalanced diets, and this increased expression was maintained thereafter. Interestingly, in the case of the HF diet, Cpt1a expression was altered even in the absence of increased body weight but correlated with alterations such as higher insulin resistance, alteration of serum lipid profile and, particularly, increased fat deposition in liver, a feature characteristic of metabolic syndrome, which was even observed in animals fed with HP diet. Conclusions: We propose Cpt1a gene expression analysis in PBMC as an early biomarker of metabolic alterations associated with MONW phenotype due to the intake of isocaloric HF diets, as

  1. Alteration of gene expression and DNA methylation in drug-resistant gastric cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maeda, Osamu; Ando, Takafumi; Ohmiya, Naoki; Ishiguro, Kazuhiro; Watanabe, Osamu; Miyahara, Ryoji; Hibi, Yoko; Nagai, Taku; Yamada, Kiyofumi; Goto, Hidemi

    2014-04-01

    The mechanisms of drug resistance in cancer are not fully elucidated. To study the drug resistance of gastric cancer, we analyzed gene expression and DNA methylation profiles of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)- and cisplatin (CDDP)-resistant gastric cancer cells and biopsy specimens. Drug-resistant gastric cancer cells were established with culture for >10 months in a medium containing 5-FU or CDDP. Endoscopic biopsy specimens were obtained from gastric cancer patients who underwent chemotherapy with oral fluoropyrimidine S-1 and CDDP. Gene expression and DNA methylation analyses were performed using microarray, and validated using real-time PCR and pyrosequencing, respectively. Out of 17,933 genes, 541 genes commonly increased and 569 genes decreased in both 5-FU- and CDDP-resistant AGS cells. Genes with expression changed by drugs were related to GO term 'extracellular region' and 'p53 signaling pathway' in both 5-FU- and CDDP-treated cells. Expression of 15 genes including KLK13 increased and 12 genes including ETV7 decreased, in both drug-resistant cells and biopsy specimens of two patients after chemotherapy. Out of 10,365 genes evaluated with both expression microarray and methylation microarray, 74 genes were hypermethylated and downregulated, or hypomethylated and upregulated in either 5-FU-resistant or CDDP-resistant cells. Of these genes, expression of 21 genes including FSCN1, CPT1C and NOTCH3, increased from treatment with a demethylating agent. There are alterations of gene expression and DNA methylation in drug-resistant gastric cancer; they may be related to mechanisms of drug resistance and may be useful as biomarkers of gastric cancer drug sensitivity.

  2. A Single Dose of LSD Does Not Alter Gene Expression of the Serotonin 2A Receptor Gene (HTR2A) or Early Growth Response Genes (EGR1-3) in Healthy Subjects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolder, Patrick C.; Grünblatt, Edna; Müller, Felix; Borgwardt, Stefan J.; Liechti, Matthias E.

    2017-01-01

    Rationale: Renewed interest has been seen in the use of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in psychiatric research and practice. The repeated use of LSD leads to tolerance that is believed to result from serotonin (5-HT) 5-HT2A receptor downregulation. In rats, daily LSD administration for 4 days decreased frontal cortex 5-HT2A receptor binding. Additionally, a single dose of LSD acutely increased expression of the early growth response genes EGR1 and EGR2 in rat and mouse brains through 5-HT2A receptor stimulation. No human data on the effects of LSD on gene expression has been reported. Therefore, we investigated the effects of single-dose LSD administration on the expression of the 5-HT2A receptor gene (HTR2A) and EGR1-3 genes. Methods: mRNA expression levels were analyzed in whole blood as a peripheral biomarker in 15 healthy subjects before and 1.5 and 24 h after the administration of LSD (100 μg) and placebo in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study. Results: LSD did not alter the expression of the HTR2A or EGR1-3 genes 1.5 and 24 h after administration compared with placebo. Conclusion: No changes were observed in the gene expression of LSD’s primary target receptor gene or genes that are implicated in its downstream effects. Remaining unclear is whether chronic LSD administration alters gene expression in humans. PMID:28701958

  3. Virus Delivery of CRISPR Guides to the Murine Prostate for Gene Alteration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riedel, Maria; Berthelsen, Martin F; Bakiri, Latifa; Wagner, Erwin F; Thomsen, Martin K

    2018-04-27

    With an increasing incidence of prostate cancer, identification of new tumor drivers or modulators is crucial. Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMM) for prostate cancer are hampered by tumor heterogeneity and its complex microevolution dynamics. Traditional prostate cancer mouse models include, amongst others, germline and conditional knockouts, transgenic expression of oncogenes, and xenograft models. Generation of de novo mutations in these models is complex, time-consuming, and costly. In addition, most of traditional models target the majority of the prostate epithelium, whereas human prostate cancer is well known to evolve as an isolated event in only a small subset of cells. Valuable models need to simulate not only prostate cancer initiation, but also progression to advanced disease. Here we describe a method to target a few cells in the prostate epithelium by transducing cells by viral particles. The delivery of an engineered virus to the murine prostate allows alteration of gene expression in the prostate epithelia. Virus type and quantity will hereby define the number of targeted cells for gene alteration by transducing a few cells for cancer initiation and many cells for gene therapy. Through surgery-based injection in the anterior lobe, distal from the urinary track, the tumor in this model can expand without impairing the urinary function of the animal. Furthermore, by targeting only a subset of prostate epithelial cells the technique enables clonal expansion of the tumor, and therefore mimics human tumor initiation, progression, as well as invasion through the basal membrane. This novel technique provides a powerful prostate cancer model with improved physiological relevance. Animal suffering is limited, and since no additional breeding is required, overall animal count is reduced. At the same time, analysis of new candidate genes and pathways is accelerated, which in turn is more cost efficient.

  4. Synchrony-optimized networks of non-identical Kuramoto oscillators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brede, Markus

    2008-01-01

    In this Letter we discuss a method for generating synchrony-optimized coupling architectures of Kuramoto oscillators with a heterogeneous distribution of native frequencies. The method allows us to relate the properties of the coupling network to its synchronizability. These relations were previously only established from a linear stability analysis of the identical oscillator case. We further demonstrate that the heterogeneity in the oscillator population produces heterogeneity in the optimal coupling network as well. Two rules for enhancing the synchronizability of a given network by a suitable placement of oscillators are given: (i) native frequencies of adjacent oscillators must be anti-correlated and (ii) frequency magnitudes should positively correlate with the degree of the node they are placed at

  5. Physical and Relational Aggression in Young Children: The Role of Mother-Child Interactional Synchrony

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambrose, Holly N.; Menna, Rosanne

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the relationships between the quality of parent-child interactions, specifically interactional synchrony (IS), and physical and relational aggression in young children. Seventy-three children (3-6 years; 44 males, 29 females) and their mothers participated in this study. The children's level of aggression was assessed through…

  6. Multi-species spawning synchrony within scleractinian coral assemblages in the Red Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Bouwmeester, Jessica; Baird, Andrew Hamilton; Chen, C. J.; Guest, James R.; Vicentuan, Kareen C.; Berumen, Michael L.

    2014-01-01

    Early work on coral reproduction in the far northern Red Sea suggested that the spawning times of ecologically abundant species did not overlap, unlike on the Great Barrier Reef where many species spawn with high synchrony. In contrast, recent work in the northern and central Red Sea indicates a high degree of synchrony in the reproductive condition of Acropora species: over 90 % of species sampled in April/May contain mature gametes. However, it has yet to be determined when most Acropora release their gametes. In addition, there is a lack of data for other ecologically important scleractinian species such as merulinids and poritids. Here, we document the date and time of spawning for 51 species in the central Red Sea over three consecutive years, and the month of spawning for an additional 17 species inferred from the presence of mature gametes. Spawning occurs on nights around the full moon, the spawning season lasts at least 4 months from April until July, and observations are consistent with the few other records from the Red Sea. The number of Acropora species spawning was highest in April with 13 species spawning two nights before the full moon in 2011, 13 species spawning on the night of the full moon in 2012, and eight species spawning four nights after the full moon in 2013. The total number of species spawning was high in April, May, and June and involved 15–19 species per month in 2012. Only four species spawned in July 2012. Few regions worldwide have been similarly sampled and include the Philippines, Okinawa in Japan, and Palau, where spawning patterns are very similar to those in the central Red Sea and where corals spawn on nights around the full moon over a period of 3–4 months. In particular, in all four locations, Acropora are among the first species to spawn. Our results add to a growing body of evidence indicating that multi-species spawning synchrony is a feature of all speciose coral assemblages.

  7. Multi-species spawning synchrony within scleractinian coral assemblages in the Red Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Bouwmeester, Jessica

    2014-09-21

    Early work on coral reproduction in the far northern Red Sea suggested that the spawning times of ecologically abundant species did not overlap, unlike on the Great Barrier Reef where many species spawn with high synchrony. In contrast, recent work in the northern and central Red Sea indicates a high degree of synchrony in the reproductive condition of Acropora species: over 90 % of species sampled in April/May contain mature gametes. However, it has yet to be determined when most Acropora release their gametes. In addition, there is a lack of data for other ecologically important scleractinian species such as merulinids and poritids. Here, we document the date and time of spawning for 51 species in the central Red Sea over three consecutive years, and the month of spawning for an additional 17 species inferred from the presence of mature gametes. Spawning occurs on nights around the full moon, the spawning season lasts at least 4 months from April until July, and observations are consistent with the few other records from the Red Sea. The number of Acropora species spawning was highest in April with 13 species spawning two nights before the full moon in 2011, 13 species spawning on the night of the full moon in 2012, and eight species spawning four nights after the full moon in 2013. The total number of species spawning was high in April, May, and June and involved 15–19 species per month in 2012. Only four species spawned in July 2012. Few regions worldwide have been similarly sampled and include the Philippines, Okinawa in Japan, and Palau, where spawning patterns are very similar to those in the central Red Sea and where corals spawn on nights around the full moon over a period of 3–4 months. In particular, in all four locations, Acropora are among the first species to spawn. Our results add to a growing body of evidence indicating that multi-species spawning synchrony is a feature of all speciose coral assemblages.

  8. DNA methylation alters transcriptional rates of differentially expressed genes and contributes to pathophysiology in mice fed a high fat diet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pili Zhang

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Overnutrition can alter gene expression patterns through epigenetic mechanisms that may persist through generations. However, it is less clear if overnutrition, for example a high fat diet, modifies epigenetic control of gene expression in adults, or by what molecular mechanisms, or if such mechanisms contribute to the pathology of the metabolic syndrome. Here we test the hypothesis that a high fat diet alters hepatic DNA methylation, transcription and gene expression patterns, and explore the contribution of such changes to the pathophysiology of obesity. Methods: RNA-seq and targeted high-throughput bisulfite DNA sequencing were used to undertake a systematic analysis of the hepatic response to a high fat diet. RT-PCR, chromatin immunoprecipitation and in vivo knockdown of an identified driver gene, Phlda1, were used to validate the results. Results: A high fat diet resulted in the hypermethylation and decreased transcription and expression of Phlda1 and several other genes. A subnetwork of genes associated with Phlda1 was identified from an existing Bayesian gene network that contained numerous hepatic regulatory genes involved in lipid and body weight homeostasis. Hepatic-specific depletion of Phlda1 in mice decreased expression of the genes in the subnetwork, and led to increased oil droplet size in standard chow-fed mice, an early indicator of steatosis, validating the contribution of this gene to the phenotype. Conclusions: We conclude that a high fat diet alters the epigenetics and transcriptional activity of key hepatic genes controlling lipid homeostasis, contributing to the pathophysiology of obesity. Author Video: Author Video Watch what authors say about their articles Keywords: DNA methylation, RNA-seq, Transcription, High fat diet, Liver, Phlda1

  9. Genetic alterations within the DENND1A gene in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mette B Eriksen

    Full Text Available Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS, the most common endocrine disease among premenopausal women, is caused by both genes and environment. We and others previously reported association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs in the DENND1A gene and PCOS. We therefore sequenced the DENND1A gene in white patients with PCOS to identify possible alterations that may be implicated in the PCOS pathogenesis. Patients were referred with PCOS and/or hirsutism between 1998 and 2011 (n = 261. PCOS was diagnosed according to the Rotterdam criteria (n = 165. Sequence analysis was performed in 10 patients with PCOS. Additional patients (n = 251 and healthy female controls (n = 248 were included for SNP genotyping. Patients underwent clinical examination including Ferriman-Gallwey score (FG-score, biochemical analyses and transvaginal ultrasound. Mutation analysis was carried out by bidirectional sequencing. SNP genotyping was tested by allelic discrimination in real-time PCR in the additional patients and controls. Sequencing of the DENND1A gene identified eight SNPs; seven were not known to be associated with any diseases. One missense SNP was detected (rs189947178, A/C, potentially altering the structural conformation of the DENND1A protein. SNP genotyping of rs189947178 showed significantly more carriers among patients with PCOS and moderate hirsutism compared to controls. However, due to small sample size and lack of multiple regression analysis supporting an association between rs189947178 and FG-score or PCOS diagnosis, this could be a false positive finding. In conclusion, sequence analysis of the DENND1A gene of patients with PCOS did not identify alterations that alone could be responsible for the PCOS pathogenesis, but a missense SNP (rs189947178 was identified in one patient and significantly more carriers of rs189947178 were found among patients with PCOS and moderate hirsutism vs. controls. Additional studies with independent cohort are needed

  10. Sex-dependent alteration of cardiac cytochrome P450 gene expression by doxorubicin in C57Bl/6 mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Marianne K O; Seelig, Davis M; Sharkey, Leslie C; Zordoky, Beshay N

    2017-01-01

    There is inconclusive evidence about the role of sex as a risk factor for doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiotoxicity. Recent experimental studies have shown that adult female rats are protected against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. However, the mechanisms of this sexual dimorphism are not fully elucidated. We have previously demonstrated that DOX alters the expression of several cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes in the hearts of male rats. Nevertheless, the sex-dependent effect of DOX on the expression of CYP enzymes is still not known. Therefore, in the present study, we determined the effect of acute DOX exposure on the expression of CYP genes in the hearts of both male and female C57Bl/6 mice. Acute DOX cardiotoxicity was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of 20 mg/kg DOX in male and female adult C57Bl/6 mice. Cardiac function was assessed 5 days after DOX exposure by trans-thoracic echocardiography. Mice were euthanized 1 day or 6 days after DOX or saline injection. Thereafter, the hearts were harvested and weighed. Heart sections were evaluated for pathological lesions. Total RNA was extracted and expression of natriuretic peptides, inflammatory and apoptotic markers, and CYP genes was measured by real-time PCR. Adult female C57Bl/6 mice were protected from acute DOX-induced cardiotoxicity as they show milder pathological lesions, less inflammation, and faster recovery from DOX-induced apoptosis and DOX-mediated inhibition of beta-type natriuretic peptide. Acute DOX exposure altered the gene expression of multiple CYP genes in a sex-dependent manner. In 24 h, DOX exposure caused male-specific induction of Cyp1b1 and female-specific induction of Cyp2c29 and Cyp2e1. Acute DOX exposure causes sex-dependent alteration of cardiac CYP gene expression. Since cardiac CYP enzymes metabolize several endogenous compounds to biologically active metabolites, sex-dependent alteration of CYP genes may play a role in the sexual dimorphism of acute DOX

  11. Altered amygdalar resting-state connectivity in depression is explained by both genes and environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Córdova-Palomera, Aldo; Tornador, Cristian; Falcón, Carles; Bargalló, Nuria; Nenadic, Igor; Deco, Gustavo; Fañanás, Lourdes

    2015-10-01

    Recent findings indicate that alterations of the amygdalar resting-state fMRI connectivity play an important role in the etiology of depression. While both depression and resting-state brain activity are shaped by genes and environment, the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors mediating the relationship between amygdalar resting-state connectivity and depression remain largely unexplored. Likewise, novel neuroimaging research indicates that different mathematical representations of resting-state fMRI activity patterns are able to embed distinct information relevant to brain health and disease. The present study analyzed the influence of genes and environment on amygdalar resting-state fMRI connectivity, in relation to depression risk. High-resolution resting-state fMRI scans were analyzed to estimate functional connectivity patterns in a sample of 48 twins (24 monozygotic pairs) informative for depressive psychopathology (6 concordant, 8 discordant and 10 healthy control pairs). A graph-theoretical framework was employed to construct brain networks using two methods: (i) the conventional approach of filtered BOLD fMRI time-series and (ii) analytic components of this fMRI activity. Results using both methods indicate that depression risk is increased by environmental factors altering amygdalar connectivity. When analyzing the analytic components of the BOLD fMRI time-series, genetic factors altering the amygdala neural activity at rest show an important contribution to depression risk. Overall, these findings show that both genes and environment modify different patterns the amygdala resting-state connectivity to increase depression risk. The genetic relationship between amygdalar connectivity and depression may be better elicited by examining analytic components of the brain resting-state BOLD fMRI signals. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Gene alterations in radiation-induced F344 rat lung tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kelly, G.; Hahn, F.F.

    1994-01-01

    The p53 tumor suppressor gene is frequently altered in all major histopathologic types of human lung tumors. Reported p53 mutations include base substitutions, allelic loss, rearrangements, and deletions. Point mutations resulting in base substitutions are clustered within a highly conserved region of the gene encoding exons 508, and mutations in this region substantially extend the half-life of the p53 protein. In addition to its prominent importance in lung carcinogenesis, the p53 gene plays a critical role in the cellular response to genetic damage caused by radiation. Specifically, the protein product of p53 induces a pause or block at the G 1 to S boundary of the cell cycle following radiation-caused DNA damage. This G 1 block may allow the cell time to repair the damaged DNA prior to replication. Cells lacking a functional p53 protein fail to pause for repair and consequently accumulate mutations in the genome at an accelerated rate. p53 has also been implicated as a controlling factor in apoptosis or in programmed cell death induced by DNA-damaging agents, such as ionizing radiation. The p53 gene is mutated in approximately 50% of squamous cell carcinomas from uranium miners who inhaled high doses of radon daughters. The purpose of the present study was to determine if a similar percentage of squamous cell carcinomas with p53 mutations developed in the lungs of rats exposed to aerosols of 239 PuO 2

  13. Two sides of a coin: host-plant synchrony fitness trade-offs in the population dynamics of the western spruce budworm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Régnière, Jacques; Nealis, Vincent G

    2018-02-01

    Conifer-feeding budworms emerge from overwintering sites as small larvae in early spring, several days before budburst, and mine old needles. These early-emerging larvae suffer considerable mortality during this foraging period as they disperse in search of available, current-year buds. Once buds flush, surviving budworms construct feeding shelters and must complete maturation before fresh host foliage senesces and lignifies later in the summer. Late-developing larvae suffer greater mortality and survivors have lower fecundity when feeding on older foliage. Thus, there is a seasonal trade-off in fitness associated with host synchrony: early-emerging budworms have a greater risk of mortality during spring dispersal but gain better access to the most nutritious foliage, while, on the other hand, late-emerging larvae incur a lower risk during the initial foraging period but must contend with rapidly diminishing resource quality at the end of the feeding period. We investigate the balance that results from these early-season and late-season synchrony fitness trade-offs using the concept of the phenological window. Parameters associated with the variation in the phenological window are used to estimate generational fitness as a function of host-plant synchrony. Because defoliation modifies these relationships, it is also included in the analysis. We show that fitness trade-offs characterizing the phenological window result in a robust synchrony relationship between budworm and host plant over a wide geographic range in southern British Columbia, Canada. © 2016 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada Insect Science © 2016 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  14. Gene expression in developing fibres of Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) was massively altered by domestication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rapp, Ryan A; Haigler, Candace H; Flagel, Lex; Hovav, Ran H; Udall, Joshua A; Wendel, Jonathan F

    2010-11-15

    Understanding the evolutionary genetics of modern crop phenotypes has a dual relevance to evolutionary biology and crop improvement. Modern upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) was developed following thousands of years of artificial selection from a wild form, G. hirsutum var. yucatanense, which bears a shorter, sparser, layer of single-celled, ovular trichomes ('fibre'). In order to gain an insight into the nature of the developmental genetic transformations that accompanied domestication and crop improvement, we studied the transcriptomes of cotton fibres from wild and domesticated accessions over a developmental time course. Fibre cells were harvested between 2 and 25 days post-anthesis and encompassed the primary and secondary wall synthesis stages. Using amplified messenger RNA and a custom microarray platform designed to interrogate expression for 40,430 genes, we determined global patterns of expression during fibre development. The fibre transcriptome of domesticated cotton is far more dynamic than that of wild cotton, with over twice as many genes being differentially expressed during development (12,626 versus 5273). Remarkably, a total of 9465 genes were diagnosed as differentially expressed between wild and domesticated fibres when summed across five key developmental time points. Human selection during the initial domestication and subsequent crop improvement has resulted in a biased upregulation of components of the transcriptional network that are important for agronomically advanced fibre, especially in the early stages of development. About 15% of the differentially expressed genes in wild versus domesticated cotton fibre have no homology to the genes in databases. We show that artificial selection during crop domestication can radically alter the transcriptional developmental network of even a single-celled structure, affecting nearly a quarter of the genes in the genome. Gene expression during fibre development within accessions and expression

  15. A Motion Capture Study to Measure the Feeling of Synchrony in Romantic Couples and in Professional Musicians

    KAUST Repository

    Preissmann, Delphine; Charbonnier, Caecilia; Chagué , Sylvain; Antonietti, Jean Philippe; Llobera, Joan; Ansermet, Francois; Magistretti, Pierre J.

    2016-01-01

    The feeling of synchrony is fundamental for most social activities and prosocial behaviors. However, little is known about the behavioral correlates of this feeling and its modulation by intergroup differences. We previously showed

  16. Vinclozolin alters the expression of hormonal and stress genes in the midge Chironomus riparius.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aquilino, Mónica; Sánchez-Argüello, Paloma; Martínez-Guitarte, José-Luis

    2016-05-01

    Vinclozolin is a fungicide used in agriculture that can reach aquatic ecosystems and affect the organisms living there. Its effects have been intensively studied in vertebrates, where it acts as an antiandrogen, but there is a lack of information about its mechanistic effects on invertebrates. In this work, we analyzed the response of genes related to the endocrine system, the stress response, and the detoxification mechanisms of Chironomus riparius fourth instar larvae after 24h and 48h exposures to 20 (69.9nM), 200 (699nM), and 2000μg/L (6.99μM) of Vinclozolin. Survival analysis showed that this compound has low toxicity, as it was not lethal for this organism at the concentrations used. However, this fungicide was shown to modify the transcriptional activity of the ecdysone response pathway genes EcR, E74, and Kr-h1 by increasing their mRNA levels. While no changes were observed in disembodied, a gene related with the ecdysone synthesis metabolic pathway, Cyp18A1, which is involved in the inactivation of the active form of ecdysone, was upregulated. Additionally, the expression of two genes related to other hormones, FOXO and MAPR, did not show any changes when Vinclozolin was present. The analysis of stress response genes showed significant changes in the mRNA levels of Hsp70, Hsp24, and Gp93, indicating that Vinclozolin activates the cellular stress mechanisms. Finally, the expressions of the genes Cyp4G and GstD3, which encode enzymes involved in phase I and phase II detoxification, respectively, were analyzed. It was found that their mRNA levels were altered by Vinclozolin, suggesting their involvement in the degradation of this compound. For the first time, these results show evidence that Vinclozolin can modulate gene expression, leading to possible significant endocrine alterations of the insect endocrine system. These results also offer new clues about the mode of action of this compound in invertebrates. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights

  17. Sensitivity to audio-visual synchrony and its relation to language abilities in children with and without ASD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Righi, Giulia; Tenenbaum, Elena J; McCormick, Carolyn; Blossom, Megan; Amso, Dima; Sheinkopf, Stephen J

    2018-04-01

    Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is often accompanied by deficits in speech and language processing. Speech processing relies heavily on the integration of auditory and visual information, and it has been suggested that the ability to detect correspondence between auditory and visual signals helps to lay the foundation for successful language development. The goal of the present study was to examine whether young children with ASD show reduced sensitivity to temporal asynchronies in a speech processing task when compared to typically developing controls, and to examine how this sensitivity might relate to language proficiency. Using automated eye tracking methods, we found that children with ASD failed to demonstrate sensitivity to asynchronies of 0.3s, 0.6s, or 1.0s between a video of a woman speaking and the corresponding audio track. In contrast, typically developing children who were language-matched to the ASD group, were sensitive to both 0.6s and 1.0s asynchronies. We also demonstrated that individual differences in sensitivity to audiovisual asynchronies and individual differences in orientation to relevant facial features were both correlated with scores on a standardized measure of language abilities. Results are discussed in the context of attention to visual language and audio-visual processing as potential precursors to language impairment in ASD. Autism Res 2018, 11: 645-653. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Speech processing relies heavily on the integration of auditory and visual information, and it has been suggested that the ability to detect correspondence between auditory and visual signals helps to lay the foundation for successful language development. The goal of the present study was to explore whether children with ASD process audio-visual synchrony in ways comparable to their typically developing peers, and the relationship between preference for synchrony and language ability. Results showed that

  18. Mutation of the RDR1 gene caused genome-wide changes in gene expression, regional variation in small RNA clusters and localized alteration in DNA methylation in rice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ningning; Zhang, Di; Wang, Zhenhui; Xun, Hongwei; Ma, Jian; Wang, Hui; Huang, Wei; Liu, Ying; Lin, Xiuyun; Li, Ning; Ou, Xiufang; Zhang, Chunyu; Wang, Ming-Bo; Liu, Bao

    2014-06-30

    Endogenous small (sm) RNAs (primarily si- and miRNAs) are important trans/cis-acting regulators involved in diverse cellular functions. In plants, the RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RDRs) are essential for smRNA biogenesis. It has been established that RDR2 is involved in the 24 nt siRNA-dependent RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway. Recent studies have suggested that RDR1 is involved in a second RdDM pathway that relies mostly on 21 nt smRNAs and functions to silence a subset of genomic loci that are usually refractory to the normal RdDM pathway in Arabidopsis. Whether and to what extent the homologs of RDR1 may have similar functions in other plants remained unknown. We characterized a loss-of-function mutant (Osrdr1) of the OsRDR1 gene in rice (Oryza sativa L.) derived from a retrotransposon Tos17 insertion. Microarray analysis identified 1,175 differentially expressed genes (5.2% of all expressed genes in the shoot-tip tissue of rice) between Osrdr1 and WT, of which 896 and 279 genes were up- and down-regulated, respectively, in Osrdr1. smRNA sequencing revealed regional alterations in smRNA clusters across the rice genome. Some of the regions with altered smRNA clusters were associated with changes in DNA methylation. In addition, altered expression of several miRNAs was detected in Osrdr1, and at least some of which were associated with altered expression of predicted miRNA target genes. Despite these changes, no phenotypic difference was identified in Osrdr1 relative to WT under normal condition; however, ephemeral phenotypic fluctuations occurred under some abiotic stress conditions. Our results showed that OsRDR1 plays a role in regulating a substantial number of endogenous genes with diverse functions in rice through smRNA-mediated pathways involving DNA methylation, and which participates in abiotic stress response.

  19. Cis-regulatory somatic mutations and gene-expression alteration in B-cell lymphomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathelier, Anthony; Lefebvre, Calvin; Zhang, Allen W; Arenillas, David J; Ding, Jiarui; Wasserman, Wyeth W; Shah, Sohrab P

    2015-04-23

    With the rapid increase of whole-genome sequencing of human cancers, an important opportunity to analyze and characterize somatic mutations lying within cis-regulatory regions has emerged. A focus on protein-coding regions to identify nonsense or missense mutations disruptive to protein structure and/or function has led to important insights; however, the impact on gene expression of mutations lying within cis-regulatory regions remains under-explored. We analyzed somatic mutations from 84 matched tumor-normal whole genomes from B-cell lymphomas with accompanying gene expression measurements to elucidate the extent to which these cancers are disrupted by cis-regulatory mutations. We characterize mutations overlapping a high quality set of well-annotated transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs), covering a similar portion of the genome as protein-coding exons. Our results indicate that cis-regulatory mutations overlapping predicted TFBSs are enriched in promoter regions of genes involved in apoptosis or growth/proliferation. By integrating gene expression data with mutation data, our computational approach culminates with identification of cis-regulatory mutations most likely to participate in dysregulation of the gene expression program. The impact can be measured along with protein-coding mutations to highlight key mutations disrupting gene expression and pathways in cancer. Our study yields specific genes with disrupted expression triggered by genomic mutations in either the coding or the regulatory space. It implies that mutated regulatory components of the genome contribute substantially to cancer pathways. Our analyses demonstrate that identifying genomically altered cis-regulatory elements coupled with analysis of gene expression data will augment biological interpretation of mutational landscapes of cancers.

  20. Semantic congruency but not temporal synchrony enhances long-term memory performance for audio-visual scenes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyerhoff, Hauke S; Huff, Markus

    2016-04-01

    Human long-term memory for visual objects and scenes is tremendous. Here, we test how auditory information contributes to long-term memory performance for realistic scenes. In a total of six experiments, we manipulated the presentation modality (auditory, visual, audio-visual) as well as semantic congruency and temporal synchrony between auditory and visual information of brief filmic clips. Our results show that audio-visual clips generally elicit more accurate memory performance than unimodal clips. This advantage even increases with congruent visual and auditory information. However, violations of audio-visual synchrony hardly have any influence on memory performance. Memory performance remained intact even with a sequential presentation of auditory and visual information, but finally declined when the matching tracks of one scene were presented separately with intervening tracks during learning. With respect to memory performance, our results therefore show that audio-visual integration is sensitive to semantic congruency but remarkably robust against asymmetries between different modalities.

  1. Multiscale synchrony behaviors of paired financial time series by 3D multi-continuum percolation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, M.; Wang, J.; Wang, B. T.

    2018-02-01

    Multiscale synchrony behaviors and nonlinear dynamics of paired financial time series are investigated, in an attempt to study the cross correlation relationships between two stock markets. A random stock price model is developed by a new system called three-dimensional (3D) multi-continuum percolation system, which is utilized to imitate the formation mechanism of price dynamics and explain the nonlinear behaviors found in financial time series. We assume that the price fluctuations are caused by the spread of investment information. The cluster of 3D multi-continuum percolation represents the cluster of investors who share the same investment attitude. In this paper, we focus on the paired return series, the paired volatility series, and the paired intrinsic mode functions which are decomposed by empirical mode decomposition. A new cross recurrence quantification analysis is put forward, combining with multiscale cross-sample entropy, to investigate the multiscale synchrony of these paired series from the proposed model. The corresponding research is also carried out for two China stock markets as comparison.

  2. Fear conditioning leads to alteration in specific genes expression in cortical and thalamic neurons that project to the lateral amygdala.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katz, Ira K; Lamprecht, Raphael

    2015-02-01

    RNA transcription is needed for memory formation. However, the ability to identify genes whose expression is altered by learning is greatly impaired because of methodological difficulties in profiling gene expression in specific neurons involved in memory formation. Here, we report a novel approach to monitor the expression of genes after learning in neurons in specific brain pathways needed for memory formation. In this study, we aimed to monitor gene expression after fear learning. We retrogradely labeled discrete thalamic neurons that project to the lateral amygdala (LA) of rats. The labeled neurons were dissected, using laser microdissection microscopy, after fear conditioning learning or unpaired training. The RNAs from the dissected neurons were subjected to microarray analysis. The levels of selected RNAs detected by the microarray analysis to be altered by fear conditioning were also assessed by nanostring analysis. We observed that the expression of genes involved in the regulation of translation, maturation and degradation of proteins was increased 6 h after fear conditioning compared to unpaired or naïve trained rats. These genes were not expressed 24 h after training or in cortical neurons that project to the LA. The expression of genes involved in transcription regulation and neuronal development was altered after fear conditioning learning in the cortical-LA pathway. The present study provides key information on the identity of genes expressed in discrete thalamic and cortical neurons that project to the LA after fear conditioning. Such an approach could also serve to identify gene products as targets for the development of a new generation of therapeutic agents that could be aimed to functionally identified brain circuits to treat memory-related disorders. © 2014 International Society for Neurochemistry.

  3. Cpt1a gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells as an early biomarker of diet-related metabolic alterations

    KAUST Repository

    Diaz Rua, Ruben; Palou, Andreu; Oliver, Paula

    2016-01-01

    subjects at risk of developing diet-related diseases.Objective: We analysed PBMC expression of key energy homeostasis-related genes in a time-course analysis in order to find out early markers of metabolic alterations due to sustained intake of high-fat (HF) and highprotein (HP) diets.Design: We administered HF and HP diets (4 months) to adult Wistar rats in isocaloric conditions to a control diet, mainly to avoid overweight associated with the intake of hyperlipidic diets and, thus, to be able to characterise markers of metabolically obese normal-weight (MONW) syndrome. PBMC samples were collected at different time points of dietary treatment and expression of relevant energy homeostatic genes analysed by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Serum parameters related with metabolic syndrome, as well as fat deposition in liver, were also analysed.Results: The most outstanding results were those obtained for the expression of the lipolytic gene carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a (Cpt1a). Cpt1a expression in PBMC increased after only 1 month of exposure to both unbalanced diets, and this increased expression was maintained thereafter. Interestingly, in the case of the HF diet, Cpt1a expression was altered even in the absence of increased body weight but correlated with alterations such as higher insulin resistance, alteration of serum lipid profile and, particularly, increased fat deposition in liver, a feature characteristic of metabolic syndrome, which was even observed in animals fed with HP diet.Conclusions: We propose Cpt1a gene expression analysis in PBMC as an early biomarker of metabolic alterations associated with MONW phenotype due to the intake of isocaloric HF diets, as well as a marker of increased risk of metabolic diseases

  4. SPIKY: a graphical user interface for monitoring spike train synchrony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreuz, Thomas; Mulansky, Mario; Bozanic, Nebojsa

    2015-05-01

    Techniques for recording large-scale neuronal spiking activity are developing very fast. This leads to an increasing demand for algorithms capable of analyzing large amounts of experimental spike train data. One of the most crucial and demanding tasks is the identification of similarity patterns with a very high temporal resolution and across different spatial scales. To address this task, in recent years three time-resolved measures of spike train synchrony have been proposed, the ISI-distance, the SPIKE-distance, and event synchronization. The Matlab source codes for calculating and visualizing these measures have been made publicly available. However, due to the many different possible representations of the results the use of these codes is rather complicated and their application requires some basic knowledge of Matlab. Thus it became desirable to provide a more user-friendly and interactive interface. Here we address this need and present SPIKY, a graphical user interface that facilitates the application of time-resolved measures of spike train synchrony to both simulated and real data. SPIKY includes implementations of the ISI-distance, the SPIKE-distance, and the SPIKE-synchronization (an improved and simplified extension of event synchronization) that have been optimized with respect to computation speed and memory demand. It also comprises a spike train generator and an event detector that makes it capable of analyzing continuous data. Finally, the SPIKY package includes additional complementary programs aimed at the analysis of large numbers of datasets and the estimation of significance levels. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  5. Altered gene activity correlated with long-term memory formation of conditioned taste aversion in Lymnaea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azami, Sachiyo; Wagatsuma, Akiko; Sadamoto, Hisayo; Hatakeyama, Dai; Usami, Takeshi; Fujie, Manabu; Koyanagi, Ryo; Azumi, Kaoru; Fujito, Yutaka; Lukowiak, Ken; Ito, Etsuro

    2006-11-15

    The pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis is capable of learning conditioned taste aversion (CTA) and then consolidating that learning into long-term memory (LTM) that persists for at least 1 month. LTM requires de novo protein synthesis and altered gene activity. Changes in gene activity in Lymnaea that are correlated with, much less causative, memory formation have not yet been identified. As a first step toward rectifying this situation, we constructed a cDNA microarray with mRNAs extracted from the central nervous system (CNS) of Lymnaea. We then, using this microarray assay, identified genes whose activity either increased or decreased following CTA memory consolidation. We also identified genes whose expression levels were altered after inhibition of the cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB) that is hypothesized to be a key transcription factor for CTA memory. We found that the molluscan insulin-related peptide II (MIP II) was up-regulated during CTA-LTM, whereas the gene encoding pedal peptide preprohormone (Pep) was down-regulated by CREB2 RNA interference. We next examined mRNAs of MIP II and Pep using real-time RT-PCR with SYBR Green. The MIP II mRNA level in the CNS of snails exhibiting "good" memory for CTA was confirmed to be significantly higher than that from the CNS of snails exhibiting "poor" memory. In contrast, there was no significant difference in expression levels of the Pep mRNA between "good" and "poor" performers. These data suggest that in Lymnaea MIP II may play a role in the consolidation process that forms LTM following CTA training.

  6. Liver cell-derived microparticles activate hedgehog signaling and alter gene expression in hepatic endothelial cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witek, Rafal P; Yang, Liu; Liu, Renshui; Jung, Youngmi; Omenetti, Alessia; Syn, Wing-Kin; Choi, Steve S; Cheong, Yeiwon; Fearing, Caitlin M; Agboola, Kolade M; Chen, Wei; Diehl, Anna Mae

    2009-01-01

    Angiogenesis contributes to vascular remodeling during cirrhosis. In cirrhotic livers, cholangiocytes, and myofibroblastic hepatic stellate cells (MF-HSC) produce Hedgehog (Hh) ligands. During embryogenesis Hh ligands are released from ligand-producing cells in microparticles and activate Hh signaling in endothelial cells. We studied whether adult liver cell-derived microparticles contain Hh ligands that alter hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells (SEC). MF-HSC and cholangiocytes were exposed to platelet-derived growth factor to induce Hh ligands; microparticles were isolated from medium, analyzed by transmission electron microscopy and immunoblots, and applied to Hh-reporter-containing cells. Microparticles were obtained from serum and bile of rats after bile duct ligation (BDL) or sham surgery and applied to normal primary liver SEC with or without cyclopamine, an Hh signaling inhibitor. Effects on SEC gene expression were evaluated by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting. Hh target gene expression and SEC activation markers were compared in primary SEC and in liver sections from healthy and BDL rats. Platelet-derived growth factor-treated MF-HSC and cholangiocytes released exosome-enriched microparticles containing biologically-active Hh ligands. BDL increased release of Hh-containing exosome-enriched microparticles into plasma and bile. Transmission electron microscopy and immunoblots revealed similarities among microparticles from all sources; all microparticles induced similar Hh-dependent changes in SEC gene expression. SEC from healthy livers did not express Hh target genes or activation markers, but both were up-regulated in SEC after BDL. Hh-containing exosome-enriched microparticles released from liver cells alter hepatic SEC gene expression, suggesting a novel mechanism for cirrhotic vasculopathy.

  7. Timing of prenatal exposure to trauma and altered placental expressions of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis genes and genes driving neurodevelopment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, W; Li, Q; Deyssenroth, M; Lambertini, L; Finik, J; Ham, J; Huang, Y; Tsuchiya, K J; Pehme, P; Buthmann, J; Yoshida, S; Chen, J; Nomura, Y

    2018-04-01

    Prenatal maternal stress increases the risk for negative developmental outcomes in offspring; however, the underlying biological mechanisms remain largely unexplored. In the present study, alterations in placental gene expression associated with maternal stress were examined to clarify the potential underlying epi/genetic mechanisms. Expression levels of 40 selected genes involved in regulating foetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and neurodevelopment were profiled in placental tissues collected from a birth cohort established around the time of Superstorm Sandy. Objective prenatal traumatic stress was defined as whether mothers were exposed to Superstorm Sandy during pregnancy. Among the 275 mother-infant dyads, 181 dyads were delivered before Superstorm Sandy (ie, Control), 66 dyads were exposed to Superstorm Sandy during the first trimester (ie, Early Exposure) and 28 were exposed to Superstorm Sandy during the second or third trimester (ie, Mid-Late Exposure). Across all trimesters, expression of HSD11B2, MAOA, ZNF507 and DYRK1A was down-regulated among those exposed to Superstorm Sandy during pregnancy. Furthermore, trimester-specific differences were also observed: exposure during early gestation was associated with down-regulation of HSD11B1 and MAOB and up-regulation of CRHBP; exposure during mid-late gestation was associated with up-regulation of SRD5A3. The findings of the present study suggest that placental gene expression may be altered in response to traumatic stress exposure during pregnancy, and the susceptibility of these genes is dependent on the time of the exposure during pregnancy. Further studies should aim to clarify the biological mechanisms that underlie trimester-specific exposure by evaluating the differential impact on offspring neurodevelopment later in childhood. © 2018 British Society for Neuroendocrinology.

  8. Alteration of gene expression in MDA-MB-453 breast cancer cell line in response to continuous exposure to Trastuzumab.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharieh, Elham Abu; Awidi, Abdulla S; Ahram, Mamoun; Zihlif, Malek A

    2016-01-10

    Development of resistance against cancer therapeutic agents is a common problem in cancer management. Trastuzumab resistance is one of the challenges in management of HER-2-positive breast cancer patients resulting in breast cancer progression, metastasis, and patient poor outcome. The aim of this study is to determine the alteration in gene expression in response to Trastuzumab resistance after long-term exposure to Trastuzumab. The Trastuzumab-resistant MDA-MB-453 (MDA-MB-453/TR) cell line was developed by exposing cells to 10 μM Trastuzumab continuously for 6 months. Sensitivity toward Trastuzumab was tested using cell viability assays. The acquisition of an epithelial-to mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype was also observed in parallel with the development of resistance. Based on the real-time-based PCR array technology, several genes were altered affecting multiple networks. The most up-regulated genes were TGF-β1 and EGF, and IGFBP-3. These genes are known to have a critical role in Trastuzumab resistance in breast cancer cell lines and/or in the acquisition of EMT. They are also recognized for their role in cancer progression and metastasis. These alterations indicate that the development of Trastuzumab resistance is multifactorial and involves a development of a mesenchymal like phenotype. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Alteration of Hepatic Gene Expression along with the Inherited Phenotype of Acquired Fatty Liver in Chicken

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yonghong; Liu, Zhen; Liu, Ranran; Wang, Jie; Zheng, Maiqing; Li, Qinghe; Cui, Huanxian; Zhao, Guiping; Wen, Jie

    2018-01-01

    Fatty liver is a widespread disease in chickens that causes a decrease in egg production and even death. The characteristics of the inherited phenotype of acquired fatty liver and the molecular mechanisms underlying it, however, are largely unknown. In the current study, fatty liver was induced in 3 breeds by a high-fat (HF) diet and a methionine choline-deficient (MCD) diet. The results showed that the dwarf Jingxing-Huang (JXH) chicken was more susceptible to fatty liver compared with the layer White Leghorns (WL) and local Beijing-You (BJY) breeds. In addition, it was found that the paternal fatty livers induced by HF diet in JXH chickens were inherited. Compared to birds without fatty liver in the control group, both offsprings and their sires with fatty livers in the paternal group exhibited altered hepatic gene expression profiles, including upregulation of several key genes involved in fatty acid metabolism, lipid metabolism and glucose metabolism (ACACA, FASN, SCD, ACSL5, FADS2, FABP1, APOA4 and ME1). This study uniquely revealed that acquired fatty liver in cocks can be inherited. The hepatic gene expression profiles were altered in chickens with the inherited phenotype of acquired paternal fatty liver and several genes could be candidate biomarkers. PMID:29642504

  10. Alteration of Hepatic Gene Expression along with the Inherited Phenotype of Acquired Fatty Liver in Chicken.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yonghong; Liu, Zhen; Liu, Ranran; Wang, Jie; Zheng, Maiqing; Li, Qinghe; Cui, Huanxian; Zhao, Guiping; Wen, Jie

    2018-04-08

    Fatty liver is a widespread disease in chickens that causes a decrease in egg production and even death. The characteristics of the inherited phenotype of acquired fatty liver and the molecular mechanisms underlying it, however, are largely unknown. In the current study, fatty liver was induced in 3 breeds by a high-fat (HF) diet and a methionine choline-deficient (MCD) diet. The results showed that the dwarf Jingxing-Huang (JXH) chicken was more susceptible to fatty liver compared with the layer White Leghorns (WL) and local Beijing-You (BJY) breeds. In addition, it was found that the paternal fatty livers induced by HF diet in JXH chickens were inherited. Compared to birds without fatty liver in the control group, both offsprings and their sires with fatty livers in the paternal group exhibited altered hepatic gene expression profiles, including upregulation of several key genes involved in fatty acid metabolism, lipid metabolism and glucose metabolism ( ACACA , FASN , SCD , ACSL5 , FADS2 , FABP1 , APOA4 and ME1 ). This study uniquely revealed that acquired fatty liver in cocks can be inherited. The hepatic gene expression profiles were altered in chickens with the inherited phenotype of acquired paternal fatty liver and several genes could be candidate biomarkers.

  11. Alteration of Hepatic Gene Expression along with the Inherited Phenotype of Acquired Fatty Liver in Chicken

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yonghong Zhang

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Fatty liver is a widespread disease in chickens that causes a decrease in egg production and even death. The characteristics of the inherited phenotype of acquired fatty liver and the molecular mechanisms underlying it, however, are largely unknown. In the current study, fatty liver was induced in 3 breeds by a high-fat (HF diet and a methionine choline-deficient (MCD diet. The results showed that the dwarf Jingxing-Huang (JXH chicken was more susceptible to fatty liver compared with the layer White Leghorns (WL and local Beijing-You (BJY breeds. In addition, it was found that the paternal fatty livers induced by HF diet in JXH chickens were inherited. Compared to birds without fatty liver in the control group, both offsprings and their sires with fatty livers in the paternal group exhibited altered hepatic gene expression profiles, including upregulation of several key genes involved in fatty acid metabolism, lipid metabolism and glucose metabolism (ACACA, FASN, SCD, ACSL5, FADS2, FABP1, APOA4 and ME1. This study uniquely revealed that acquired fatty liver in cocks can be inherited. The hepatic gene expression profiles were altered in chickens with the inherited phenotype of acquired paternal fatty liver and several genes could be candidate biomarkers.

  12. Patterns of Geographic Synchrony in Growth and Reproduction of Oaks Within California and Beyond

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walter D. Koenig; Johannes M.H. Knops

    1997-01-01

    We measured patterns of spatial synchrony in growth and reproduction by oaks using direct acorn surveys, published data on acorn production, and tree-ring chronologies. The two data sets involving acorn production both indicate that acorn crops are detectably synchronous over areas of at least 500 to 1,000 km not only within individual species but among species that...

  13. Comparison of HER2 gene amplification and KRAS alteration in eyelid sebaceous carcinomas with that in other eyelid tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Mi Jung; Shin, Hyung Sik; Nam, Eun Sook; Cho, Seong Jin; Lee, Min Joung; Lee, Samuel; Park, Hye-Rim

    2015-05-01

    Eyelid sebaceous carcinoma (SC) represents a highly aggressive malignancy. Despite the poor prognosis, genetic alterations as potential molecular targets are not available. KRAS mutation and HER2 gene amplification may be candidates related to their genetic alterations. We examined the HER2 and KRAS alteration status in eyelid SCs and compared it with that in other eyelid tumors. The controversial topics of the human papillomavirus (HPV) and p16 expression were also investigated. HER2 amplification was determined by silver in situ hybridization, while immunohistochemistry was performed to study protein expressions in 14 SCs and controls, including 23 other eyelid malignancies and 14 benign tumors. Peptide nucleic acid-mediated PCR clamping and direct sequencing were used to detect KRAS mutations. HER2 protein overexpression was observed in 85.7% (12/14) of the SCs, of which two-thirds showed HER2 gene amplification. HER2 protein overexpression and HER2 amplification were found more frequently in eyelid SCs than in other eyelid tumors. All SCs harbored wild type KRAS genes. No HPV infections were identified in the SCs. Nevertheless, p16 overexpression was found in 71.4% (10/14) of SCs, irrespective of the status of HPV infection. Furthermore, p16 overexpression in eyelid SCs was also significantly higher than that in other eyelid tumors. HER2 protein overexpression, HER2 gene amplifications, and wild type KRAS genes are common in eyelid SCs. HER2 gene amplification may represent potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of eyelid SCs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  14. Oxytocin and vasopressin flatten dominance hierarchy and enhance behavioral synchrony in part via anterior cingulate cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yaoguang; Platt, Michael L

    2018-05-29

    The neuropeptides oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) influence social functions in many mammals. In humans and rhesus macaques, OT delivered intranasally can promote prosocial behavior in certain contexts. Yet the precise neural mechanisms mediating these behavioral effects remain unclear. Here we show that treating a group of male macaque monkeys intranasally with aerosolized OT relaxes their spontaneous social interactions with other monkeys. OT reduces differences in social behavior between dominant and subordinate monkeys, thereby flattening the status hierarchy. OT also increases behavioral synchrony within a pair. Intranasal delivery of aerosolized AVP reproduces the effects of OT with greater efficacy. Remarkably, all behavioral effects are replicated when OT or AVP is injected focally into the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACCg), a brain area linked to empathy and other-regarding behavior. ACCg lacks OT receptors but is rich in AVP receptors, suggesting exogenous OT may shape social behavior, in part, via nonspecific binding. Notably, OT and AVP alter behaviors of both the treated monkey and his untreated partner, consistent with enhanced feedback through reciprocal social interactions. These findings bear important implications for use of OT in both basic research and as a therapy for social impairments in neurodevelopmental disorders.

  15. Comparative and Experimental Studies on the Genes Altered by Chronic Hypoxia in Human Brain Microendothelial Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugenia Mata-Greenwood

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Background : Hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF1A is a master regulator of acute hypoxia; however, with chronic hypoxia, HIF1A levels return to the normoxic levels. Importantly, the genes that are involved in the cell survival and viability under chronic hypoxia are not known. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that chronic hypoxia leads to the upregulation of a core group of genes with associated changes in the promoter DNA methylation that mediates the cell survival under hypoxia.Results : We examined the effect of chronic hypoxia (3 days; 0.5% oxygen on human brain micro endothelial cells (HBMEC viability and apoptosis. Hypoxia caused a significant reduction in cell viability and an increase in apoptosis. Next, we examined chronic hypoxia associated changes in transcriptome and genome-wide promoter methylation. The data obtained was compared with 16 other microarray studies on chronic hypoxia. Nine genes were altered in response to chronic hypoxia in all 17 studies. Interestingly, HIF1A was not altered with chronic hypoxia in any of the studies. Furthermore, we compared our data to three other studies that identified HIF-responsive genes by various approaches. Only two genes were found to be HIF dependent. We silenced each of these 9 genes using CRISPR/Cas9 system. Downregulation of EGLN3 significantly increased the cell death under chronic hypoxia, whereas downregulation of ERO1L, ENO2, adrenomedullin, and spag4 reduced the cell death under hypoxia.Conclusions : We provide a core group of genes that regulates cellular acclimatization under chronic hypoxic stress, and most of them are HIF independent.

  16. The expression of petunia strigolactone pathway genes is altered as part of the endogenous developmental program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Revel S M Drummond

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Analysis of mutants with increased branching has revealed the strigolactone synthesis/perception pathway which regulates branching in plants. However, whether variation in this well conserved developmental signalling system contributes to the unique plant architectures of different species is yet to be determined. We examined petunia orthologues of the Arabidopsis MAX1 and MAX2 genes to characterise their role in petunia architecture. A single orthologue of MAX1, PhMAX1 which encodes a cytochrome P450, was identified and was able to complement the max1 mutant of Arabidopsis. Petunia has two copies of the MAX2 gene, PhMAX2A and PhMAX2B which encode F-Box proteins. Differences in the transcript levels of these two MAX2-like genes suggest diverging functions. Unlike PhMAX2B, PhMAX2A mRNA levels increase as leaves age. Nonetheless, this gene functionally complements the Arabidopsis max2 mutant indicating that the biochemical activity of the PhMAX2A protein is not significantly different from MAX2. The expression of the petunia strigolactone pathway genes (PhCCD7, PhCCD8, PhMAX1, PhMAX2A, and PhMAX2B was then further investigated throughout the development of wild-type petunia plants. Three of these genes showed changes in mRNA levels over the development series. Alterations to the expression of these genes over time, or in different regions of the plant, may influence the branching growth habit of the plant. Alterations to strigolactone production and/or sensitivity could allow both subtle and dramatic changes to branching within and between species.

  17. Altered DNA methylation of glycolytic and lipogenic genes in liver from obese and type 2 diabetic patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kirchner, Henriette; Sinha, Indranil; Gao, Hui

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Epigenetic modifications contribute to the etiology of type 2 diabetes. METHOD: We performed genome-wide methylome and transcriptome analysis in liver from severely obese men with or without type 2 diabetes and non-obese men to discover aberrant pathways underlying the development...... in four of these genes in liver of severely obese non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic patients, suggesting epigenetic regulation of transcription by altered ATF-DNA binding. CONCLUSION: Severely obese non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic patients have distinct alterations in the hepatic methylome...... and transcriptome, with hypomethylation of several genes controlling glucose metabolism within the ATF-motif regulatory site. Obesity appears to shift the epigenetic program of the liver towards increased glycolysis and lipogenesis, which may exacerbate the development of insulin resistance....

  18. Transcriptional Alterations of Virulence-Associated Genes in Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL-Producing Uropathogenic Escherichia coli during Morphologic Transitions Induced by Ineffective Antibiotics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isak Demirel

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available It is known that an ineffective antibiotic treatment can induce morphological shifts in uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC but the virulence properties during these shifts remain to be studied. The present study examines changes in global gene expression patterns and in virulence factor-associated genes in an extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL-producing UPEC (ESBL019 during the morphologic transitions induced by an ineffective antibiotic and in the presence of human primary bladder epithelial cells. Microarray results showed that the different morphological states of ESBL019 had significant transcriptional alterations of a large number of genes (Transition; 7%, Filamentation; 32%, and Reverted 19% of the entities on the array. All three morphological states of ESBL019 were associated with a decreased energy metabolism, altered iron acquisition systems and altered adhesion expression. In addition, genes associated with LPS synthesis and bacterial motility was also altered in all the morphological states. Furthermore, the transition state induced a significantly higher release of TNF-α from bladder epithelial cells compared to all other morphologies, while the reverted state was unable to induce TNF-α release. Our findings show that the morphological shifts induced by ineffective antibiotics are associated with significant transcriptional virulence alterations in ESBL-producing UPEC, which may affect survival and persistence in the urinary tract.

  19. Platelets alter gene expression profile in human brain endothelial cells in an in vitro model of cerebral malaria.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathieu Barbier

    Full Text Available Platelet adhesion to the brain microvasculature has been associated with cerebral malaria (CM in humans, suggesting that platelets play a role in the pathogenesis of this syndrome. In vitro co-cultures have shown that platelets can act as a bridge between Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells (pRBC and human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBEC and potentiate HBEC apoptosis. Using cDNA microarray technology, we analyzed transcriptional changes of HBEC in response to platelets in the presence or the absence of tumor necrosis factor (TNF and pRBC, which have been reported to alter gene expression in endothelial cells. Using a rigorous statistical approach with multiple test corrections, we showed a significant effect of platelets on gene expression in HBEC. We also detected a strong effect of TNF, whereas there was no transcriptional change induced specifically by pRBC. Nevertheless, a global ANOVA and a two-way ANOVA suggested that pRBC acted in interaction with platelets and TNF to alter gene expression in HBEC. The expression of selected genes was validated by RT-qPCR. The analysis of gene functional annotation indicated that platelets induce the expression of genes involved in inflammation and apoptosis, such as genes involved in chemokine-, TREM1-, cytokine-, IL10-, TGFβ-, death-receptor-, and apoptosis-signaling. Overall, our results support the hypothesis that platelets play a pathogenic role in CM.

  20. Novel APC gene mutations associated with protein alteration in diffuse type gastric cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghatak, Souvik; Chakraborty, Payel; Sarkar, Sandeep Roy; Chowdhury, Biswajit; Bhaumik, Arup; Kumar, Nachimuthu Senthil

    2017-06-02

    The role of adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene in mitosis might be critical for regulation of genomic stability and chromosome segregation. APC gene mutations have been associated to have a role in colon cancer and since gastric and colon tumors share some common genetic lesions, it is relevant to investigate the role of APC tumor suppressor gene in gastric cancer. We investigated for somatic mutations in the Exons 14 and 15 of APC gene from 40 diffuse type gastric cancersamples. Rabbit polyclonal anti-APC antibody was used, which detects the wild-type APC protein and was recommended for detection of the respective protein in human tissues. Cell cycle analysis was done from tumor and adjacent normal tissue. APC immunoreactivity showed positive expression of the protein in stages I, II, III and negative expression in Stages III and IV. Two novel deleterious variations (g.127576C > A, g.127583C > T) in exon 14 sequence were found to generate stop codon (Y622* and Q625*)in the tumor samples. Due to the generation of stop codon, the APC protein might be truncated and all the regulatory features could be lost which has led to the down-regulation of protein expression. Our results indicate that aneuploidy might occurdue to the codon 622 and 625 APC-driven gastric tumorigenesis, in agreement with our cell cycle analysis. The APC gene function in mitosis and chromosomal stability might be lost and G1 might be arrested with high quantity of DNA in the S phase. Six missense somatic mutations in tumor samples were detected in exon 15 A-B, twoof which showed pathological and disease causing effects based on SIFT, Polyphen2 and SNPs & GO score and were not previously reported in the literature or the public mutation databases. The two novel pathological somatic mutations (g.127576C > A, g.127583C > T) in exon 14 might be altering the protein expression leading to development of gastric cancer in the study population. Our study showed that mutations in the APC

  1. iGC-an integrated analysis package of gene expression and copy number alteration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Yi-Pin; Wang, Liang-Bo; Wang, Wei-An; Lai, Liang-Chuan; Tsai, Mong-Hsun; Lu, Tzu-Pin; Chuang, Eric Y

    2017-01-14

    With the advancement in high-throughput technologies, researchers can simultaneously investigate gene expression and copy number alteration (CNA) data from individual patients at a lower cost. Traditional analysis methods analyze each type of data individually and integrate their results using Venn diagrams. Challenges arise, however, when the results are irreproducible and inconsistent across multiple platforms. To address these issues, one possible approach is to concurrently analyze both gene expression profiling and CNAs in the same individual. We have developed an open-source R/Bioconductor package (iGC). Multiple input formats are supported and users can define their own criteria for identifying differentially expressed genes driven by CNAs. The analysis of two real microarray datasets demonstrated that the CNA-driven genes identified by the iGC package showed significantly higher Pearson correlation coefficients with their gene expression levels and copy numbers than those genes located in a genomic region with CNA. Compared with the Venn diagram approach, the iGC package showed better performance. The iGC package is effective and useful for identifying CNA-driven genes. By simultaneously considering both comparative genomic and transcriptomic data, it can provide better understanding of biological and medical questions. The iGC package's source code and manual are freely available at https://www.bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/iGC.html .

  2. Validation of a pretreatment delivery quality assurance method for the CyberKnife Synchrony system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mastella, E., E-mail: edoardo.mastella@cnao.it [Medical Physics Unit, CNAO Foundation—National Centre for Oncological Hadron Therapy, Pavia I-27100, Italy and Medical Physics Unit, IEO—European Institute of Oncology, Milan I-20141 (Italy); Vigorito, S.; Rondi, E.; Cattani, F. [Medical Physics Unit, IEO—European Institute of Oncology, Milan I-20141 (Italy); Piperno, G.; Ferrari, A.; Strata, E.; Rozza, D. [Department of Radiation Oncology, IEO—European Institute of Oncology, Milan I-20141 (Italy); Jereczek-Fossa, B. A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, IEO—European Institute of Oncology, Milan I-20141, Italy and Department of Oncology and Hematology Oncology, University of Milan, Milan I-20122 (Italy)

    2016-08-15

    Purpose: To evaluate the geometric and dosimetric accuracies of the CyberKnife Synchrony respiratory tracking system (RTS) and to validate a method for pretreatment patient-specific delivery quality assurance (DQA). Methods: An EasyCube phantom was mounted on the ExacTrac gating phantom, which can move along the superior–inferior (SI) axis of a patient to simulate a moving target. The authors compared dynamic and static measurements. For each case, a Gafchromic EBT3 film was positioned between two slabs of the EasyCube, while a PinPoint ionization chamber was placed in the appropriate space. There were three steps to their evaluation: (1) the field size, the penumbra, and the symmetry of six secondary collimators were measured along the two main orthogonal axes. Dynamic measurements with deliberately simulated errors were also taken. (2) The delivered dose distributions (from step 1) were compared with the planned ones, using the gamma analysis method. The local gamma passing rates were evaluated using three acceptance criteria: 3% local dose difference (LDD)/3 mm, 2%LDD/2 mm, and 3%LDD/1 mm. (3) The DQA plans for six clinical patients were irradiated in different dynamic conditions, to give a total of 19 cases. The measured and planned dose distributions were evaluated with the same gamma-index criteria used in step 2 and the measured chamber doses were compared with the planned mean doses in the sensitive volume of the chamber. Results: (1) A very slight enlargement of the field size and of the penumbra was observed in the SI direction (on average <1 mm), in line with the overall average CyberKnife system error for tracking treatments. (2) Comparison between the planned and the correctly delivered dose distributions confirmed the dosimetric accuracy of the RTS for simple plans. The multicriteria gamma analysis was able to detect the simulated errors, proving the robustness of their method of analysis. (3) All of the DQA clinical plans passed the tests, both in

  3. Altered interactions between unicellular and multicellular genes drive hallmarks of transformation in a diverse range of solid tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trigos, Anna S; Pearson, Richard B; Papenfuss, Anthony T; Goode, David L

    2017-06-13

    Tumors of distinct tissues of origin and genetic makeup display common hallmark cellular phenotypes, including sustained proliferation, suppression of cell death, and altered metabolism. These phenotypic commonalities have been proposed to stem from disruption of conserved regulatory mechanisms evolved during the transition to multicellularity to control fundamental cellular processes such as growth and replication. Dating the evolutionary emergence of human genes through phylostratigraphy uncovered close association between gene age and expression level in RNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas for seven solid cancers. Genes conserved with unicellular organisms were strongly up-regulated, whereas genes of metazoan origin were primarily inactivated. These patterns were most consistent for processes known to be important in cancer, implicating both selection and active regulation during malignant transformation. The coordinated expression of strongly interacting multicellularity and unicellularity processes was lost in tumors. This separation of unicellular and multicellular functions appeared to be mediated by 12 highly connected genes, marking them as important general drivers of tumorigenesis. Our findings suggest common principles closely tied to the evolutionary history of genes underlie convergent changes at the cellular process level across a range of solid cancers. We propose altered activity of genes at the interfaces between multicellular and unicellular regions of human gene regulatory networks activate primitive transcriptional programs, driving common hallmark features of cancer. Manipulation of cross-talk between biological processes of different evolutionary origins may thus present powerful and broadly applicable treatment strategies for cancer.

  4. Alcohol Consumption Modulates Host Defense in Rhesus Macaques by Altering Gene Expression in Circulating Leukocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barr, Tasha; Girke, Thomas; Sureshchandra, Suhas; Nguyen, Christina; Grant, Kathleen; Messaoudi, Ilhem

    2016-01-01

    Several lines of evidence indicate that chronic alcohol use disorder leads to increased susceptibility to several viral and bacterial infections, whereas moderate alcohol consumption decreases the incidence of colds and improves immune responses to some pathogens. In line with these observations, we recently showed that heavy ethanol intake (average blood ethanol concentrations > 80 mg/dl) suppressed, whereas moderate alcohol consumption (blood ethanol concentrations consumption. To uncover the molecular basis for impaired immunity with heavy alcohol consumption and enhanced immune response with moderate alcohol consumption, we performed a transcriptome analysis using PBMCs isolated on day 7 post-modified vaccinia Ankara vaccination, the earliest time point at which we detected differences in T cell and Ab responses. Overall, chronic heavy alcohol consumption reduced the expression of immune genes involved in response to infection and wound healing and increased the expression of genes associated with the development of lung inflammatory disease and cancer. In contrast, chronic moderate alcohol consumption upregulated the expression of genes involved in immune response and reduced the expression of genes involved in cancer. To uncover mechanisms underlying the alterations in PBMC transcriptomes, we profiled the expression of microRNAs within the same samples. Chronic heavy ethanol consumption altered the levels of several microRNAs involved in cancer and immunity and known to regulate the expression of mRNAs differentially expressed in our data set. Copyright © 2015 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

  5. The retinoblastoma gene is frequently altered leading to loss of expression in primary breast tumours.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varley, J M; Armour, J; Swallow, J E; Jeffreys, A J; Ponder, B A; T'Ang, A; Fung, Y K; Brammar, W J; Walker, R A

    1989-06-01

    We have analysed the organisation of the retinoblastoma (RB1) gene in 77 primary breast carcinomas, in metastatic tissue derived from 16 of those primary tumours, and in a variety of benign breast lesions. Expression of RB1 was also assessed in most samples by immunohistochemical detection of the RB1 protein in tissue sections. Structural abnormalities to RB1 were detected in DNA from 15/77 (19%) of primary breast carcinomas examined. Where DNA was available from metastatic tissue derived from such primary tumours, the same aberration could be detected. No alterations were seen in benign breast lesions. 16/56 (29%) of tumours examined for expression by immunohistochemical methods showed a proportion of tumour cells to be completely negative for the RB1 protein. All tumours in which a structural alteration to RB1 was detected had a proportion of negative cells, except for one case where all cells were positive. Several primary tumour samples were identified where there was no detectable structural change to the gene, but there was loss of expression in some tumour cells. The data presented here demonstrate that changes to the RB1 gene leading to loss of expression of both alleles are frequent in primary human breast tumours.

  6. Maternal exposure to nanoparticulate titanium dioxide during the prenatal period alters gene expression related to brain development in the mouse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Umezawa Masakazu

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Nanotechnology is developing rapidly throughout the world and the production of novel man-made nanoparticles is increasing, it is therefore of concern that nanomaterials have the potential to affect human health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of maternal exposure to nano-sized anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2 on gene expression in the brain during the developmental period using cDNA microarray analysis combined with Gene Ontology (GO and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH terms information. Results Analysis of gene expression using GO terms indicated that expression levels of genes associated with apoptosis were altered in the brain of newborn pups, and those associated with brain development were altered in early age. The genes associated with response to oxidative stress were changed in the brains of 2 and 3 weeks old mice. Changes of the expression of genes associated with neurotransmitters and psychiatric diseases were found using MeSH terms. Conclusion Maternal exposure of mice to TiO2 nanoparticles may affect the expression of genes related to the development and function of the central nervous system.

  7. Multiple-endpoints gene alteration-based (MEGA) assay: A toxicogenomics approach for water quality assessment of wastewater effluents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukushima, Toshikazu; Hara-Yamamura, Hiroe; Nakashima, Koji; Tan, Lea Chua; Okabe, Satoshi

    2017-12-01

    Wastewater effluents contain a significant number of toxic contaminants, which, even at low concentrations, display a wide variety of toxic actions. In this study, we developed a multiple-endpoints gene alteration-based (MEGA) assay, a real-time PCR-based transcriptomic analysis, to assess the water quality of wastewater effluents for human health risk assessment and management. Twenty-one genes from the human hepatoblastoma cell line (HepG2), covering the basic health-relevant stress responses such as response to xenobiotics, genotoxicity, and cytotoxicity, were selected and incorporated into the MEGA assay. The genes related to the p53-mediated DNA damage response and cytochrome P450 were selected as markers for genotoxicity and response to xenobiotics, respectively. Additionally, the genes that were dose-dependently regulated by exposure to the wastewater effluents were chosen as markers for cytotoxicity. The alterations in the expression of an individual gene, induced by exposure to the wastewater effluents, were evaluated by real-time PCR and the results were validated by genotoxicity (e.g., comet assay) and cell-based cytotoxicity tests. In summary, the MEGA assay is a real-time PCR-based assay that targets cellular responses to contaminants present in wastewater effluents at the transcriptional level; it is rapid, cost-effective, and high-throughput and can thus complement any chemical analysis for water quality assessment and management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Unique mutation portraits and frequent COL2A1 gene alteration in chondrosarcoma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Totoki, Yasushi; Yoshida, Akihiko; Hosoda, Fumie; Nakamura, Hiromi; Hama, Natsuko; Ogura, Koichi; Yoshida, Aki; Fujiwara, Tomohiro; Arai, Yasuhito; Toguchida, Junya; Tsuda, Hitoshi; Miyano, Satoru; Kawai, Akira

    2014-01-01

    Chondrosarcoma is the second most frequent malignant bone tumor. However, the etiological background of chondrosarcomagenesis remains largely unknown, along with details on molecular alterations and potential therapeutic targets. Massively parallel paired-end sequencing of whole genomes of 10 primary chondrosarcomas revealed that the process of accumulation of somatic mutations is homogeneous irrespective of the pathological subtype or the presence of IDH1 mutations, is unique among a range of cancer types, and shares significant commonalities with that of prostate cancer. Clusters of structural alterations localized within a single chromosome were observed in four cases. Combined with targeted resequencing of additional cartilaginous tumor cohorts, we identified somatic alterations of the COL2A1 gene, which encodes an essential extracellular matrix protein in chondroskeletal development, in 19.3% of chondrosarcoma and 31.7% of enchondroma cases. Epigenetic regulators (IDH1 and YEATS2) and an activin/BMP signal component (ACVR2A) were recurrently altered. Furthermore, a novel FN1-ACVR2A fusion transcript was observed in both chondrosarcoma and osteochondromatosis cases. With the characteristic accumulative process of somatic changes as a background, molecular defects in chondrogenesis and aberrant epigenetic control are primarily causative of both benign and malignant cartilaginous tumors. PMID:25024164

  9. Cultured human peripheral blood mononuclear cells alter their gene expression when challenged with endocrine-disrupting chemicals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wens, B.; De Boever, P.; Verbeke, M.; Hollanders, K.; Schoeters, G.

    2013-01-01

    Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have the potential to interfere with the hormonal system and may negatively influence human health. Microarray analysis was used in this study to investigate differential gene expression in human peripheral blood cells (PBMCs) after in vitro exposure to EDCs. PBMCs, isolated from blood samples of four male and four female healthy individuals, were exposed in vitro for 18 h to either a dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB126, 1 μM), a non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB153, 10 μM), a brominated flame retardant (BDE47, 10 μM), a perfluorinated alkyl acid (PFOA, 10 μM) or bisphenol (BPA, 10 μM). ANOVA analysis revealed a significant change in the expression of 862 genes as a result of EDC exposure. The gender of the donors did not affect gene expression. Hierarchical cluster analysis created three groups and clustered: (1) PCB126-exposed samples, (2) PCB153 and BDE47, (3) PFOA and BPA. The number of differentially expressed genes varied per compound and ranged from 60 to 192 when using fold change and multiplicity corrected p-value as filtering criteria. Exposure to PCB126 induced the AhR signaling pathway. BDE47 and PCB153 are known to disrupt thyroid metabolism and exposure influenced the expression of the nuclear receptors PPARγ and ESR2, respectively. BPA and PFOA did not induce significant changes in the expression of known nuclear receptors. Overall, each compound produced a unique gene expression signature affecting pathways and GO processes linked to metabolism and inflammation. Twenty-nine genes were significantly altered in expression under all experimental conditions. Six of these genes (HSD11B2, MMP11, ADIPOQ, CEL, DUSP9 and TUB) could be associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome. In conclusion, microarray analysis identified that PBMCs altered their gene expression response in vitro when challenged with EDCs. Our screening approach has identified a number of gene candidates that warrant

  10. Acute Sleep Loss Induces Tissue-Specific Epigenetic and Transcriptional Alterations to Circadian Clock Genes in Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cedernaes, Jonathan; Osler, Megan E; Voisin, Sarah; Broman, Jan-Erik; Vogel, Heike; Dickson, Suzanne L; Zierath, Juleen R; Schiöth, Helgi B; Benedict, Christian

    2015-09-01

    Shift workers are at increased risk of metabolic morbidities. Clock genes are known to regulate metabolic processes in peripheral tissues, eg, glucose oxidation. This study aimed to investigate how clock genes are affected at the epigenetic and transcriptional level in peripheral human tissues following acute total sleep deprivation (TSD), mimicking shift work with extended wakefulness. In a randomized, two-period, two-condition, crossover clinical study, 15 healthy men underwent two experimental sessions: x sleep (2230-0700 h) and overnight wakefulness. On the subsequent morning, serum cortisol was measured, followed by skeletal muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies for DNA methylation and gene expression analyses of core clock genes (BMAL1, CLOCK, CRY1, PER1). Finally, baseline and 2-h post-oral glucose load plasma glucose concentrations were determined. In adipose tissue, acute sleep deprivation vs sleep increased methylation in the promoter of CRY1 (+4%; P = .026) and in two promoter-interacting enhancer regions of PER1 (+15%; P = .036; +9%; P = .026). In skeletal muscle, TSD vs sleep decreased gene expression of BMAL1 (-18%; P = .033) and CRY1 (-22%; P = .047). Concentrations of serum cortisol, which can reset peripheral tissue clocks, were decreased (2449 ± 932 vs 3178 ± 723 nmol/L; P = .039), whereas postprandial plasma glucose concentrations were elevated after TSD (7.77 ± 1.63 vs 6.59 ± 1.32 mmol/L; P = .011). Our findings demonstrate that a single night of wakefulness can alter the epigenetic and transcriptional profile of core circadian clock genes in key metabolic tissues. Tissue-specific clock alterations could explain why shift work may disrupt metabolic integrity as observed herein.

  11. Microenvironment alters epigenetic and gene expression profiles in Swarm rat chondrosarcoma tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamm, Christopher A; Wang, Deli; Malchenko, Sergey; Fatima Bonaldo, Maria de; Casavant, Thomas L; Hendrix, Mary JC; Soares, Marcelo B; Stevens, Jeff W; Xie, Hehuang; Vanin, Elio F; Morcuende, Jose A; Abdulkawy, Hakeem; Seftor, Elisabeth A; Sredni, Simone T; Bischof, Jared M

    2010-01-01

    Chondrosarcomas are malignant cartilage tumors that do not respond to traditional chemotherapy or radiation. The 5-year survival rate of histologic grade III chondrosarcoma is less than 30%. An animal model of chondrosarcoma has been established - namely, the Swarm Rat Chondrosarcoma (SRC) - and shown to resemble the human disease. Previous studies with this model revealed that tumor microenvironment could significantly influence chondrosarcoma malignancy. To examine the effect of the microenvironment, SRC tumors were initiated at different transplantation sites. Pyrosequencing assays were utilized to assess the DNA methylation of the tumors, and SAGE libraries were constructed and sequenced to determine the gene expression profiles of the tumors. Based on the gene expression analysis, subsequent functional assays were designed to determine the relevancy of the specific genes in the development and progression of the SRC. The site of transplantation had a significant impact on the epigenetic and gene expression profiles of SRC tumors. Our analyses revealed that SRC tumors were hypomethylated compared to control tissue, and that tumors at each transplantation site had a unique expression profile. Subsequent functional analysis of differentially expressed genes, albeit preliminary, provided some insight into the role that thymosin-β4, c-fos, and CTGF may play in chondrosarcoma development and progression. This report describes the first global molecular characterization of the SRC model, and it demonstrates that the tumor microenvironment can induce epigenetic alterations and changes in gene expression in the SRC tumors. We documented changes in gene expression that accompany changes in tumor phenotype, and these gene expression changes provide insight into the pathways that may play a role in the development and progression of chondrosarcoma. Furthermore, specific functional analysis indicates that thymosin-β4 may have a role in chondrosarcoma metastasis

  12. Microenvironment alters epigenetic and gene expression profiles in Swarm rat chondrosarcoma tumors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamm Christopher A

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Chondrosarcomas are malignant cartilage tumors that do not respond to traditional chemotherapy or radiation. The 5-year survival rate of histologic grade III chondrosarcoma is less than 30%. An animal model of chondrosarcoma has been established - namely, the Swarm Rat Chondrosarcoma (SRC - and shown to resemble the human disease. Previous studies with this model revealed that tumor microenvironment could significantly influence chondrosarcoma malignancy. Methods To examine the effect of the microenvironment, SRC tumors were initiated at different transplantation sites. Pyrosequencing assays were utilized to assess the DNA methylation of the tumors, and SAGE libraries were constructed and sequenced to determine the gene expression profiles of the tumors. Based on the gene expression analysis, subsequent functional assays were designed to determine the relevancy of the specific genes in the development and progression of the SRC. Results The site of transplantation had a significant impact on the epigenetic and gene expression profiles of SRC tumors. Our analyses revealed that SRC tumors were hypomethylated compared to control tissue, and that tumors at each transplantation site had a unique expression profile. Subsequent functional analysis of differentially expressed genes, albeit preliminary, provided some insight into the role that thymosin-β4, c-fos, and CTGF may play in chondrosarcoma development and progression. Conclusion This report describes the first global molecular characterization of the SRC model, and it demonstrates that the tumor microenvironment can induce epigenetic alterations and changes in gene expression in the SRC tumors. We documented changes in gene expression that accompany changes in tumor phenotype, and these gene expression changes provide insight into the pathways that may play a role in the development and progression of chondrosarcoma. Furthermore, specific functional analysis indicates that

  13. Myocardium of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy presents altered expression of genes involved in thyroid hormone biosynthesis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carolina Gil-Cayuela

    Full Text Available The association between dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM and low thyroid hormone (TH levels has been previously described. In these patients abnormal thyroid function is significantly related to impaired left ventricular (LV function and increased risk of death. Although TH was originally thought to be produced exclusively by the thyroid gland, we recently reported TH biosynthesis in the human ischemic heart.Based on these findings, we evaluated whether the genes required for TH production are also altered in patients with DCM.Twenty-three LV tissue samples were obtained from patients with DCM (n = 13 undergoing heart transplantation and control donors (n = 10, and used for RNA sequencing analysis. The number of LV DCM samples was increased to 23 to determine total T4 and T3 tissue levels by ELISA.We found that all components of TH biosynthesis are expressed in human dilated heart tissue. Expression of genes encoding thyroperoxidase (-2.57-fold, P < 0.05 and dual oxidase 2 (2.64-fold, P < 0.01, the main enzymatic system of TH production, was significantly altered in patients with DCM and significantly associated with LV remodeling parameters. Thyroxine (T4 cardiac tissue levels were significantly increased (P < 0.01, whilst triiodothyronine (T3 levels were significantly diminished (P < 0.05 in the patients.Expression of TH biosynthesis machinery in the heart and total tissue levels of T4 and T3, are altered in patients with DCM. Given the relevance of TH in cardiac pathology, our results provide a basis for new gene-based therapeutic strategies for treating DCM.

  14. Effect of volume-oriented versus flow-oriented incentive spirometry on chest wall volumes, inspiratory muscle activity, and thoracoabdominal synchrony in the elderly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lunardi, Adriana C; Porras, Desiderio C; Barbosa, Renata Cc; Paisani, Denise M; Marques da Silva, Cibele C B; Tanaka, Clarice; Carvalho, Celso R F

    2014-03-01

    Aging causes physiological and functional changes that impair pulmonary function. Incentive spirometry is widely used for lung expansion, but the effects of volume-oriented incentive spirometry (VIS) versus flow-oriented incentive spirometry (FIS) on chest wall volumes, inspiratory muscle activity, and thoracoabdominal synchrony in the elderly are poorly understood. We compared VIS and FIS in elderly subjects and healthy adult subjects. Sixteen elderly subjects (9 women, mean ± SD age 70.6 ± 3.9 y, mean ± SD body mass index 23.8 ± 2.5 kg/m(2)) and 16 healthy adults (8 women, mean ± age 25.9 ± 4.3 y, mean ± body mass index 23.6 ± 2.4 kg/m(2)) performed quiet breathing, VIS, and FIS in randomized sequence. Chest wall kinematics (via optoelectronic plethysmography) and inspiratory muscle activity (via surface electromyography) were assessed simultaneously. Synchrony between the superior thorax and abdominal motion was calculated (phase angle). In the elderly subjects both types of incentive spirometry increased chest wall volumes similarly, whereas in the healthy adult subjects VIS increased the chest wall volume more than did FIS. FIS and VIS triggered similar lower thoracoabdominal synchrony in the elderly subjects, whereas in the healthy adults FIS induced lower synchrony than did VIS. FIS required more muscle activity in the elderly subjects to create an increase in chest wall volume. Incentive spirometry performance is influenced by age, and the differences between elderly and healthy adults response should be considered in clinical practice.

  15. Alteration of human umbilical vein endothelial cell gene expression in different biomechanical environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shoajei, Shahrokh; Tafazzoli-Shahdpour, Mohammad; Shokrgozar, Mohammad Ali; Haghighipour, Nooshin

    2014-05-01

    Biomechanical environments affect the function of cells. In this study we analysed the effects of five mechanical stimuli on the gene expression of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in mRNA level using real-time PCR. The following loading regimes were applied on HUVECs for 48 h: intermittent (0-5 dyn/cm(2) , 1 Hz) and uniform (5 dyn/cm(2) ) shear stresses concomitant by 10% intermittent equiaxial stretch (1 Hz), uniform shear stress alone (5 dyn/cm(2) ), and intermittent uniaxial and equiaxial stretches (10%, 1 Hz). A new bioreactor was made to apply uniform/cyclic shear and tensile loadings. Three endothelial suggestive specific genes (vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2, also known as FLK-1), von Willebrand Factor (vWF) and vascular endothelial-cadherin (VE-cadherin)), and two smooth muscle genes (α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and smooth muscle myosin heavy chain (SMMHC)) were chosen for assessment of alteration in gene expression of endothelial cells and transdifferentiation toward smooth cells following load applications. Shear stress alone enhanced the endothelial gene expression significantly, while stretching alone was identified as a transdifferentiating factor. Cyclic equiaxial stretch contributed less to elevation of smooth muscle genes compared to uniaxial stretch. Cyclic shear stress in comparison to uniform shear stress concurrent with cyclic stretch was more influential on promotion of endothelial genes expression. Influence of different mechanical stimuli on gene expression may open a wider horizon to regulate functions of cell for tissue engineering purposes. © 2013 International Federation for Cell Biology.

  16. Obesity is associated with depot-specific alterations in adipocyte DNA methylation and gene expression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sonne, Si Brask; Yadav, Rachita; Yin, Guangliang

    2017-01-01

    The present study aimed to identify genes exhibiting concomitant obesity-dependent changes in DNA methylation and gene expression in adipose tissues in the mouse using diet-induced obese (DIO) C57BL/6J and genetically obese ob/ob mice as models. Mature adipocytes were isolated from epididymal...... and inguinal adipose tissues of ob/ob and DIO C57BL/6J mice. DNA methylation was analyzed by MeDIP-sequencing and gene expression by microarray analysis. The majority of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were hypomethylated in obese mice. Global methylation of long interspersed elements indicated......57BL/6J mice occurred primarily in exons, whereas inguinal adipocytes of ob/ob mice exhibited a higher enrichment of DMRs in promoter regions than in other regions of the genome, suggesting an influence of leptin on DNA methylation in inguinal adipocytes. We observed altered methylation...

  17. Alteration of synaptic activity-regulating genes underlying functional improvement by long-term exposure to an enriched environment in the adult brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Min-Young; Yu, Ji Hea; Kim, Ji Yeon; Seo, Jung Hwa; Park, Eun Sook; Kim, Chul Hoon; Kim, Hyongbum; Cho, Sung-Rae

    2013-01-01

    Housing animals in an enriched environment (EE) enhances behavioral function. However, the mechanism underlying this EE-mediated functional improvement and the resultant changes in gene expression have yet to be elucidated. We attempted to investigate the underlying mechanisms associated with long-term exposure to an EE by evaluating gene expression patterns. We housed 6-week-old CD-1 (ICR) mice in standard cages or an EE comprising a running wheel, novel objects, and social interaction for 2 months. Motor and cognitive performances were evaluated using the rotarod test and passive avoidance test, and gene expression profile was investigated in the cerebral hemispheres using microarray and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). In behavioral assessment, an EE significantly enhanced rotarod performance and short-term working memory. Microarray analysis revealed that genes associated with neuronal activity were significantly altered by an EE. GSEA showed that genes involved in synaptic transmission and postsynaptic signal transduction were globally upregulated, whereas those associated with reuptake by presynaptic neurotransmitter transporters were downregulated. In particular, both microarray and GSEA demonstrated that EE exposure increased opioid signaling, acetylcholine release cycle, and postsynaptic neurotransmitter receptors but decreased Na+ / Cl- -dependent neurotransmitter transporters, including dopamine transporter Slc6a3 in the brain. Western blotting confirmed that SLC6A3, DARPP32 (PPP1R1B), and P2RY12 were largely altered in a region-specific manner. An EE enhanced motor and cognitive function through the alteration of synaptic activity-regulating genes, improving the efficient use of neurotransmitters and synaptic plasticity by the upregulation of genes associated with postsynaptic receptor activity and downregulation of presynaptic reuptake by neurotransmitter transporters.

  18. Long-term meditation training induced changes in the operational synchrony of default mode network modules during a resting state.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fingelkurts, Andrew A; Fingelkurts, Alexander A; Kallio-Tamminen, Tarja

    2016-02-01

    Using theoretical analysis of self-consciousness concept and experimental evidence on the brain default mode network (DMN) that constitutes the neural signature of self-referential processes, we hypothesized that the anterior and posterior subnets comprising the DMN should show differences in their integrity as a function of meditation training. Functional connectivity within DMN and its subnets (measured by operational synchrony) has been measured in ten novice meditators using an electroencephalogram (EEG) recording in a pre-/post-meditation intervention design. We have found that while the whole DMN was clearly suppressed, different subnets of DMN responded differently after 4 months of meditation training: The strength of EEG operational synchrony in the right and left posterior modules of the DMN decreased in resting post-meditation condition compared to a pre-meditation condition, whereas the frontal DMN module on the contrary exhibited an increase in the strength of EEG operational synchrony. These findings combined with published data on functional-anatomic heterogeneity within the DMN and on trait subjective experiences commonly found following meditation allow us to propose that the first-person perspective and the sense of agency (the witnessing observer) are presented by the frontal DMN module, while the posterior modules of the DMN are generally responsible for the experience of the continuity of 'I' as embodied and localized within bodily space. Significance of these findings is discussed.

  19. Developmental programming: gestational bisphenol-A treatment alters trajectory of fetal ovarian gene expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veiga-Lopez, Almudena; Luense, Lacey J; Christenson, Lane K; Padmanabhan, Vasantha

    2013-05-01

    Bisphenol-A (BPA), a ubiquitous environmental endocrine disrupting chemical, is a component of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Because of its estrogenic properties, there is increasing concern relative to risks from exposures during critical periods of early organ differentiation. Prenatal BPA treatment in sheep results in low birth weight, hypergonadotropism, and ovarian cycle disruptions. This study tested the hypothesis that gestational exposure to bisphenol A, at an environmentally relevant dose, induces early perturbations in the ovarian transcriptome (mRNA and microRNA). Pregnant Suffolk ewes were treated with bisphenol A (0.5 mg/kg, sc, daily, produced ∼2.6 ng/mL of unconjugated BPA in umbilical arterial samples of BPA treated fetuses approaching median levels of BPA measured in maternal circulation) from days 30 to 90 of gestation. Expression of steroidogenic enzymes, steroid/gonadotropin receptors, key ovarian regulators, and microRNA biogenesis components were measured by RT-PCR using RNA derived from fetal ovaries collected on gestational days 65 and 90. An age-dependent effect was evident in most steroidogenic enzymes, steroid receptors, and key ovarian regulators. Prenatal BPA increased Cyp19 and 5α-reductase expression in day 65, but not day 90, ovaries. Fetal ovarian microRNA expression was altered by prenatal BPA with 45 down-regulated (>1.5-fold) at day 65 and 11 down-regulated at day 90 of gestation. These included microRNAs targeting Sry-related high-mobility-group box (SOX) family genes, kit ligand, and insulin-related genes. The results of this study demonstrate that exposure to BPA at an environmentally relevant dose alters fetal ovarian steroidogenic gene and microRNA expression of relevance to gonadal differentiation, folliculogenesis, and insulin homeostasis.

  20. Cyclic Equibiaxial Tensile Strain Alters Gene Expression of Chondrocytes via Histone Deacetylase 4 Shuttling.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chongwei Chen

    Full Text Available This paper aims to investigate whether equibiaxial tensile strain alters chondrocyte gene expression via controlling subcellular localization of histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4.Murine chondrocytes transfected with GFP-HDAC4 were subjected to 3 h cyclic equibiaxial tensile strain (CTS, 6% strain at 0.25 Hz by a Flexcell® FX-5000™ Tension System. Fluorescence microscope and western blot were used to observe subcellular location of HDAC4. The gene expression was analyzed by real-time RT-PCR. The concentration of Glycosaminoglycans in culture medium was quantified by bimethylmethylene blue dye; Collagen II protein was evaluated by western blot. Cells phenotype was identified by immunohistochemistry. Cell viability was evaluated by live-dead cell detect kit. Okadaic acid, an inhibitor of HDAC4 nuclear relocation, was used to further validate whether HDAC4 nuclear relocation plays a role in gene expression in response to tension stimulation.87.5% of HDAC4 was located in the cytoplasm in chondrocytes under no loading condition, but it was relocated to the nucleus after CTS. RT-PCR analysis showed that levels of mRNA for aggrecan, collagen II, LK1 and SOX9 were all increased in chondrocytes subjected to CTS as compared to no loading control chondrocytes; in contrast, the levels of type X collagen, MMP-13, IHH and Runx2 gene expression were decreased in the chondrocytes subjected to CTS as compared to control chondrocytes. Meanwhile, CTS contributed to elevation of glycosaminoglycans and collagen II protein, but did not change collagen I production. When Okadaic acid blocked HDAC4 relocation from the cytoplasm to nucleus, the changes of the chondrocytes induced by CTS were abrogated. There was no chondrocyte dead detected in this study in response to CTS.CTS is able to induce HDAC4 relocation from cytoplasm to nucleus. Thus, CTS alters chondrocytes gene expression in association with the relocation of HDAC4 induced by CTS.

  1. Recent and projected increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration can enhance gene flow between wild and genetically altered rice (Oryza sativa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lewis H Ziska

    Full Text Available Although recent and projected increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide can alter plant phenological development, these changes have not been quantified in terms of floral outcrossing rates or gene transfer. Could differential phenological development in response to rising CO(2 between genetically modified crops and wild, weedy relatives increase the spread of novel genes, potentially altering evolutionary fitness? Here we show that increasing CO(2 from an early 20(th century concentration (300 µmol mol(-1 to current (400 µmol mol(-1 and projected, mid-21(st century (600 µmol mol(-1 values, enhanced the flow of genes from wild, weedy rice to the genetically altered, herbicide resistant, cultivated population, with outcrossing increasing from 0.22% to 0.71% from 300 to 600 µmol mol(-1. The increase in outcrossing and gene transfer was associated with differential increases in plant height, as well as greater tiller and panicle production in the wild, relative to the cultivated population. In addition, increasing CO(2 also resulted in a greater synchronicity in flowering times between the two populations. The observed changes reported here resulted in a subsequent increase in rice dedomestication and a greater number of weedy, herbicide-resistant hybrid progeny. Overall, these data suggest that differential phenological responses to rising atmospheric CO(2 could result in enhanced flow of novel genes and greater success of feral plant species in agroecosystems.

  2. Recent and projected increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration can enhance gene flow between wild and genetically altered rice (Oryza sativa).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziska, Lewis H; Gealy, David R; Tomecek, Martha B; Jackson, Aaron K; Black, Howard L

    2012-01-01

    Although recent and projected increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide can alter plant phenological development, these changes have not been quantified in terms of floral outcrossing rates or gene transfer. Could differential phenological development in response to rising CO(2) between genetically modified crops and wild, weedy relatives increase the spread of novel genes, potentially altering evolutionary fitness? Here we show that increasing CO(2) from an early 20(th) century concentration (300 µmol mol(-1)) to current (400 µmol mol(-1)) and projected, mid-21(st) century (600 µmol mol(-1)) values, enhanced the flow of genes from wild, weedy rice to the genetically altered, herbicide resistant, cultivated population, with outcrossing increasing from 0.22% to 0.71% from 300 to 600 µmol mol(-1). The increase in outcrossing and gene transfer was associated with differential increases in plant height, as well as greater tiller and panicle production in the wild, relative to the cultivated population. In addition, increasing CO(2) also resulted in a greater synchronicity in flowering times between the two populations. The observed changes reported here resulted in a subsequent increase in rice dedomestication and a greater number of weedy, herbicide-resistant hybrid progeny. Overall, these data suggest that differential phenological responses to rising atmospheric CO(2) could result in enhanced flow of novel genes and greater success of feral plant species in agroecosystems.

  3. Genetic alterations in fatty acid transport and metabolism genes are associated with metastatic progression and poor prognosis of human cancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nath, Aritro; Chan, Christina

    2016-01-04

    Reprogramming of cellular metabolism is a hallmark feature of cancer cells. While a distinct set of processes drive metastasis when compared to tumorigenesis, it is yet unclear if genetic alterations in metabolic pathways are associated with metastatic progression of human cancers. Here, we analyzed the mutation, copy number variation and gene expression patterns of a literature-derived model of metabolic genes associated with glycolysis (Warburg effect), fatty acid metabolism (lipogenesis, oxidation, lipolysis, esterification) and fatty acid uptake in >9000 primary or metastatic tumor samples from the multi-cancer TCGA datasets. Our association analysis revealed a uniform pattern of Warburg effect mutations influencing prognosis across all tumor types, while copy number alterations in the electron transport chain gene SCO2, fatty acid uptake (CAV1, CD36) and lipogenesis (PPARA, PPARD, MLXIPL) genes were enriched in metastatic tumors. Using gene expression profiles, we established a gene-signature (CAV1, CD36, MLXIPL, CPT1C, CYP2E1) that strongly associated with epithelial-mesenchymal program across multiple cancers. Moreover, stratification of samples based on the copy number or expression profiles of the genes identified in our analysis revealed a significant effect on patient survival rates, thus confirming prominent roles of fatty acid uptake and metabolism in metastatic progression and poor prognosis of human cancers.

  4. Long-term oil contamination alters the molecular ecological networks of soil microbial functional genes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuting eLiang

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available With knowledge on microbial composition and diversity, investigation of within-community interactions is a further step to elucidate microbial ecological functions, such as the biodegradation of hazardous contaminants. In this work, microbial functional molecular ecological networks were studied in both contaminated and uncontaminated soils to determine the possible influences of oil contamination on microbial interactions and potential functions. Soil samples were obtained from an oil-exploring site located in South China, and the microbial functional genes were analyzed with GeoChip, a high-throughput functional microarray. By building random networks based on null model, we demonstrated that overall network structures and properties were significantly different between contaminated and uncontaminated soils (P < 0.001. Network connectivity, module numbers, and modularity were all reduced with contamination. Moreover, the topological roles of the genes (module hub and connectors were altered with oil contamination. Subnetworks of genes involved in alkane and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation were also constructed. Negative co-occurrence patterns prevailed among functional genes, thereby indicating probable competition relationships. The potential keystone genes, defined as either hubs or genes with highest connectivities in the network, were further identified. The network constructed in this study predicted the potential effects of anthropogenic contamination on microbial community co-occurrence interactions.

  5. Loss of Local Astrocyte Support Disrupts Action Potential Propagation and Glutamate Release Synchrony from Unmyelinated Hippocampal Axon Terminals In Vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sobieski, Courtney; Jiang, Xiaoping; Crawford, Devon C; Mennerick, Steven

    2015-08-05

    Neuron-astrocyte interactions are critical for proper CNS development and function. Astrocytes secrete factors that are pivotal for synaptic development and function, neuronal metabolism, and neuronal survival. Our understanding of this relationship, however, remains incomplete due to technical hurdles that have prevented the removal of astrocytes from neuronal circuits without changing other important conditions. Here we overcame this obstacle by growing solitary rat hippocampal neurons on microcultures that were comprised of either an astrocyte bed (+astrocyte) or a collagen bed (-astrocyte) within the same culture dish. -Astrocyte autaptic evoked EPSCs, but not IPSCs, displayed an altered temporal profile, which included increased synaptic delay, increased time to peak, and severe glutamate release asynchrony, distinct from previously described quantal asynchrony. Although we observed minimal alteration of the somatically recorded action potential waveform, action potential propagation was altered. We observed a longer latency between somatic initiation and arrival at distal locations, which likely explains asynchronous EPSC peaks, and we observed broadening of the axonal spike, which likely underlies changes to evoked EPSC onset. No apparent changes in axon structure were observed, suggesting altered axonal excitability. In conclusion, we propose that local astrocyte support has an unappreciated role in maintaining glutamate release synchrony by disturbing axonal signal propagation. Certain glial cell types (oligodendrocytes, Schwann cells) facilitate the propagation of neuronal electrical signals, but a role for astrocytes has not been identified despite many other functions of astrocytes in supporting and modulating neuronal signaling. Under identical global conditions, we cultured neurons with or without local astrocyte support. Without local astrocytes, glutamate transmission was desynchronized by an alteration of the waveform and arrival time of axonal

  6. Penicillin-resistant viridans streptococci have obtained altered penicillin-binding protein genes from penicillin-resistant strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

    OpenAIRE

    Dowson, C G; Hutchison, A; Woodford, N; Johnson, A P; George, R C; Spratt, B G

    1990-01-01

    Penicillin-resistant strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae possess altered forms of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) with decreased affinity for penicillin. The PBP2B genes of these strains have a mosaic structure, consisting of regions that are very similar to those in penicillin-sensitive strains, alternating with regions that are highly diverged. Penicillin-resistant strains of viridans groups streptococci (e.g., S. sanguis and S. oralis) that produce altered PBPs have also been reported. ...

  7. Nuclear transfer alters placental gene expression and associated histone modifications of the placental-specific imprinted gene pleckstrin homology-like domain, family A, member 2 (PHLDA2) in cattle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Daniel R; Gaspar, Roberta C; da Rocha, Carlos V; Sangalli, Juliano R; de Bem, Tiago H C; Corrêa, Carolina A P; Penteado, João C T; Meirelles, Flavio V; Lopes, Flavia L

    2017-03-01

    Abnormal placental development is frequent in nuclear transfer (NT) pregnancies and is likely to be associated with altered epigenetic reprogramming. In the present study, fetal and placental measurements were taken on Day 60 of gestation in cows with pregnancies produced by AI, IVF and NT. Placentas were collected and subjected to histological evaluation, the expression of genes important in trophoblast differentiation and expression of the placental imprinted gene pleckstrin homology-like domain, family A, member 2 (PHLDA2), as well as chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) for histone marks within the promoter of PHLDA2. Fewer binucleated cells were observed in NT cotyledons, followed by IVF and AI cotyledons (P<0.05). Expression of heart and neural crest derivatives expressed 1 (HAND1), placental lactogen (PL), pregnancy-associated glycoprotein 9 (PAG-9) and PHLDA2 was elevated in NT cotyledons compared with AI cotyledons. Expression of PHLDA2 was higher in IVF than AI samples (P<0.05). ChIP revealed an increase in the permissive mark dimethylation of lysine 4 on histone H3 (H3K4me2), surprisingly associated with the silent allele of PHLDA2, and a decrease in the inhibitory mark H3K9me2 in NT samples. Thus, genes critical for placental development were altered in NT placentas, including an imprinted gene. Allele-specific changes in the permissive histone mark in the PHLDA2 promoter indicate misregulation of imprinting in clones. Abnormal trophoblast differentiation could have resulted in lower numbers of binucleated cells following NT. These results suggest that the altered expression of imprinted genes associated with NT are also caused by changes in histone modifications.

  8. Multiway real-time PCR gene expression profiling in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals altered transcriptional response of ADH-genes to glucose stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ståhlberg, Anders; Elbing, Karin; Andrade-Garda, José Manuel; Sjögreen, Björn; Forootan, Amin; Kubista, Mikael

    2008-04-16

    The large sensitivity, high reproducibility and essentially unlimited dynamic range of real-time PCR to measure gene expression in complex samples provides the opportunity for powerful multivariate and multiway studies of biological phenomena. In multiway studies samples are characterized by their expression profiles to monitor changes over time, effect of treatment, drug dosage etc. Here we perform a multiway study of the temporal response of four yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains with different glucose uptake rates upon altered metabolic conditions. We measured the expression of 18 genes as function of time after addition of glucose to four strains of yeast grown in ethanol. The data are analyzed by matrix-augmented PCA, which is a generalization of PCA for 3-way data, and the results are confirmed by hierarchical clustering and clustering by Kohonen self-organizing map. Our approach identifies gene groups that respond similarly to the change of nutrient, and genes that behave differently in mutant strains. Of particular interest is our finding that ADH4 and ADH6 show a behavior typical of glucose-induced genes, while ADH3 and ADH5 are repressed after glucose addition. Multiway real-time PCR gene expression profiling is a powerful technique which can be utilized to characterize functions of new genes by, for example, comparing their temporal response after perturbation in different genetic variants of the studied subject. The technique also identifies genes that show perturbed expression in specific strains.

  9. Multiway real-time PCR gene expression profiling in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals altered transcriptional response of ADH-genes to glucose stimuli

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrade-Garda José

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The large sensitivity, high reproducibility and essentially unlimited dynamic range of real-time PCR to measure gene expression in complex samples provides the opportunity for powerful multivariate and multiway studies of biological phenomena. In multiway studies samples are characterized by their expression profiles to monitor changes over time, effect of treatment, drug dosage etc. Here we perform a multiway study of the temporal response of four yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains with different glucose uptake rates upon altered metabolic conditions. Results We measured the expression of 18 genes as function of time after addition of glucose to four strains of yeast grown in ethanol. The data are analyzed by matrix-augmented PCA, which is a generalization of PCA for 3-way data, and the results are confirmed by hierarchical clustering and clustering by Kohonen self-organizing map. Our approach identifies gene groups that respond similarly to the change of nutrient, and genes that behave differently in mutant strains. Of particular interest is our finding that ADH4 and ADH6 show a behavior typical of glucose-induced genes, while ADH3 and ADH5 are repressed after glucose addition. Conclusion Multiway real-time PCR gene expression profiling is a powerful technique which can be utilized to characterize functions of new genes by, for example, comparing their temporal response after perturbation in different genetic variants of the studied subject. The technique also identifies genes that show perturbed expression in specific strains.

  10. Perception of audio-visual speech synchrony in Spanish-speaking children with and without specific language impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pons, Ferran; Andreu, Llorenç; Sanz-Torrent, Monica; Buil-Legaz, Lucía; Lewkowicz, David J

    2013-06-01

    Speech perception involves the integration of auditory and visual articulatory information, and thus requires the perception of temporal synchrony between this information. There is evidence that children with specific language impairment (SLI) have difficulty with auditory speech perception but it is not known if this is also true for the integration of auditory and visual speech. Twenty Spanish-speaking children with SLI, twenty typically developing age-matched Spanish-speaking children, and twenty Spanish-speaking children matched for MLU-w participated in an eye-tracking study to investigate the perception of audiovisual speech synchrony. Results revealed that children with typical language development perceived an audiovisual asynchrony of 666 ms regardless of whether the auditory or visual speech attribute led the other one. Children with SLI only detected the 666 ms asynchrony when the auditory component preceded [corrected] the visual component. None of the groups perceived an audiovisual asynchrony of 366 ms. These results suggest that the difficulty of speech processing by children with SLI would also involve difficulties in integrating auditory and visual aspects of speech perception.

  11. Alteration of gene expression profiling including GPR174 and GNG2 is associated with vasovagal syncope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yu-Juan; Zhou, Zai-wei; Xu, Miao; Ma, Qing-wen; Yan, Jing-bin; Wang, Jian-yi; Zhang, Quo-qin; Huang, Min; Bao, Liming

    2015-03-01

    Vasovagal syncope (VVS) causes accidental harm for susceptible patients. However, pathophysiology of this disorder remains largely unknown. In an effort to understanding of molecular mechanism for VVS, genome-wide gene expression profiling analyses were performed on VVS patients at syncope state. A total of 66 Type 1 VVS child patients and the same number healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Peripheral blood RNAs were isolated from all subjects, of which 10 RNA samples were randomly selected from each groups for gene expression profile analysis using Gene ST 1.0 arrays (Affymetrix). The results revealed that 103 genes were differently expressed between the patients and controls. Significantly, two G-proteins related genes, GPR174 and GNG2 that have not been related to VVS were among the differently expressed genes. The microarray results were confirmed by qRT-PCR in all the tested individuals. Ingenuity pathway analysis and gene ontology annotation study showed that the differently expressed genes are associated with stress response and apoptosis, suggesting that the alteration of some gene expression including G-proteins related genes is associated with VVS. This study provides new insight into the molecular mechanism of VVS and would be helpful to further identify new molecular biomarkers for the disease.

  12. Families that fire together smile together: Resting state connectome similarity and daily emotional synchrony in parent-child dyads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Tae-Ho; Miernicki, Michelle E; Telzer, Eva H

    2017-05-15

    Despite emerging evidence suggesting a biological basis to our social tiles, our understanding of the neural processes which link two minds is unknown. We implemented a novel approach, which included connectome similarity analysis using resting state intrinsic networks of parent-child dyads as well as daily diaries measured across 14 days. Intrinsic resting-state networks for both parents and their adolescent child were identified using independent component analysis (ICA). Results indicate that parents and children who had more similar RSN connectome also had more similar day-to-day emotional synchrony. Furthermore, dyadic RSN connectome similarity was associated with children's emotional competence, suggesting that being neurally in-tune with their parents confers emotional benefits. We provide the first evidence that dyadic RSN similarity is associated with emotional synchrony in what is often our first and most essential social bond, the parent-child relationship. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Altered cellular redox status, sirtuin abundance and clock gene expression in a mouse model of developmentally primed NASH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruce, Kimberley D; Szczepankiewicz, Dawid; Sihota, Kiran K; Ravindraanandan, Manoj; Thomas, Hugh; Lillycrop, Karen A; Burdge, Graham C; Hanson, Mark A; Byrne, Christopher D; Cagampang, Felino R

    2016-07-01

    We have previously shown that high fat (HF) feeding during pregnancy primes the development of non-alcoholic steatohepatits (NASH) in the adult offspring. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Since the endogenous molecular clock can regulate hepatic lipid metabolism, we investigated whether exposure to a HF diet during development could alter hepatic clock gene expression and contribute to NASH onset in later life. Female mice were fed either a control (C, 7%kcal fat) or HF (45%kcal fat) diet. Offspring were fed either a C or HF diet resulting in four offspring groups: C/C, C/HF, HF/C and HF/HF. NAFLD progression, cellular redox status, sirtuin expression (Sirt1, Sirt3), and the expression of core clock genes (Clock, Bmal1, Per2, Cry2) and clock-controlled genes involved in lipid metabolism (Rev-Erbα, Rev-Erbβ, RORα, and Srebp1c) were measured in offspring livers. Offspring fed a HF diet developed NAFLD. However HF fed offspring of mothers fed a HF diet developed NASH, coupled with significantly reduced NAD(+)/NADH (pNASH in adulthood, involving altered cellular redox status, reduced sirtuin abundance, and desynchronized clock gene expression. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Altered gene expression in blood and sputum in COPD frequent exacerbators in the ECLIPSE cohort.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dave Singh

    Full Text Available Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD who are defined as frequent exacerbators suffer with 2 or more exacerbations every year. The molecular mechanisms responsible for this phenotype are poorly understood. We investigated gene expression profile patterns associated with frequent exacerbations in sputum and blood cells in a well-characterised cohort. Samples from subjects from the ECLIPSE COPD cohort were used; sputum and blood samples from 138 subjects were used for microarray gene expression analysis, while blood samples from 438 subjects were used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR testing. Using microarray, 150 genes were differentially expressed in blood (>±1.5 fold change, p≤0.01 between frequent compared to non-exacerbators. In sputum cells, only 6 genes were differentially expressed. The differentially regulated genes in blood included downregulation of those involved in lymphocyte signalling and upregulation of pro-apoptotic signalling genes. Multivariate analysis of the microarray data followed by confirmatory PCR analysis identified 3 genes that predicted frequent exacerbations; B3GNT, LAF4 and ARHGEF10. The sensitivity and specificity of these 3 genes to predict the frequent exacerbator phenotype was 88% and 33% respectively. There are alterations in systemic immune function associated with frequent exacerbations; down-regulation of lymphocyte function and a shift towards pro-apoptosis mechanisms are apparent in patients with frequent exacerbations.

  15. Gene expression profile altered by orthodontic tooth movement during healing of surgical alveolar defect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Eun-Kyung; Lee, Jae-Hyung; Baek, Seung-Hak; Kim, Su-Jung

    2017-06-01

    We explored the gene expression profile altered by orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) during the healing of surgical alveolar defects in beagles. An OTM-related healing model was established where a maxillary second premolar was protracted into the critical-sized defect for 6 weeks (group DT6). As controls, natural healing models without OTM were set at 2 weeks (group D2) and at 6 weeks (group D6) after surgery. Total RNAs were extracted from dissected tissue blocks containing the regenerated defects and additionally from sound alveolar bone as a baseline (group C). mRNA profiling was performed using microarray analysis. Functional annotations of gene clusters based on differentially expressed genes among groups indicated that the gene expression profile of group DT6 had a stronger similarity to that of group D2 than to group D6. The genes participating in high woven-bone fraction in group DT6 could be identified as TNFSF11, MMP13, SPP1, and DMP1, which were verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions. We investigated at the gene level that OTM can affect the healing state of surgical defects serving as favorable matrices for OTM with defect regeneration. It would be a basis on selecting putative genes to be therapeutically applied for tissue-friendly accelerated orthodontics in the future. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. A Free-Choice High-Fat High-Sugar Diet Alters Day-Night Per2 Gene Expression in Reward-Related Brain Areas in Rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blancas-Velazquez, Aurea Susana; Unmehopa, Unga A; Eggels, Leslie; Koekkoek, Laura; Kalsbeek, Andries; Mendoza, Jorge; la Fleur, Susanne E

    2018-01-01

    Under normal light-dark conditions, nocturnal rodents consume most of their food during the dark period. Diets high in fat and sugar, however, may affect the day-night feeding rhythm resulting in a higher light phase intake. In vitro and in vivo studies showed that nutrients affect clock-gene expression. We therefore hypothesized that overconsuming fat and sugar alters clock-gene expression in brain structures important for feeding behavior. We determined the effects of a free-choice high-fat high-sugar (fcHFHS) diet on clock-gene expression in rat brain areas related to feeding and reward and compared them with chow-fed rats. Consuming a fcHFHS diet for 6 weeks disrupted day-night differences in Per2 mRNA expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and lateral hypothalamus but not in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, habenula, and ventral tegmental area. Furthermore, short-term sugar drinking, but not fat feeding, upregulates Per2 mRNA expression in the NAc. The disruptions in day-night differences in NAc Per2 gene expression were not accompanied by altered day-night differences in the mRNA expression of peptides related to food intake. We conclude that the fcHFHS diet and acute sugar drinking affect Per2 gene expression in areas involved in food reward; however, this is not sufficient to alter the day-night pattern of food intake.

  17. Omega-6 Fat Supplementation Alters Lipogenic Gene Expression in Bovine Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue

    OpenAIRE

    Joseph, Sandeep J.; Pratt, Scott L.; Pavan, Enrique; Rekaya, Romdhane; Duckett., Susan K.

    2010-01-01

    In contrast to rodents, adipose tissue serves as the major site of lipogenesis and storage reservoir for excess dietary energy in cattle. Research in rodents shows that adding corn oil (57% C18:2 n-6) to the diet alters lipogenesis enhancing deposition of omega-6 fatty acids. This study examines changes in lipogenic gene expression of subcutaneous adipose tissue from eighteen steers fed increasing levels of dietary corn oil [0 (NONE), 0.31 kg/d (MED) and 0.62 kg/d (HI)] using two platforms, q...

  18. Impairment of decision making and disruption of synchrony between basolateral amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex in the maternally separated rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Bing; Wang, Jun; Zhang, Xu; Yang, Xiangwei; Poon, David Chun-Hei; Jelfs, Beth; Chan, Rosa H M; Wu, Justin Che-Yuen; Li, Ying

    2016-12-01

    There is considerable evidence to suggest early life experiences, such as maternal separation (MS), play a role in the prevalence of emotional dysregulation and cognitive impairment. At the same time, optimal decision making requires functional integrity between the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and any dysfunction of this system is believed to induce decision-making deficits. However, the impact of MS on decision-making behavior and the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms have not been thoroughly studied. As such, we consider the impact of MS on the emotional and cognitive functions of rats by employing the open-field test, elevated plus-maze test, and rat gambling task (RGT). Using multi-channel recordings from freely behaving rats, we assessed the effects of MS on the large scale synchrony between the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the ACC; while also characterizing the relationship between neural spiking activity and the ongoing oscillations in theta frequency band across the BLA and ACC. The results indicated that the MS rats demonstrated anxiety-like behavior. While the RGT showed a decrease in the percentage of good decision-makers, and an increase in the percentage of poor decision-makers. Electrophysiological data revealed an increase in the total power in the theta band of the LFP in the BLA and a decrease in theta power in the ACC in MS rats. MS was also found to disrupt the spike-field coherence of the ACC single unit spiking activity to the ongoing theta oscillations in the BLA and interrupt the synchrony in the BLA-ACC pathway. We provide specific evidence that MS leads to decision-making deficits that are accompanied by alteration of the theta band LFP in the BLA-ACC circuitries and disruption of the neural network integrity. These observations may help revise fundamental notions regarding neurophysiological biomarkers to treat cognitive impairment induced by early life stress. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights

  19. Kidney gene expression analysis in a rat model of intrauterine growth restriction reveals massive alterations of coagulation genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buffat, Christophe; Boubred, Farid; Mondon, Françoise; Chelbi, Sonia T; Feuerstein, Jean-Marc; Lelièvre-Pégorier, Martine; Vaiman, Daniel; Simeoni, Umberto

    2007-11-01

    In this study, low birth weight was induced in rats by feeding the dams with a low-protein diet during pregnancy. Kidneys from the fetuses at the end of gestation were collected and showed a reduction in overall and relative weight, in parallel with other tissues (heart and liver). This reduction was associated with a reduction in nephrons number. To better understand the molecular basis of this observation, a transcriptome analysis contrasting kidneys from control and protein-deprived rats was performed, using a platform based upon long isothermic oligonucleotides, strengthening the robustness of the results. We could identify over 1800 transcripts modified more than twice (772 induced and 1040 repressed). Genes of either category were automatically classified according to functional criteria, making it possible to bring to light a large cluster of genes involved in coagulation and complement cascades. The promoters of the most induced and most repressed genes were contrasted for their composition in putative transcription factor binding sites, suggesting an overrepresentation of the AP1R binding site, together with the transcription induction of factors actually binding to this site in the set of induced genes. The induction of coagulation cascades in the kidney of low-birth-weight rats provides a putative rationale for explaining thrombo-endothelial disorders also observed in intrauterine growth-restricted human newborns. These alterations in the kidneys have been reported as a probable cause for cardiovascular diseases in the adult.

  20. Frequent loss of heterozygosity and altered expression of the candidate tumor suppressor gene 'FAT' in human astrocytic tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chosdol, Kunzang; Misra, Anjan; Puri, Sachin; Srivastava, Tapasya; Chattopadhyay, Parthaprasad; Sarkar, Chitra; Mahapatra, Ashok K; Sinha, Subrata

    2009-01-01

    We had earlier used the comparison of RAPD (Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA) DNA fingerprinting profiles of tumor and corresponding normal DNA to identify genetic alterations in primary human glial tumors. This has the advantage that DNA fingerprinting identifies the genetic alterations in a manner not biased for locus. In this study we used RAPD-PCR to identify novel genomic alterations in the astrocytic tumors of WHO grade II (Low Grade Diffuse Astrocytoma) and WHO Grade IV (Glioblastoma Multiforme). Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the altered region was studied by microsatellite and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers. Expression study of the gene identified at the altered locus was done by semi-quantitative reverse-transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR). Bands consistently altered in the RAPD profile of tumor DNA in a significant proportion of tumors were identified. One such 500 bp band, that was absent in the RAPD profile of 33% (4/12) of the grade II astrocytic tumors, was selected for further study. Its sequence corresponded with a region of FAT, a putative tumor suppressor gene initially identified in Drosophila. Fifty percent of a set of 40 tumors, both grade II and IV, were shown to have Loss of Heterozygosity (LOH) at this locus by microsatellite (intragenic) and by SNP markers. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed low FAT mRNA levels in a major subset of tumors. These results point to a role of the FAT in astrocytic tumorigenesis and demonstrate the use of RAPD analysis in identifying specific alterations in astrocytic tumors

  1. Global alteration in gene expression profiles of deciduas from women with idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krieg, S A; Fan, X; Hong, Y; Sang, Q-X; Giaccia, A; Westphal, L M; Lathi, R B; Krieg, A J; Nayak, N R

    2012-09-01

    Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) occurs in ∼5% of women. However, the etiology is still poorly understood. Defects in decidualization of the endometrium during early pregnancy contribute to several pregnancy complications, such as pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), and are believed to be important in the pathogenesis of idiopathic RPL. We performed microarray analysis to identify gene expression alterations in the deciduas of idiopathic RPL patients. Control patients had one antecedent term delivery, but were undergoing dilation and curettage for current aneuploid miscarriage. Gene expression differences were evaluated using both pathway and gene ontology (GO) analysis. Selected genes were validated using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). A total of 155 genes were found to be significantly dysregulated in the deciduas of RPL patients (>2-fold change, P genes up-regulated and 133 genes down-regulated. GO analysis linked a large percentage of genes to discrete biological functions, including immune response (23%), cell signaling (18%) and cell invasion (17.1%), and pathway analysis revealed consistent changes in both the interleukin 1 (IL-1) and IL-8 pathways. All genes in the IL-8 pathway were up-regulated while genes in the IL-1 pathway were down-regulated. Although both pathways can promote inflammation, IL-1 pathway activity is important for normal implantation. Additionally, genes known to be critical for degradation of the extracellular matrix, including matrix metalloproteinase 26 and serine peptidase inhibitor Kazal-type 1, were also highly up-regulated. In this first microarray approach to decidual gene expression in RPL patients, our data suggest that dysregulation of genes associated with cell invasion and immunity may contribute significantly to idiopathic recurrent miscarriage.

  2. Synchrony and motor mimicking in chimpanzee observational learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuhrmann, Delia; Ravignani, Andrea; Marshall-Pescini, Sarah; Whiten, Andrew

    2014-01-01

    Cumulative tool-based culture underwrote our species' evolutionary success, and tool-based nut-cracking is one of the strongest candidates for cultural transmission in our closest relatives, chimpanzees. However the social learning processes that may explain both the similarities and differences between the species remain unclear. A previous study of nut-cracking by initially naïve chimpanzees suggested that a learning chimpanzee holding no hammer nevertheless replicated hammering actions it witnessed. This observation has potentially important implications for the nature of the social learning processes and underlying motor coding involved. In the present study, model and observer actions were quantified frame-by-frame and analysed with stringent statistical methods, demonstrating synchrony between the observer's and model's movements, cross-correlation of these movements above chance level and a unidirectional transmission process from model to observer. These results provide the first quantitative evidence for motor mimicking underlain by motor coding in apes, with implications for mirror neuron function. PMID:24923651

  3. Synchrony and motor mimicking in chimpanzee observational learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuhrmann, Delia; Ravignani, Andrea; Marshall-Pescini, Sarah; Whiten, Andrew

    2014-06-13

    Cumulative tool-based culture underwrote our species' evolutionary success, and tool-based nut-cracking is one of the strongest candidates for cultural transmission in our closest relatives, chimpanzees. However the social learning processes that may explain both the similarities and differences between the species remain unclear. A previous study of nut-cracking by initially naïve chimpanzees suggested that a learning chimpanzee holding no hammer nevertheless replicated hammering actions it witnessed. This observation has potentially important implications for the nature of the social learning processes and underlying motor coding involved. In the present study, model and observer actions were quantified frame-by-frame and analysed with stringent statistical methods, demonstrating synchrony between the observer's and model's movements, cross-correlation of these movements above chance level and a unidirectional transmission process from model to observer. These results provide the first quantitative evidence for motor mimicking underlain by motor coding in apes, with implications for mirror neuron function.

  4. Haplotype specific alteration of diabetes MHC risk by olfactory receptor gene polymorphism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahromi, Mohamed M

    2012-12-01

    Evidence for genes associated with risk for Type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the extended region of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes is accumulating. The aim of this study was to investigate the association pattern of the extended MHC region with T1D susceptibility to identify effects independent of well established DR/DQ genes. A total of 394 Europid families with T1D were genotyped for the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the olfactory receptor family 14, subfamily J, member 1 (OR14J1) gene, rs9257691, in the MHC telomeric region. The OR provides "an internal depiction of our external world" through the capture of odorant molecules in the main OR system by several large families of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR). These receptors transduce and chemosignals into the central nervous system (CNS). This SNP was chosen to identify its association with T1D. Interestingly, OR14J1C allele was significantly associated with T1D that seems to go with DRB1*0401, Χ(2)=10.9, p=0.0003. However, by fixing both genes of DR*0401-DQB1*0302, high risk, the association of T1D with OR14J1C still existed, Χ(2)=7.4, p=0.005. The occurrence of association of the OR14J1C allele with T1D patients with DRB1*401/DQB1*0302 is an independent risk for T1D. As an accumulative report suggests the role of OR in the pathogenesis of diabetic microvascular and other diabetic complications, undoubtedly, this haplotype specific alteration of T1D risk is an independent risk for the disease and can address the promising MHC-linked gene other than DR/DQ. Moreover, there is nothing to hinder for that this might be a signal that identifies the role of OR gene in the pathogenesis of T1D in patients who are prone to diabetic complications. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  5. Feline immunodeficiency virus OrfA alters gene expression of splicing factors and proteasome-ubiquitination proteins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sundstrom, Magnus; Chatterji, Udayan; Schaffer, Lana; Rozieres, Sohela de; Elder, John H.

    2008-01-01

    Expression of the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) accessory protein OrfA (or Orf2) is critical for efficient viral replication in lymphocytes, both in vitro and in vivo. OrfA has been reported to exhibit functions in common with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) accessory proteins Vpr and Tat, although the function of OrfA has not been fully explained. Here, we use microarray analysis to characterize how OrfA modulates the gene expression profile of T-lymphocytes. The primary IL-2-dependent T-cell line 104-C1 was transduced to express OrfA. Functional expression of OrfA was demonstrated by trans complementation of the OrfA-defective clone, FIV-34TF10. OrfA-expressing cells had a slightly reduced cell proliferation rate but did not exhibit any significant alteration in cell cycle distribution. Reverse-transcribed RNA from cells expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) or GFP + OrfA were hybridized to Affymetrix HU133 Plus 2.0 microarray chips representing more than 47,000 genome-wide transcripts. By using two statistical approaches, 461 (Rank Products) and 277 (ANOVA) genes were identified as modulated by OrfA expression. The functional relevance of the differentially expressed genes was explored by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. The analyses revealed alterations in genes critical for RNA post-transcriptional modifications and protein ubiquitination as the two most significant functional outcomes of OrfA expression. In these two groups, several subunits of the spliceosome, cellular splicing factors and family members of the proteasome-ubiquitination system were identified. These findings provide novel information on the versatile function of OrfA during FIV infection and indicate a fine-tuning mechanism of the cellular environment by OrfA to facilitate efficient FIV replication

  6. Altered procollagen gene expression in mid-gestational mouse excisional wounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Stephanie R; Quirk, Gerald L; Sykes, Virginia W; Kordula, Tomasz; Lanning, David A

    2007-11-01

    Many pathologic conditions are characterized by excessive tissue contraction and scar formation. Previously, we developed a murine model of excisional wound healing in which mid-gestational wounds heal scarlessly compared with late-gestational wounds. We theorized that variations in procollagen gene expression may contribute to the scarless and rapid closure. Time-dated pregnant FVB strain mice underwent laparotomy and hysterotomy on embryonic days 15 (E15) and 18 (E18). Full-thickness, excisional wounds (3 mm) were made on each of 4 fetuses per doe and then harvested at 32, 48, or 72 h. Control tissue consisted of age-matched normal fetal skin. Procollagen types 1alpha1, 1alpha2, and 3 gene expressions were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction and normalized to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Trichrome staining was also performed. Procollagen 1alpha1 expression was decreased in E15 wounds at 32 h compared with their normal skin groups. Procollagen types 1alpha2 and 3 expressions were both increased in the E15 groups compared with the E18 groups at 48 h. At 72 h, the E15 wounds had a collagen density similar to the surrounding normal skin while E18 wounds exhibited increased collagen deposition in a disorganized pattern. This study demonstrates that the pattern of gene expression for types 1 and 3 collagen varies between mid- and late-gestational mouse excisional wounds. These alterations in procollagen expression may contribute to a pattern of collagen deposition in the mid-gestational fetuses that is more favorable for scarless healing with less type 1 and more type 3 collagen.

  7. Selective Attention to a Talker's Mouth in Infancy: Role of Audiovisual Temporal Synchrony and Linguistic Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hillairet de Boisferon, Anne; Tift, Amy H.; Minar, Nicholas J.; Lewkowicz, David J.

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have found that infants shift their attention from the eyes to the mouth of a talker when they enter the canonical babbling phase after 6 months of age. Here, we investigated whether this increased attentional focus on the mouth is mediated by audio-visual synchrony and linguistic experience. To do so, we tracked eye gaze in 4-,…

  8. The Changing Nature of Theory and Practice in Marketing: on the Value of Synchrony

    OpenAIRE

    O'Driscoll, Aidan; Murray, John

    1998-01-01

    Any academic discipline with a closely associated area of professional endeavour is profoundly affected by the relationship between its theory and practice. Synchrony in theory and practice adds value to the management of enterprise and to the advance of the discipline. Mindful of this assertion, this article explores the changing nature of theory and practice in marketing. It examines current trends in marketing practice which are occurring as a result of change in markets, technology and or...

  9. A cross-cultural comparison of tonal synchrony and pitch imitation in the vocal dialogs of Belgian Flemish-speaking and Mexican Spanish-speaking mother-infant dyads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Puyvelde, Martine; Loots, Gerrit; Gillisjans, Lobcke; Pattyn, Nathalie; Quintana, Carmen

    2015-08-01

    This study reports a cross-cultural comparison of the vocal pitch patterns of 15 Mexican Spanish-speaking and 15 Belgian Flemish-speaking dyads, recorded during 5min of free-play in a laboratory setting. Both cultures have a tradition of dyadic face-to-face interaction but differ in language origins (i.e., Romanic versus Germanic). In total, 374 Mexican and 558 Flemish vocal exchanges were identified, analyzed and compared for their incidence of tonal synchrony (harmonic/pentatonic series), non-tonal synchrony (with/without imitations) and pitch and/or interval imitations. The main findings revealed that dyads in both cultures rely on tonal synchrony using similar pitch ratios and timing patterns. However, there were significant differences in the infants' vocal pitch imitation behavior. Additional video-analyzes on the contingency patterns involved in pitch imitation showed a cross-cultural difference in the maternal selective reinforcement of pitch imitation. The results are interpreted with regard to linguistic, developmental and cultural aspects and the 'musilanguage' model. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Alterations in the K-ras and p53 genes in rat lung tumors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belinsky, S.A.; Swafford, D.S.; Finch, G.L.; Mitchell, C.E. [Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM (United States)] [and others

    1997-06-01

    Activation of the K-ras protooncogene and inactivation of the p53 tumor suppressor gene are events common to many types of human cancers. Molecular epidemiology studies have associated mutational profiles in these genes with specific exposures. The purpose of this paper is to review investigations that have examined the role of the K-ras and p53 genes in lung tumors induced in the F344 rat by mutagenic and nonmutagenic exposures. Mutation profiles within the K-ras and p53 genes, if present in rat lung tumors, would help to define some of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer induction by various environmental agents. Pulmonary adenocarcinomas or squamous cell carcinomas were induced by tetranitromethane (TNM), 4-methylnitrosamino-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), beryllium metal, plutonium-239, X-ray, diesel exhaust, or carbon black. These agents were chosen because the tumors they produced could arise via different types of DNA damage. Mutation of the K-ras gene was determined by approaches that included DNA transfection, direct sequencing, mismatch hybridization, and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The frequency for mutation of the K-ras gene was exposure dependent. The transition mutations formed could have been derived from deamination of cytosine. Alteration in the p53 gene was assessed by immunohistochemical analysis for p53 protein and single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of exons 4 to 9. None of the 93 adenocarinomas examined was immunoreactive toward the anti-p53 antibody CM1. In contrast, 14 of 71 squamous cell carcinomas exhibited nuclear p53 immunoreactivity with no correlation to type of exposure. However, SSCP analysis only detected mutations in 2 of 14 squamous cell tumors that were immunoreactive, suggesting that protein stabilization did not stem from mutations within the p53 gene. Thus, the p53 gene does not appear to be involved in the genesis of most rat lung tumors. 2 figs., 2 tabs., 48 refs.

  11. Addiction and Reward-related Genes Show Altered Expression in the Postpartum Nucleus Accumbens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Changjiu eZhao

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Motherhood involves a switch in natural rewards, whereby offspring become highly rewarding. Nucleus accumbens (NAC is a key CNS region for natural rewards and addictions, but to date no study has evaluated on a large scale the events in NAC that underlie the maternal change in natural rewards. In this study we utilized microarray and bioinformatics approaches to evaluate postpartum NAC gene expression changes in mice. Modular Single-set Enrichment Test (MSET indicated that postpartum (relative to virgin NAC gene expression profile was significantly enriched for genes related to addiction and reward in 5 of 5 independently curated databases (e.g., Malacards, Phenopedia. Over 100 addiction/reward related genes were identified and these included: Per1, Per2, Arc, Homer2, Creb1, Grm3, Fosb, Gabrb3, Adra2a, Ntrk2, Cry1, Penk, Cartpt, Adcy1, Npy1r, Htr1a, Drd1a, Gria1, and Pdyn. ToppCluster analysis found maternal NAC expression profile to be significantly enriched for genes related to the drug action of nicotine, ketamine, and dronabinol. Pathway analysis indicated postpartum NAC as enriched for RNA processing, CNS development/differentiation, and transcriptional regulation. Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis identified possible networks for transcription factors, including Nr1d1, Per2, Fosb, Egr1, and Nr4a1. The postpartum state involves increased risk for mental health disorders and MSET analysis indicated postpartum NAC to be enriched for genes related to depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Mental health related genes included: Fabp7, Grm3, Penk, and Nr1d1. We confirmed via quantitative PCR Nr1d1, Per2, Grm3, Penk, Drd1a, and Pdyn. This study indicates for the first time that postpartum NAC involves large scale gene expression alterations linked to addiction and reward. Because the postpartum state also involves decreased response to drugs, the findings could provide insights into how to mitigate addictions.

  12. A novel technique for phase synchrony measurement from the complex motor imaginary potential of combined body and limb action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zhong-xing; Wan, Bai-kun; Ming, Dong; Qi, Hong-zhi

    2010-08-01

    In this study, we proposed and evaluated the use of the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) technique combined with phase synchronization analysis to investigate the human brain synchrony of the supplementary motor area (SMA) and primary motor area (M1) during complex motor imagination of combined body and limb action. We separated the EEG data of the SMA and M1 into intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) using the EMD method and determined the characteristic IMFs by power spectral density (PSD) analysis. Thereafter, the instantaneous phases of the characteristic IMFs were obtained by the Hilbert transformation, and the single-trial phase-locking value (PLV) features for brain synchrony measurement between the SMA and M1 were investigated separately. The classification performance suggests that the proposed approach is effective for phase synchronization analysis and is promising for the application of a brain-computer interface in motor nerve reconstruction of the lower limbs.

  13. On a Possible Relationship between Linguistic Expertise and EEG Gamma Band Phase Synchrony

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiterer, Susanne; Pereda, Ernesto; Bhattacharya, Joydeep

    2011-01-01

    Recent research has shown that extensive training in and exposure to a second language can modify the language organization in the brain by causing both structural and functional changes. However it is not yet known how these changes are manifested by the dynamic brain oscillations and synchronization patterns subserving the language networks. In search for synchronization correlates of proficiency and expertise in second language acquisition, multivariate EEG signals were recorded from 44 high and low proficiency bilinguals during processing of natural language in their first and second languages. Gamma band (30–45 Hz) phase synchronization (PS) was calculated mainly by two recently developed methods: coarse-graining of Markov chains (estimating global phase synchrony, measuring the degree of PS between one electrode and all other electrodes), and phase lag index (PLI; estimating bivariate phase synchrony, measuring the degree of PS between a pair of electrodes). On comparing second versus first language processing, global PS by coarse-graining Markov chains indicated that processing of the second language needs significantly higher synchronization strength than first language. On comparing the proficiency groups, bivariate PS measure (i.e., PLI) revealed that during second language processing the low proficiency group showed stronger and broader network patterns than the high proficiency group, with interconnectivities between a left fronto-parietal network. Mean phase coherence analysis also indicated that the network activity was globally stronger in the low proficiency group during second language processing. PMID:22125542

  14. Altered cortical expression of GABA-related genes in schizophrenia: illness progression vs developmental disturbance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoftman, Gil D; Volk, David W; Bazmi, H Holly; Li, Siyu; Sampson, Allan R; Lewis, David A

    2015-01-01

    Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder with altered expression of GABA-related genes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). However, whether these gene expression abnormalities reflect disturbances in postnatal developmental processes before clinical onset or arise as a consequence of clinical illness remains unclear. Expression levels for 7 GABA-related transcripts (vesicular GABA transporter [vGAT], GABA membrane transporter [GAT1], GABAA receptor subunit α1 [GABRA1] [novel in human and monkey cohorts], glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 [GAD67], parvalbumin, calretinin, and somatostatin [previously reported in human cohort, but not in monkey cohort]) were quantified in the PFC from 42 matched pairs of schizophrenia and comparison subjects and from 49 rhesus monkeys ranging in age from 1 week postnatal to adulthood. Levels of vGAT and GABRA1, but not of GAT1, messenger RNAs (mRNAs) were lower in the PFC of the schizophrenia subjects. As previously reported, levels of GAD67, parvalbumin, and somatostatin, but not of calretinin, mRNAs were also lower in these subjects. Neither illness duration nor age accounted for the levels of the transcripts with altered expression in schizophrenia. In monkey PFC, developmental changes in expression levels of many of these transcripts were in the opposite direction of the changes observed in schizophrenia. For example, mRNA levels for vGAT, GABRA1, GAD67, and parvalbumin all increased with age. Together with published reports, these findings support the interpretation that the altered expression of GABA-related transcripts in schizophrenia reflects a blunting of normal postnatal development changes, but they cannot exclude a decline during the early stages of clinical illness. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Anhedonic behavior in cryptochrome 2-deficient mice is paralleled by altered diurnal patterns of amygdala gene expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savalli, Giorgia; Diao, Weifei; Berger, Stefanie; Ronovsky, Marianne; Partonen, Timo; Pollak, Daniela D

    2015-07-01

    Mood disorders are frequently paralleled by disturbances in circadian rhythm-related physiological and behavioral states and genetic variants of clock genes have been associated with depression. Cryptochrome 2 (Cry2) is one of the core components of the molecular circadian machinery which has been linked to depression, both, in patients suffering from the disease and animal models of the disorder. Despite this circumstantial evidence, a direct causal relationship between Cry2 expression and depression has not been established. Here, a genetic mouse model of Cry2 deficiency (Cry2 (-/-) mice) was employed to test the direct relevance of Cry2 for depression-like behavior. Augmented anhedonic behavior in the sucrose preference test, without alterations in behavioral despair, was observed in Cry2 (-/-) mice. The novelty suppressed feeding paradigm revealed reduced hyponeophagia in Cry2 (-/-) mice compared to wild-type littermates. Given the importance of the amygdala in the regulation of emotion and their relevance for the pathophysiology of depression, potential alterations in diurnal patterns of basolateral amygdala gene expression in Cry2 (-/-) mice were investigated focusing on core clock genes and neurotrophic factor systems implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. Differential expression of the clock gene Bhlhe40 and the neurotrophic factor Vegfb were found in the beginning of the active (dark) phase in Cry2 (-/-) compared to wild-type animals. Furthermore, amygdala tissue of Cry2 (-/-) mice contained lower levels of Bdnf-III. Collectively, these results indicate that Cry2 exerts a critical role in the control of depression-related emotional states and modulates the chronobiological gene expression profile in the mouse amygdala.

  16. Methamphetamine causes differential alterations in gene expression and patterns of histone acetylation/hypoacetylation in the rat nucleus accumbens.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tracey A Martin

    Full Text Available Methamphetamine (METH addiction is associated with several neuropsychiatric symptoms. Little is known about the effects of METH on gene expression and epigenetic modifications in the rat nucleus accumbens (NAC. Our study investigated the effects of a non-toxic METH injection (20 mg/kg on gene expression, histone acetylation, and the expression of the histone acetyltransferase (HAT, ATF2, and of the histone deacetylases (HDACs, HDAC1 and HDAC2, in that structure. Microarray analyses done at 1, 8, 16 and 24 hrs after the METH injection identified METH-induced changes in the expression of genes previously implicated in the acute and longterm effects of psychostimulants, including immediate early genes and corticotropin-releasing factor (Crf. In contrast, the METH injection caused time-dependent decreases in the expression of other genes including Npas4 and cholecystokinin (Cck. Pathway analyses showed that genes with altered expression participated in behavioral performance, cell-to-cell signaling, and regulation of gene expression. PCR analyses confirmed the changes in the expression of c-fos, fosB, Crf, Cck, and Npas4 transcripts. To determine if the METH injection caused post-translational changes in histone markers, we used western blot analyses and identified METH-mediated decreases in histone H3 acetylated at lysine 9 (H3K9ac and lysine 18 (H3K18ac in nuclear sub-fractions. In contrast, the METH injection caused time-dependent increases in acetylated H4K5 and H4K8. The changes in histone acetylation were accompanied by decreased expression of HDAC1 but increased expression of HDAC2 protein levels. The histone acetyltransferase, ATF2, showed significant METH-induced increased in protein expression. These results suggest that METH-induced alterations in global gene expression seen in rat NAC might be related, in part, to METH-induced changes in histone acetylation secondary to changes in HAT and HDAC expression. The causal role that HATs and

  17. The role of temporal synchrony as a binding cue for visual persistence in early visual areas: an fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Yvonne J; Aldcroft, Adrian J; Large, Mary-Ellen; Culham, Jody C; Vilis, Tutis

    2009-12-01

    We examined the role of temporal synchrony-the simultaneous appearance of visual features-in the perceptual and neural processes underlying object persistence. When a binding cue (such as color or motion) momentarily exposes an object from a background of similar elements, viewers remain aware of the object for several seconds before it perceptually fades into the background, a phenomenon known as object persistence. We showed that persistence from temporal stimulus synchrony, like that arising from motion and color, is associated with activation in the lateral occipital (LO) area, as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging. We also compared the distribution of occipital cortex activity related to persistence to that of iconic visual memory. Although activation related to iconic memory was largely confined to LO, activation related to object persistence was present across V1 to LO, peaking in V3 and V4, regardless of the binding cue (temporal synchrony, motion, or color). Although persistence from motion cues was not associated with higher activation in the MT+ motion complex, persistence from color cues was associated with increased activation in V4. Taken together, these results demonstrate that although persistence is a form of visual memory, it relies on neural mechanisms different from those of iconic memory. That is, persistence not only activates LO in a cue-independent manner, it also recruits visual areas that may be necessary to maintain binding between object elements.

  18. Transcription factors and stress response gene alterations in human keratinocytes following Solar Simulated Ultra Violet Radiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marais, Thomas L Des; Kluz, Thomas; Xu, Dazhong; Zhang, Xiaoru; Gesumaria, Lisa; Matsui, Mary S; Costa, Max; Sun, Hong

    2017-10-19

    Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from sunlight is the major effector for skin aging and carcinogenesis. However, genes and pathways altered by solar-simulated UVR (ssUVR), a mixture of UVA and UVB, are not well characterized. Here we report global changes in gene expression as well as associated pathways and upstream transcription factors in human keratinocytes exposed to ssUVR. Human HaCaT keratinocytes were exposed to either a single dose or 5 repetitive doses of ssUVR. Comprehensive analyses of gene expression profiles as well as functional annotation were performed at 24 hours post irradiation. Our results revealed that ssUVR modulated genes with diverse cellular functions changed in a dose-dependent manner. Gene expression in cells exposed to a single dose of ssUVR differed significantly from those that underwent repetitive exposures. While single ssUVR caused a significant inhibition in genes involved in cell cycle progression, especially G2/M checkpoint and mitotic regulation, repetitive ssUVR led to extensive changes in genes related to cell signaling and metabolism. We have also identified a panel of ssUVR target genes that exhibited persistent changes in gene expression even at 1 week after irradiation. These results revealed a complex network of transcriptional regulators and pathways that orchestrate the cellular response to ssUVR.

  19. The correlations between alteration of p16 gene and clinicopathological factors and prognosis in squamous cell carcinomas of the buccal mucosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Yuying; Wang, Jie; Dong, Fusheng; Wang, Xu; Zhang, Yinghuai

    2012-07-01

    To evaluate relationships between the alteration of p16 gene and the clinical status and prognosis of the patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the buccal mucosa. Thirty buccal cancers were included in the analysis. Deletion analysis was performed by PCR. Point mutation analysis was used by PCR-SSCP and direct sequencing. Methylation-specific PCR methods were adopted for the evaluation of p16 methylation. The correlation between alteration of p16 gene and clinicopathological factors buccal cancer was evaluated by Fisher's exact test. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression were used to investigate the relationship between p16 alteration and survival time. The frequency of p16 alteration was 63.3% in buccal carcinomas. P16 deletion was associated significantly with tumor size (P = 0.01). P16 point mutation was associated significantly with differentiation (P = 0.006). P16 methylation was associated significantly with nodes metastasis (P = 0.027). The overall survival rate of 30 buccal carcinomas was 53.3%. The Log-rank test (P = 0.021) and univariate Cox regression analysis (P = 0.030) revealed that p16 methylation was significantly associated with the overall survival rate. Multivariate analysis showed that p16 deletion, p16 mutation, and p16 methylation were not statistically significant. The alterations of p16 gene may play a major role in malignancy and development and metastases of buccal carcinoma and may be an excellent marker of aggressive clinical behavior. P16 methylation has a prognostic value in buccal carcinoma but not an independent prognosis factor. P16 point mutation and p16 deletion have not prognostic significance in buccal carcinoma. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  20. Shift work or food intake during the rest phase promotes metabolic disruption and desynchrony of liver genes in male rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salgado-Delgado, Roberto C; Saderi, Nadia; Basualdo, María del Carmen; Guerrero-Vargas, Natali N; Escobar, Carolina; Buijs, Ruud M

    2013-01-01

    In the liver, clock genes are proposed to drive metabolic rhythms. These gene rhythms are driven by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) mainly by food intake and via autonomic and hormonal pathways. Forced activity during the normal rest phase, induces also food intake, thus neglecting the signals of the SCN, leading to conflicting time signals to target tissues of the SCN. The present study explored in a rodent model of night-work the influence of food during the normal sleep period on the synchrony of gene expression between clock genes and metabolic genes in the liver. Male Wistar rats were exposed to forced activity for 8 h either during the rest phase (day) or during the active phase (night) by using a slow rotating wheel. In this shift work model food intake shifts spontaneously to the forced activity period, therefore the influence of food alone without induced activity was tested in other groups of animals that were fed ad libitum, or fed during their rest or active phase. Rats forced to be active and/or eating during their rest phase, inverted their daily peak of Per1, Bmal1 and Clock and lost the rhythm of Per2 in the liver, moreover NAMPT and metabolic genes such as Pparα lost their rhythm and thus their synchrony with clock genes. We conclude that shift work or food intake in the rest phase leads to desynchronization within the liver, characterized by misaligned temporal patterns of clock genes and metabolic genes. This may be the cause of the development of the metabolic syndrome and obesity in individuals engaged in shift work.

  1. Alteration of Multiple Leukocyte Gene Expression Networks is Linked with Magnetic Resonance Markers of Prognosis After Acute ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teren, A; Kirsten, H; Beutner, F; Scholz, M; Holdt, L M; Teupser, D; Gutberlet, M; Thiery, J; Schuler, G; Eitel, I

    2017-02-03

    Prognostic relevant pathways of leukocyte involvement in human myocardial ischemic-reperfusion injury are largely unknown. We enrolled 136 patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after primary angioplasty within 12 h after onset of symptoms. Following reperfusion, whole blood was collected within a median time interval of 20 h (interquartile range: 15-25 h) for genome-wide gene expression analysis. Subsequent CMR scans were performed using a standard protocol to determine infarct size (IS), area at risk (AAR), myocardial salvage index (MSI) and the extent of late microvascular obstruction (lateMO). We found 398 genes associated with lateMO and two genes with IS. Neither AAR, nor MSI showed significant correlations with gene expression. Genes correlating with lateMO were strongly related to several canonical pathways, including positive regulation of T-cell activation (p = 3.44 × 10 -5 ), and regulation of inflammatory response (p = 1.86 × 10 -3 ). Network analysis of multiple gene expression alterations associated with larger lateMO identified the following functional consequences: facilitated utilisation and decreased concentration of free fatty acid, repressed cell differentiation, enhanced phagocyte movement, increased cell death, vascular disease and compensatory vasculogenesis. In conclusion, the extent of lateMO after acute, reperfused STEMI correlated with altered activation of multiple genes related to fatty acid utilisation, lymphocyte differentiation, phagocyte mobilisation, cell survival, and vascular dysfunction.

  2. The relative abundance of predicted genes associated with ammonia-oxidation, nitrate reduction, and biomass decomposition in mineral soil are altered by intensive timber harvest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mushinski, R. M.; Zhou, Y.; Gentry, T. J.; Boutton, T. W.

    2017-12-01

    Forest ecosystems in the southern United States are substantially altered by anthropogenic disturbances such as timber harvest and land conversion, with effects being observed in carbon and nutrient pools as well as biogeochemical processes. Furthermore, the desire to develop renewable energy sources in the form of biomass extraction from logging residues may result in alterations in soil community structure and function. While the impact of forest management on soil physicochemical properties of the region has been studied, its' long-term effect on soil bacterial community composition and metagenomic potential is relatively unknown, especially at deeper soil depths. This study investigates how intensive organic matter removal intensities associated with timber harvest influence decadal-scale alterations in bacterial community structure and functional potential in the upper 1-m of the soil profile, 18 years post-harvest in a Pinus taeda L. forest of eastern Texas. Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was used in conjunction with soil chemical analyses to evaluate treatment-induced differences in community composition and potential environmental drivers of associated change. Furthermore, functional potential was assessed by using amplicon data to make metagenomic predictions. Results indicate that increasing organic matter removal intensity leads to altered community composition and the relative abundance of dominant OTUs annotated to Burkholderia and Aciditerrimonas. The relative abundance of predicted genes associated with dissimilatory nitrate reduction and denitrification were highest in the most intensively harvested treatment while genes involved in nitrification were significantly lower in the most intensively harvested treatment. Furthermore, genes associated with glycosyltransferases were significantly reduced with increasing harvest intensity while polysaccharide lyases increased. These results imply that intensive organic matter removal may create

  3. Inter-trial coherence as a marker of cortical phase synchrony in children with sensorineural hearing loss and auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder fitted with hearing aids and cochlear implants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nash-Kille, Amy; Sharma, Anu

    2014-01-01

    Objective Although brainstem dys-synchrony is a hallmark of children with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD), little is known about how the lack of neural synchrony manifests at more central levels. We used time-frequency single-trial EEG analyses (i.e., inter-trial coherence; ITC), to examine cortical phase synchrony in children with normal hearing (NH), sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and ANSD. Methods Single trial time-frequency analyses were performed on cortical auditory evoked responses from 41 NH children, 91 children with ANSD and 50 children with SNHL. The latter two groups included children who received intervention via hearing aids and cochlear implants. ITC measures were compared between groups as a function of hearing loss, intervention type, and cortical maturational status. Results In children with SNHL, ITC decreased as severity of hearing loss increased. Children with ANSD revealed lower levels of ITC relative to children with NH or SNHL, regardless of intervention. Children with ANSD who received cochlear implants showed significant improvements in ITC with increasing experience with their implants. Conclusions Cortical phase coherence is significantly reduced as a result of both severe-to-profound SNHL and ANSD. Significance ITC provides a window into the brain oscillations underlying the averaged cortical auditory evoked response. Our results provide a first description of deficits in cortical phase synchrony in children with SNHL and ANSD. PMID:24360131

  4. The Effects of Rhythm and Robotic Interventions on the Imitation/Praxis, Interpersonal Synchrony, and Motor Performance of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srinivasan, Sudha M.; Kaur, Maninderjit; Park, Isabel K.; Gifford, Timothy D.; Marsh, Kerry L.; Bhat, Anjana N.

    2015-01-01

    We assessed the effects of three interventions, rhythm, robotic, and standard-of-care, on the imitation/praxis, interpersonal synchrony, and overall motor performance of 36 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) between 5 and 12 years of age. Children were matched on age, level of functioning, and services received, prior to random assignment to one of the three groups. Training was provided for 8 weeks with 4 sessions provided each week. We assessed generalized changes in motor skills from the pretest to the posttest using a standardized test of motor performance, the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, 2nd edition (BOT-2). We also assessed training-specific changes in imitation/praxis and interpersonal synchrony during an early and a late session. Consistent with the training activities practiced, the rhythm and robot groups improved on the body coordination composite of the BOT-2, whereas the comparison group improved on the fine manual control composite of the BOT-2. All three groups demonstrated improvements in imitation/praxis. The rhythm and robot groups also showed improved interpersonal synchrony performance from the early to the late session. Overall, socially embedded movement-based contexts are valuable in promoting imitation/praxis, interpersonal synchrony, and motor performance and should be included within the standard-of-care treatment for children with ASD. PMID:26793394

  5. The Effects of Rhythm and Robotic Interventions on the Imitation/Praxis, Interpersonal Synchrony, and Motor Performance of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sudha M. Srinivasan

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We assessed the effects of three interventions, rhythm, robotic, and standard-of-care, on the imitation/praxis, interpersonal synchrony, and overall motor performance of 36 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD between 5 and 12 years of age. Children were matched on age, level of functioning, and services received, prior to random assignment to one of the three groups. Training was provided for 8 weeks with 4 sessions provided each week. We assessed generalized changes in motor skills from the pretest to the posttest using a standardized test of motor performance, the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, 2nd edition (BOT-2. We also assessed training-specific changes in imitation/praxis and interpersonal synchrony during an early and a late session. Consistent with the training activities practiced, the rhythm and robot groups improved on the body coordination composite of the BOT-2, whereas the comparison group improved on the fine manual control composite of the BOT-2. All three groups demonstrated improvements in imitation/praxis. The rhythm and robot groups also showed improved interpersonal synchrony performance from the early to the late session. Overall, socially embedded movement-based contexts are valuable in promoting imitation/praxis, interpersonal synchrony, and motor performance and should be included within the standard-of-care treatment for children with ASD.

  6. Audiovisual Temporal Processing and Synchrony Perception in the Rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schormans, Ashley L; Scott, Kaela E; Vo, Albert M Q; Tyker, Anna; Typlt, Marei; Stolzberg, Daniel; Allman, Brian L

    2016-01-01

    Extensive research on humans has improved our understanding of how the brain integrates information from our different senses, and has begun to uncover the brain regions and large-scale neural activity that contributes to an observer's ability to perceive the relative timing of auditory and visual stimuli. In the present study, we developed the first behavioral tasks to assess the perception of audiovisual temporal synchrony in rats. Modeled after the parameters used in human studies, separate groups of rats were trained to perform: (1) a simultaneity judgment task in which they reported whether audiovisual stimuli at various stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) were presented simultaneously or not; and (2) a temporal order judgment task in which they reported whether they perceived the auditory or visual stimulus to have been presented first. Furthermore, using in vivo electrophysiological recordings in the lateral extrastriate visual (V2L) cortex of anesthetized rats, we performed the first investigation of how neurons in the rat multisensory cortex integrate audiovisual stimuli presented at different SOAs. As predicted, rats ( n = 7) trained to perform the simultaneity judgment task could accurately (~80%) identify synchronous vs. asynchronous (200 ms SOA) trials. Moreover, the rats judged trials at 10 ms SOA to be synchronous, whereas the majority (~70%) of trials at 100 ms SOA were perceived to be asynchronous. During the temporal order judgment task, rats ( n = 7) perceived the synchronous audiovisual stimuli to be "visual first" for ~52% of the trials, and calculation of the smallest timing interval between the auditory and visual stimuli that could be detected in each rat (i.e., the just noticeable difference (JND)) ranged from 77 ms to 122 ms. Neurons in the rat V2L cortex were sensitive to the timing of audiovisual stimuli, such that spiking activity was greatest during trials when the visual stimulus preceded the auditory by 20-40 ms. Ultimately, given

  7. Dispersal and noise: Various modes of synchrony in ecological oscillators

    KAUST Repository

    Bressloff, Paul C.

    2012-10-21

    We use the theory of noise-induced phase synchronization to analyze the effects of dispersal on the synchronization of a pair of predator-prey systems within a fluctuating environment (Moran effect). Assuming that each isolated local population acts as a limit cycle oscillator in the deterministic limit, we use phase reduction and averaging methods to derive a Fokker-Planck equation describing the evolution of the probability density for pairwise phase differences between the oscillators. In the case of common environmental noise, the oscillators ultimately synchronize. However the approach to synchrony depends on whether or not dispersal in the absence of noise supports any stable asynchronous states. We also show how the combination of partially correlated noise with dispersal can lead to a multistable steady-state probability density. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  8. Dispersal and noise: Various modes of synchrony in ecological oscillators

    KAUST Repository

    Bressloff, Paul C.; Lai, Yi Ming

    2012-01-01

    We use the theory of noise-induced phase synchronization to analyze the effects of dispersal on the synchronization of a pair of predator-prey systems within a fluctuating environment (Moran effect). Assuming that each isolated local population acts as a limit cycle oscillator in the deterministic limit, we use phase reduction and averaging methods to derive a Fokker-Planck equation describing the evolution of the probability density for pairwise phase differences between the oscillators. In the case of common environmental noise, the oscillators ultimately synchronize. However the approach to synchrony depends on whether or not dispersal in the absence of noise supports any stable asynchronous states. We also show how the combination of partially correlated noise with dispersal can lead to a multistable steady-state probability density. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  9. Diethylstilbestrol (DES)-stimulated hormonal toxicity is mediated by ERα alteration of target gene methylation patterns and epigenetic modifiers (DNMT3A, MBD2, and HDAC2) in the mouse seminal vesicle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yin; Hamilton, Katherine J; Lai, Anne Y; Burns, Katherine A; Li, Leping; Wade, Paul A; Korach, Kenneth S

    2014-03-01

    Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a synthetic estrogen associated with adverse effects on reproductive organs. DES-induced toxicity of the mouse seminal vesicle (SV) is mediated by estrogen receptor α (ERα), which alters expression of seminal vesicle secretory protein IV (Svs4) and lactoferrin (Ltf) genes. We examined a role for nuclear receptor activity in association with DNA methylation and altered gene expression. We used the neonatal DES exposure mouse model to examine DNA methylation patterns via bisulfite conversion sequencing in SVs of wild-type (WT) and ERα-knockout (αERKO) mice. The DNA methylation status at four specific CpGs (-160, -237, -306, and -367) in the Svs4 gene promoter changed during mouse development from methylated to unmethylated, and DES prevented this change at 10 weeks of age in WT SV. At two specific CpGs (-449 and -459) of the Ltf gene promoter, DES altered the methylation status from methylated to unmethylated. Alterations in DNA methylation of Svs4 and Ltf were not observed in αERKO SVs, suggesting that changes of methylation status at these CpGs are ERα dependent. The methylation status was associated with the level of gene expression. In addition, gene expression of three epigenetic modifiers-DNMT3A, MBD2, and HDAC2-increased in the SV of DES-exposed WT mice. DES-induced hormonal toxicity resulted from altered gene expression of Svs4 and Ltf associated with changes in DNA methylation that were mediated by ERα. Alterations in gene expression of DNMT3A, MBD2, and HDAC2 in DES-exposed male mice may be involved in mediating the changes in methylation status in the SV. Li Y, Hamilton KJ, Lai AY, Burns KA, Li L, Wade PA, Korach KS. 2014. Diethylstilbestrol (DES)-stimulated hormonal toxicity is mediated by ERα alteration of target gene methylation patterns and epigenetic modifiers (DNMT3A, MBD2, and HDAC2) in the mouse seminal vesicle. Environ Health Perspect 122:262-268; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1307351.

  10. Phosphodiesterase-4 inhibition alters gene expression and improves isoniazid-mediated clearance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in rabbit lungs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Selvakumar Subbian

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Tuberculosis (TB treatment is hampered by the long duration of antibiotic therapy required to achieve cure. This indolent response has been partly attributed to the ability of subpopulations of less metabolically active Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb to withstand killing by current anti-TB drugs. We have used immune modulation with a phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4 inhibitor, CC-3052, that reduces tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α production by increasing intracellular cAMP in macrophages, to examine the crosstalk between host and pathogen in rabbits with pulmonary TB during treatment with isoniazid (INH. Based on DNA microarray, changes in host gene expression during CC-3052 treatment of Mtb infected rabbits support a link between PDE4 inhibition and specific down-regulation of the innate immune response. The overall pattern of host gene expression in the lungs of infected rabbits treated with CC-3052, compared to untreated rabbits, was similar to that described in vitro in resting Mtb infected macrophages, suggesting suboptimal macrophage activation. These alterations in host immunity were associated with corresponding down-regulation of a number of Mtb genes that have been associated with a metabolic shift towards dormancy. Moreover, treatment with CC-3052 and INH resulted in reduced expression of those genes associated with the bacterial response to INH. Importantly, CC-3052 treatment of infected rabbits was associated with reduced ability of Mtb to withstand INH killing, shown by improved bacillary clearance, from the lungs of co-treated animals compared to rabbits treated with INH alone. The results of our study suggest that changes in Mtb gene expression, in response to changes in the host immune response, can alter the responsiveness of the bacteria to antimicrobial agents. These findings provide a basis for exploring the potential use of adjunctive immune modulation with PDE4 inhibitors to enhance the efficacy of existing anti-TB treatment.

  11. Casticin induced apoptotic cell death and altered associated gene expression in human colon cancer colo 205 cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Hung-Sheng; Liu, Jia-You; Lu, Hsu-Feng; Chiang, Han-Sun; Lin, Chia-Hain; Chen, Ann; Lin, Yuh-Feng; Chung, Jing-Gung

    2017-08-01

    Casticin, a polymethoxyflavone, derived from natural plant Fructus Viticis exhibits biological activities including anti-cancer characteristics. The anti-cancer and alter gene expression of casticin on human colon cancer cells and the underlying mechanisms were investigated. Flow cytometric assay was used to measure viable cell, cell cycle and sub-G1 phase, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and Ca 2+ productions, level of mitochondria membrane potential (ΔΨ m ) and caspase activity. Western blotting assay was used to detect expression of protein level associated with cell death. Casticin induced cell morphological changes, decreased cell viability and induced G2/M phase arrest in colo 205 cells. Casticin increased ROS production but decreased the levels of ΔΨ m , and Ca 2+ , increased caspase-3, -8, and -9 activities. The cDNA microarray indicated that some of the cell cycle associated genes were down-regulated such as cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (CDKN1A) (p21, Cip1) and p21 protein (Cdc42/Rac)-activated kinase 3 (PAK3). TNF receptor-associated protein 1 (TRAP1), CREB1 (cAMP responsive element binding protein 1) and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1B (CDKN1B) (p27, Kip1) genes were increased but matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP-2), toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), PRKAR2B (protein kinase, cAMP-dependent, regulatory, type II, bet), and CaMK4 (calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV) genes were inhibited. Results suggest that casticin induced cell apoptosis via the activation of the caspase- and/or mitochondria-dependent signaling cascade, the accumulation of ROS and altered associated gene expressions in colo 205 human colon cancer cells. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Integrated analysis of HPV-mediated immune alterations in cervical cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Long; Luan, Shaohong; Xia, Baoguo; Liu, Yansheng; Gao, Yuan; Yu, Hongyan; Mu, Qingling; Zhang, Ping; Zhang, Weina; Zhang, Shengmiao; Wei, Guopeng; Yang, Min; Li, Ke

    2018-05-01

    Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the primary cause of cervical cancer. HPV-mediated immune alterations are known to play crucial roles in determining viral persistence and host cell transformation. We sought to thoroughly understand HPV-directed immune alterations in cervical cancer by exploring publically available datasets. 130 HPV positive and 7 HPV negative cervical cancer cases from The Cancer Genome Atlas were compared for differences in gene expression levels and functional enrichment. Analyses for copy number variation (CNV) and genetic mutation were conducted for differentially expressed immune genes. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to assess survival and relapse differences across cases with or without alterations of the identified immune signature genes. Genes up-regulated in HPV positive cervical cancer were enriched for various gene ontology terms of immune processes (P=1.05E-14~1.00E-05). Integrated analysis of the differentially expressed immune genes identified 9 genes that displayed either CNV, genetic mutation and/or gene expression changes in at least 10% of the cases of HPV positive cervical cancer. Genomic amplification may cause elevated levels of these genes in some HPV positive cases. Finally, patients with alterations in at least one of the nine signature genes overall had earlier relapse compared to those without any alterations. The altered expression of either TFRC or MMP13 may indicate poor survival for a subset of cervical cancer patients (P=1.07E-07). We identified a novel immune gene signature for HPV positive cervical cancer that is potentially associated with early relapse of cervical cancer. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  13. MVisAGe Identifies Concordant and Discordant Genomic Alterations of Driver Genes in Squamous Tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walter, Vonn; Du, Ying; Danilova, Ludmila; Hayward, Michele C; Hayes, D Neil

    2018-06-15

    Integrated analyses of multiple genomic datatypes are now common in cancer profiling studies. Such data present opportunities for numerous computational experiments, yet analytic pipelines are limited. Tools such as the cBioPortal and Regulome Explorer, although useful, are not easy to access programmatically or to implement locally. Here, we introduce the MVisAGe R package, which allows users to quantify gene-level associations between two genomic datatypes to investigate the effect of genomic alterations (e.g., DNA copy number changes on gene expression). Visualizing Pearson/Spearman correlation coefficients according to the genomic positions of the underlying genes provides a powerful yet novel tool for conducting exploratory analyses. We demonstrate its utility by analyzing three publicly available cancer datasets. Our approach highlights canonical oncogenes in chr11q13 that displayed the strongest associations between expression and copy number, including CCND1 and CTTN , genes not identified by copy number analysis in the primary reports. We demonstrate highly concordant usage of shared oncogenes on chr3q, yet strikingly diverse oncogene usage on chr11q as a function of HPV infection status. Regions of chr19 that display remarkable associations between methylation and gene expression were identified, as were previously unreported miRNA-gene expression associations that may contribute to the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Significance: This study presents an important bioinformatics tool that will enable integrated analyses of multiple genomic datatypes. Cancer Res; 78(12); 3375-85. ©2018 AACR . ©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.

  14. Alteration of gene expression profile in Niemann-Pick type C mice correlates with tissue damage and oxidative stress.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mary C Vázquez

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Niemann-Pick type C disease (NPC is a neurovisceral lipid storage disorder mainly characterized by unesterified cholesterol accumulation in lysosomal/late endosomal compartments, although there is also an important storage for several other kind of lipids. The main tissues affected by the disease are the liver and the cerebellum. Oxidative stress has been described in various NPC cells and tissues, such as liver and cerebellum. Although considerable alterations occur in the liver, the pathological mechanisms involved in hepatocyte damage and death have not been clearly defined. Here, we assessed hepatic tissue integrity, biochemical and oxidative stress parameters of wild-type control (Npc1(+/+; WT and homozygous-mutant (Npc1(-/-; NPC mice. In addition, the mRNA abundance of genes encoding proteins associated with oxidative stress, copper metabolism, fibrosis, inflammation and cholesterol metabolism were analyzed in livers and cerebella of WT and NPC mice. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We analyzed various oxidative stress parameters in the liver and hepatic and cerebellum gene expression in 7-week-old NPC1-deficient mice compared with control animals. We found signs of inflammation and fibrosis in NPC livers upon histological examination. These signs were correlated with increased levels of carbonylated proteins, diminished total glutathione content and significantly increased total copper levels in liver tissue. Finally, we analyzed liver and cerebellum gene expression patterns by qPCR and microarray assays. We found a correlation between fibrotic tissue and differential expression of hepatic as well as cerebellar genes associated with oxidative stress, fibrosis and inflammation in NPC mice. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In NPC mice, liver disease is characterized by an increase in fibrosis and in markers associated with oxidative stress. NPC is also correlated with altered gene expression, mainly of genes involved in oxidative stress

  15. Local temperatures predict breeding phenology but do not result in breeding synchrony among a community of resident cavity-nesting birds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drake, Anna; Martin, Kathy

    2018-02-09

    Weather and ecological factors are known to influence breeding phenology and thus individual fitness. We predicted concordance between weather conditions and annual variation in phenology within a community of eight resident, cavity-nesting bird species over a 17-year period. We show that, although clutch initiation dates for six of our eight species are correlated with local daily maximum temperatures, this common driver does not produce a high degree of breeding synchrony due to species-specific responses to conditions during different periods of the preceding winter or spring. These "critical temperature periods" were positively associated with average lay date for each species, although the interval between critical periods and clutch initiation varied from 4-78 days. The ecological factors we examined (cavity availability and a food pulse) had an additional influence on timing in only one of our eight focal species. Our results have strong implications for understanding heterogeneous wildlife responses to climate change: divergent responses would be expected within communities where species respond to local conditions within different temporal windows, due to differing warming trends between winter and spring. Our system therefore indicates that climate change could alter relative breeding phenology among sympatric species in temperate ecosystems.

  16. Sequence Alterations of I(Ks Potassium Channel Genes in Kazakhstani Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ainur Akilzhanova

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Atrial fibrillation (AF is the most common sustained arrhythmia, and it results in significant morbidity and mortality. However, the pathogenesis of AF remains unclear to date. Recently, more pieces of evidence indicated that AF is a multifactorial disease resulting from the interaction between environmental factors and genetics. Recent studies suggest that genetic mutation of the slow delayed rectifier potassium channel (I(Ks may underlie AF.Objective. To investigate sequence alterations of I(Ks potassium channel genes KCNQ1, KCNE1 and KCNE2 in Kazakhstani patients with atrial fibrillation.Methods. Genomic DNA of 69 cases with atrial fibrillation and 27 relatives were analyzed for mutations in all protein-coding exons and their flanking splice site regions of the genes KCNQ1 (NM_000218.2 and NM_181798.1, KCNE1 (NM_000219.2, and KCNE2 (NM_172201.1 using bidirectional sequencing on the ABI 3730xL DNA Analyzer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA.Results. In total, a disease-causing mutation was identified in 39 of the 69 (56.5% index cases. Of these, altered sequence variants in the KCNQ1 gene accounted for 14.5% of the mutations, whereas a KCNE1 mutation accounted for 43.5% of the mutations and KCNE2 mutation accounted for 1.4% of the mutations. The majority of the distinct mutations were found in a single case (80%, whereas 20% of the mutations were observed more than once. We found two sequence variants in KCNQ1 exon 13 (S546S G1638A and exon 16 (Y662Y, C1986T in ten patients (14.5%. In KCNE1 gene in exon 3 mutation, S59G A280G was observed in 30 of 69 patients (43.5% and KCNE2 exon 2 T10K C29A in 1 patient (1.4%. Genetic cascade screening of 27 relatives to the 69 index cases with an identified mutation revealed 26.9% mutation carriers  who were at risk of cardiac events such as syncope or sudden unexpected death.Conclusion. In this cohort of Kazakhstani index cases with AF, a disease-causing mutation was identified in

  17. Age-Related Alterations in the Expression of Genes and Synaptic Plasticity Associated with Nitric Oxide Signaling in the Mouse Dorsal Striatum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aisa N. Chepkova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Age-related alterations in the expression of genes and corticostriatal synaptic plasticity were studied in the dorsal striatum of mice of four age groups from young (2-3 months old to old (18–24 months of age animals. A significant decrease in transcripts encoding neuronal nitric oxide (NO synthase and receptors involved in its activation (NR1 subunit of the glutamate NMDA receptor and D1 dopamine receptor was found in the striatum of old mice using gene array and real-time RT-PCR analysis. The old striatum showed also a significantly higher number of GFAP-expressing astrocytes and an increased expression of astroglial, inflammatory, and oxidative stress markers. Field potential recordings from striatal slices revealed age-related alterations in the magnitude and dynamics of electrically induced long-term depression (LTD and significant enhancement of electrically induced long-term potentiation in the middle-aged striatum (6-7 and 12-13 months of age. Corticostriatal NO-dependent LTD induced by pharmacological activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors underwent significant reduction with aging and could be restored by inhibition of cGMP hydrolysis indicating that its age-related deficit is caused by an altered NO-cGMP signaling cascade. It is suggested that age-related alterations in corticostriatal synaptic plasticity may result from functional alterations in receptor-activated signaling cascades associated with increasing neuroinflammation and a prooxidant state.

  18. Altered DNA methylation of glycolytic and lipogenic genes in liver from obese and type 2 diabetic patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henriette Kirchner

    2016-03-01

    Conclusion: Severely obese non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic patients have distinct alterations in the hepatic methylome and transcriptome, with hypomethylation of several genes controlling glucose metabolism within the ATF-motif regulatory site. Obesity appears to shift the epigenetic program of the liver towards increased glycolysis and lipogenesis, which may exacerbate the development of insulin resistance.

  19. Audiovisual synchrony enhances BOLD responses in a brain network including multisensory STS while also enhancing target-detection performance for both modalities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchant, Jennifer L; Ruff, Christian C; Driver, Jon

    2012-01-01

    The brain seeks to combine related inputs from different senses (e.g., hearing and vision), via multisensory integration. Temporal information can indicate whether stimuli in different senses are related or not. A recent human fMRI study (Noesselt et al. [2007]: J Neurosci 27:11431–11441) used auditory and visual trains of beeps and flashes with erratic timing, manipulating whether auditory and visual trains were synchronous or unrelated in temporal pattern. A region of superior temporal sulcus (STS) showed higher BOLD signal for the synchronous condition. But this could not be related to performance, and it remained unclear if the erratic, unpredictable nature of the stimulus trains was important. Here we compared synchronous audiovisual trains to asynchronous trains, while using a behavioral task requiring detection of higher-intensity target events in either modality. We further varied whether the stimulus trains had predictable temporal pattern or not. Synchrony (versus lag) between auditory and visual trains enhanced behavioral sensitivity (d') to intensity targets in either modality, regardless of predictable versus unpredictable patterning. The analogous contrast in fMRI revealed BOLD increases in several brain areas, including the left STS region reported by Noesselt et al. [2007: J Neurosci 27:11431–11441]. The synchrony effect on BOLD here correlated with the subject-by-subject impact on performance. Predictability of temporal pattern did not affect target detection performance or STS activity, but did lead to an interaction with audiovisual synchrony for BOLD in inferior parietal cortex. PMID:21953980

  20. Guanine limitation results in CodY-dependent and -independent alteration of Staphylococcus aureus physiology and gene expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Alyssa N; Borkar, Samiksha; Samuels, David J; Batz, Zachary; Bulock, Logan; Sadykov, Marat R; Bayles, Kenneth W; Brinsmade, Shaun R

    2018-04-30

    In Staphylococcus aureus , the global transcriptional regulator CodY modulates the expression of hundreds of genes in response to the availability of GTP and the branched-chain amino acids isoleucine, leucine, and valine (ILV). CodY DNA-binding activity is high when GTP and ILV are abundant. When GTP and ILV are limited, CodY's affinity for DNA drops, altering expression of CodY regulated targets. In this work, we investigated the impact of guanine nucleotides on S. aureus physiology and CodY activity by constructing a guaA null mutant (Δ guaA ). De novo biosynthesis of guanine monophosphate is abolished due to the guaA mutation; thus, the mutant cells require exogenous guanosine for growth. We also found that CodY activity was reduced when we knocked out guaA , activating the Agr two-component system and increasing secreted protease activity. Notably, in a rich, complex medium, we detected an increase in alternative sigma factor B activity in the Δ guaA mutant, which results in a 5-fold increase in production of the antioxidant pigment staphyloxanthin. Under biologically relevant flow conditions, Δ guaA cells failed to form robust biofilms when limited for guanine or guanosine. RNA-seq analysis of S. aureus transcriptome during growth in guanosine-limited chemostats revealed substantial CodY-dependent and -independent alteration of gene expression profiles. Importantly, these changes increase production of proteases and δ-toxin, suggesting that S. aureus exhibits a more invasive lifestyle when limited for guanosine. Further, gene-products upregulated under GN limitation, including those necessary for lipoic acid biosynthesis and sugar transport, may prove to be useful drug targets for treating Gram-positive infections. Importance Staphylococcus aureus infections impose a serious economic burden on healthcare facilities and patients because of the emergence of strains resistant to last-line antibiotics. Understanding the physiological processes governing

  1. An obesity-associated gut microbiome reprograms the intestinal epigenome and leads to altered colonic gene expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Yufeng; Roberts, John D; Grimm, Sara A; Lih, Fred B; Deterding, Leesa J; Li, Ruifang; Chrysovergis, Kaliopi; Wade, Paul A

    2018-01-23

    The gut microbiome, a key constituent of the colonic environment, has been implicated as an important modulator of human health. The eukaryotic epigenome is postulated to respond to environmental stimuli through alterations in chromatin features and, ultimately, gene expression. How the host mediates epigenomic responses to gut microbiota is an emerging area of interest. Here, we profile the gut microbiome and chromatin characteristics in colon epithelium from mice fed either an obesogenic or control diet, followed by an analysis of the resultant changes in gene expression. The obesogenic diet shapes the microbiome prior to the development of obesity, leading to altered bacterial metabolite production which predisposes the host to obesity. This microbiota-diet interaction leads to changes in histone modification at active enhancers that are enriched for binding sites for signal responsive transcription factors. These alterations of histone methylation and acetylation are associated with signaling pathways integral to the development of colon cancer. The transplantation of obesogenic diet-conditioned microbiota into germ free mice, combined with an obesogenic diet, recapitulates the features of the long-term diet regimen. The diet/microbiome-dependent changes are reflected in both the composition of the recipient animals' microbiome as well as in the set of transcription factor motifs identified at diet-influenced enhancers. These findings suggest that the gut microbiome, under specific dietary exposures, stimulates a reprogramming of the enhancer landscape in the colon, with downstream effects on transcription factors. These chromatin changes may be associated with those seen during colon cancer development.

  2. Clock Genes and Altered Sleep-Wake Rhythms: Their Role in the Development of Psychiatric Disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charrier, Annaëlle; Olliac, Bertrand; Roubertoux, Pierre; Tordjman, Sylvie

    2017-04-29

    In mammals, the circadian clocks network (central and peripheral oscillators) controls circadian rhythms and orchestrates the expression of a range of downstream genes, allowing the organism to anticipate and adapt to environmental changes. Beyond their role in circadian rhythms, several studies have highlighted that circadian clock genes may have a more widespread physiological effect on cognition, mood, and reward-related behaviors. Furthermore, single nucleotide polymorphisms in core circadian clock genes have been associated with psychiatric disorders (such as autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). However, the underlying mechanisms of these associations remain to be ascertained and the cause-effect relationships are not clearly established. The objective of this article is to clarify the role of clock genes and altered sleep-wake rhythms in the development of psychiatric disorders (sleep problems are often observed at early onset of psychiatric disorders). First, the molecular mechanisms of circadian rhythms are described. Then, the relationships between disrupted circadian rhythms, including sleep-wake rhythms, and psychiatric disorders are discussed. Further research may open interesting perspectives with promising avenues for early detection and therapeutic intervention in psychiatric disorders.

  3. Clock Genes and Altered Sleep–Wake Rhythms: Their Role in the Development of Psychiatric Disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annaëlle Charrier

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available In mammals, the circadian clocks network (central and peripheral oscillators controls circadian rhythms and orchestrates the expression of a range of downstream genes, allowing the organism to anticipate and adapt to environmental changes. Beyond their role in circadian rhythms, several studies have highlighted that circadian clock genes may have a more widespread physiological effect on cognition, mood, and reward-related behaviors. Furthermore, single nucleotide polymorphisms in core circadian clock genes have been associated with psychiatric disorders (such as autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, the underlying mechanisms of these associations remain to be ascertained and the cause–effect relationships are not clearly established. The objective of this article is to clarify the role of clock genes and altered sleep–wake rhythms in the development of psychiatric disorders (sleep problems are often observed at early onset of psychiatric disorders. First, the molecular mechanisms of circadian rhythms are described. Then, the relationships between disrupted circadian rhythms, including sleep–wake rhythms, and psychiatric disorders are discussed. Further research may open interesting perspectives with promising avenues for early detection and therapeutic intervention in psychiatric disorders.

  4. The Effect of Gene Alterations and Tyrosine Kinase Inhibition on Survival and Cause of Death in Patients With Adenocarcinoma of the Lung and Brain Metastases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sperduto, Paul W., E-mail: psperduto@mropa.com [Minneapolis Radiation Oncology and University of Minnesota Gamma Knife Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (United States); Yang, T. Jonathan; Beal, Kathryn [Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (United States); Pan, Hubert; Brown, Paul D. [MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Bangdiwala, Ananta; Shanley, Ryan [University of Minnesota, Masonic Cancer Center, Biostatistics, Minneapolis, Minnesota (United States); Yeh, Norman; Gaspar, Laurie E. [University of Colorado–Denver, Denver, Colorado (United States); Braunstein, Steve; Sneed, Penny [University of California–San Francisco, San Francisco, California (United States); Boyle, John; Kirkpatrick, John P. [Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Mak, Kimberley S.; Shih, Helen A. [Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); Engelman, Alex [University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); Roberge, David [CHUM, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec (Canada); Arvold, Nils D.; Alexander, Brian; Awad, Mark M. [Dana Farber/Brigham and Women' s Cancer Center, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); and others

    2016-10-01

    Purpose: Lung cancer remains the most common cause of both cancer mortality and brain metastases (BM). The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of gene alterations and tyrosine kinase inhibition (TKI) on median survival (MS) and cause of death (CoD) in patients with BM from lung adenocarcinoma (L-adeno). Methods: A multi-institutional retrospective database of patients with L-adeno and newly diagnosed BM between 2006 and 2014 was created. Demographics, gene alterations, treatment, MS, and CoD were analyzed. The treatment patterns and outcomes were compared with those in prior trials. Results: Of 1521 L-adeno patients, 816 (54%) had known alteration status. The gene alteration rates were 29%, 10%, and 26% for EGFR, ALK, and KRAS, respectively. The time from primary diagnosis to BM for EGFR−/+ was 10/15 months (P=.02) and for ALK−/+ was 10/20 months (P<.01), respectively. The MS for the group overall (n=1521) was 15 months. The MS from first treatment for BM for EGFR and ALK−, EGFR+, ALK+ were 14, 23 (P<.01), and 45 (P<.0001) months, respectively. The MS after BM for EGFR+ patients who did/did not receive TKI before BM was 17/30 months (P<.01), respectively, but the risk of death was not statistically different between TKI-naïve patients who did/did not receive TKI after the diagnosis of BM (EGFR/ALK hazard ratios: 1.06 [P=.84]/1.60 [P=.45], respectively). The CoD was nonneurologic in 82% of patients with known CoD. Conclusion: EGFR and ALK gene alterations are associated with delayed onset of BM and longer MS relative to patients without these alterations. The CoD was overwhelmingly nonneurologic in patients with known CoD.

  5. Reduced Theta-Band Power and Phase Synchrony during Explicit Verbal Memory Tasks in Female, Non-Clinical Individuals with Schizotypal Traits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Jeong Woo; Jang, Kyoung-Mi; Jung, Ki-Young; Kim, Myung-Sun; Kim, Kyung Hwan

    2016-01-01

    The study of non-clinical individuals with schizotypal traits has been considered to provide a promising endophenotypic approach to understanding schizophrenia, because schizophrenia is highly heterogeneous, and a number of confounding factors may affect neuropsychological performance. Here, we investigated whether deficits in explicit verbal memory in individuals with schizotypal traits are associated with abnormalities in the local and inter-regional synchrony of brain activity. Memory deficits have been recognized as a core problem in schizophrenia, and previous studies have consistently shown explicit verbal memory impairment in schizophrenic patients. However, the mechanism of this impairment has not been fully revealed. Seventeen individuals with schizotypal traits and 17 age-matched, normal controls participated. Multichannel event-related electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded while the subjects performed a continuous recognition task. Event-related spectral perturbations (ERSPs) and inter-regional theta-band phase locking values (TPLVs) were investigated to determine the differences in local and global neural synchrony between the two subject groups. Additionally, the connection patterns of the TPLVs were quantitatively analyzed using graph theory measures. An old/new effect was found in the induced theta-band ERSP in both groups. However, the difference between the old and new was larger in normal controls than in schizotypal trait group. The tendency of elevated old/new effect in normal controls was observed in anterior-posterior theta-band phase synchrony as well. Our results suggest that explicit memory deficits observed in schizophrenia patients can also be found in non-clinical individuals with psychometrically defined schizotypal traits.

  6. Poster - 49: Assessment of Synchrony respiratory compensation error for CyberKnife liver treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Ming; Cygler, Joanna; Vandervoort, Eric

    2016-01-01

    The goal of this work is to quantify respiratory motion compensation errors for liver tumor patients treated by the CyberKnife system with Synchrony tracking, to identify patients with the smallest tracking errors and to eventually help coach patient’s breathing patterns to minimize dose delivery errors. The accuracy of CyberKnife Synchrony respiratory motion compensation was assessed for 37 patients treated for liver lesions by analyzing data from system logfiles. A predictive model is used to modulate the direction of individual beams during dose delivery based on the positions of internally implanted fiducials determined using an orthogonal x-ray imaging system and the current location of LED external markers. For each x-ray pair acquired, system logfiles report the prediction error, the difference between the measured and predicted fiducial positions, and the delivery error, which is an estimate of the statistical error in the model overcoming the latency between x-ray acquisition and robotic repositioning. The total error was calculated at the time of each x-ray pair, for the number of treatment fractions and the number of patients, giving the average respiratory motion compensation error in three dimensions. The 99 th percentile for the total radial error is 3.85 mm, with the highest contribution of 2.79 mm in superior/inferior (S/I) direction. The absolute mean compensation error is 1.78 mm radially with a 1.27 mm contribution in the S/I direction. Regions of high total error may provide insight into features predicting groups of patients with larger or smaller total errors.

  7. Poster - 49: Assessment of Synchrony respiratory compensation error for CyberKnife liver treatment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Ming [Carleton University (Canada); Cygler, Joanna [The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, Carleton University, Ottawa University (Canada); Vandervoort, Eric [The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, Ottawa University (Canada)

    2016-08-15

    The goal of this work is to quantify respiratory motion compensation errors for liver tumor patients treated by the CyberKnife system with Synchrony tracking, to identify patients with the smallest tracking errors and to eventually help coach patient’s breathing patterns to minimize dose delivery errors. The accuracy of CyberKnife Synchrony respiratory motion compensation was assessed for 37 patients treated for liver lesions by analyzing data from system logfiles. A predictive model is used to modulate the direction of individual beams during dose delivery based on the positions of internally implanted fiducials determined using an orthogonal x-ray imaging system and the current location of LED external markers. For each x-ray pair acquired, system logfiles report the prediction error, the difference between the measured and predicted fiducial positions, and the delivery error, which is an estimate of the statistical error in the model overcoming the latency between x-ray acquisition and robotic repositioning. The total error was calculated at the time of each x-ray pair, for the number of treatment fractions and the number of patients, giving the average respiratory motion compensation error in three dimensions. The 99{sup th} percentile for the total radial error is 3.85 mm, with the highest contribution of 2.79 mm in superior/inferior (S/I) direction. The absolute mean compensation error is 1.78 mm radially with a 1.27 mm contribution in the S/I direction. Regions of high total error may provide insight into features predicting groups of patients with larger or smaller total errors.

  8. [Epigenetic alterations in acute lymphoblastic leukemia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarrete-Meneses, María Del Pilar; Pérez-Vera, Patricia

    Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood cancer. It is well-known that genetic alterations constitute the basis for the etiology of ALL. However, genetic abnormalities are not enough for the complete development of the disease, and additional alterations such as epigenetic modifications are required. Such alterations, like DNA methylation, histone modifications, and noncoding RNA regulation have been identified in ALL. DNA hypermethylation in promoter regions is one of the most frequent epigenetic modifications observed in ALL. This modification frequently leads to gene silencing in tumor suppressor genes, and in consequence, contributes to leukemogenesis. Alterations in histone remodeling proteins have also been detected in ALL, such as the overexpression of histone deacetylases enzymes, and alteration of acetyltransferases and methyltransferases. ALL also shows alteration in the expression of miRNAs, and in consequence, the modification in the expression of their target genes. All of these epigenetic modifications are key events in the malignant transformation since they lead to the deregulation of oncogenes as BLK, WNT5B and WISP1, and tumor suppressors such as FHIT, CDKN2A, CDKN2B, and TP53, which alter fundamental cellular processes and potentially lead to the development of ALL. Both genetic and epigenetic alterations contribute to the development and evolution of ALL. Copyright © 2017 Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

  9. Visual Orientation and Directional Selectivity through Thalamic Synchrony

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanley, Garrett B.; Jin, Jianzhong; Wang, Yushi; Desbordes, Gaëlle; Wang, Qi; Black, Michael J.; Alonso, Jose-Manuel

    2012-01-01

    Thalamic neurons respond to visual scenes by generating synchronous spike trains on the timescale of 10 – 20 ms that are very effective at driving cortical targets. Here we demonstrate that this synchronous activity contains unexpectedly rich information about fundamental properties of visual stimuli. We report that the occurrence of synchronous firing of cat thalamic cells with highly overlapping receptive fields is strongly sensitive to the orientation and the direction of motion of the visual stimulus. We show that this stimulus selectivity is robust, remaining relatively unchanged under different contrasts and temporal frequencies (stimulus velocities). A computational analysis based on an integrate-and-fire model of the direct thalamic input to a layer 4 cortical cell reveals a strong correlation between the degree of thalamic synchrony and the nonlinear relationship between cortical membrane potential and the resultant firing rate. Together, these findings suggest a novel population code in the synchronous firing of neurons in the early visual pathway that could serve as the substrate for establishing cortical representations of the visual scene. PMID:22745507

  10. Cpt1a gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells as an early biomarker of diet-related metabolic alterations

    KAUST Repository

    Diaz-Rua, Ruben

    2016-11-23

    Background: Research on biomarkers that provide early information about the development of future metabolic alterations is an emerging discipline. Gene expression analysis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) is a promising tool to identify subjects at risk of developing diet-related diseases.

  11. Alteration of gene expression profiles in skeletal muscle of rats exposed to microgravity during a spaceflight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Wayne E.; Bhasin, Shalender; Lalani, Rukhsana; Datta, Anuj; Gonzalez-Cadavid, Nestor F.

    2002-01-01

    To clarify the mechanism of skeletal muscle wasting during spaceflights, we investigated whether intramuscular gene expression profiles are affected, by using DNA microarray methods. Male rats sent on the 17-day NASA STS-90 Neurolab spaceflight were sacrificed 24 hours after return to earth (MG group). Ground control rats were maintained for 17 days in flight-simulated cages (CS group). Spaceflight induced a 19% and 23% loss of tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius muscle mass, respectively, as compared to ground controls. Muscle RNA was analyzed by the Clontech Atlas DNA expression array in four rats, with two MG/ CS pairs for the tibialis anterior, and one pair for the gastrocnemius. Alterations in gene expression were verified for selected genes by reverse-transcription PCR. In both muscles of MG rats, mRNAs for 12 genes were up-regulated by over 2-fold, and 38 were down-regulated compared to controls. There was inhibition of genes for cell proliferation and growth factor cascades, including cell cycle genes and signal transduction proteins, such as p21 Cip1, retinoblastoma (Rb), cyclins G1/S, -E and -D3, MAP kinase 3, MAD3, and ras related protein RAB2. These data indicate that following exposure to microgravity, there is downregulation of genes involved in regulation of muscle satellite cell replication.

  12. Oscillating in synchrony with a metronome: serial dependence, limit cycle dynamics, and modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torre, Kjerstin; Balasubramaniam, Ramesh; Delignières, Didier

    2010-07-01

    We analyzed serial dependencies in periods and asynchronies collected during oscillations performed in synchrony with a metronome. Results showed that asynchronies contain 1/f fluctuations, and the series of periods contain antipersistent dependence. The analysis of the phase portrait revealed a specific asymmetry induced by synchronization. We propose a hybrid limit cycle model including a cycle-dependent stiffness parameter provided with fractal properties, and a parametric driving function based on velocity. This model accounts for most experimentally evidenced statistical features, including serial dependence and limit cycle dynamics. We discuss the results and modeling choices within the framework of event-based and emergent timing.

  13. How does synchrony with host plant affect the performance of an outbreaking insect defoliator?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuentealba, Alvaro; Pureswaran, Deepa; Bauce, Éric; Despland, Emma

    2017-08-01

    Phenological mismatch has been proposed as a key mechanism by which climate change can increase the severity of insect outbreaks. Spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) is a serious defoliator of North American conifers that feeds on buds in the early spring. Black spruce (Picea mariana) has traditionally been considered a poor-quality host plant since its buds open later than those of the preferred host, balsam fir (Abies balsamea). We hypothesize that advancing black spruce budbreak phenology under a warmer climate would improve its phenological synchrony with budworm and hence increase both its suitability as a host plant and resulting defoliation damage. We evaluated the relationship between tree phenology and both budworm performance and tree defoliation by placing seven cohorts of budworm larvae on black spruce and balsam fir branches at different lags with tree budburst. Our results show that on both host plants, spruce budworm survival and pupal mass decrease sharply when budbreak occurs prior to larval emergence. By contrast, emergence before budbreak decreases survival, but does not negatively impact growth or reproductive output. We also document phytochemical changes that occur as needles mature and define a window of opportunity for the budworm. Finally, larvae that emerged in synchrony with budbreak had the greatest defoliating effect on black spruce. Our results suggest that in the event of advanced black spruce phenology due to climate warming, this host species will support better budworm survival and suffer increased defoliation.

  14. p53, erbB-2 and K-ras gene alterations are rare in spontaneous and plutonium-239-induced canine lung neoplasia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tierney, L.A.; Hahn, F.F.; Lechner, J.F.

    1996-01-01

    Inhalation of high-linear energy transfer radiation in the form of radon progeny is a suspected cause of human lung cancer. To gain insight into the types of genetic derangements caused by this type of radiation, lung tumors from beagle dogs exposed to 239 PuO 2 and those arising in animals with no known carcinogen exposure were examined for evidence of aberrations in genes known to be altered in lung tumors. Altered expression of the p53 tumor suppressor gene and proto-oncogene erbB-2 proteins (p185 erbB2 ) was evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis of 117 tumors representing different histological types in exposed (n = 80) and unexposed (n = 37) animals. Twenty-eight tumors were analyzed for K-ras proto-oncogene mutations by polymerase chain reaction amplification and direct sequencing. Fourteen percent (16/116) of all lung neoplasms showed elevated nuclear accumulation of p53 protein. Regardless of exposure history, adenosquamous and squamous cell cancers comprised 94% of all tumors with p53 abnormalities. Eighteen percent (21/117) of all tumors had evidence of erbB-2 protein overexpression. K-ras mutations were not detected in codons 12, 13 or 61 of tumors from unexposed (n = 9) or plutonium-exposed dogs (n = 19). These data indicate that p53 and K-ras gene abnormalities as a result of missense mutation are infrequent events in spontaneous and 239 PuO 2 -induced lung neoplasia in this colony of beagle dogs. Alternative mechanisms of gene alteration may be involved in canine pulmonary carcinogenesis. 45 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs

  15. Altered expression of mitochondrial and extracellular matrix genes in the heart of human fetuses with chromosome 21 trisomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olla Carlo

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Down syndrome phenotype has been attributed to overexpression of chromosome 21 (Hsa21 genes. However, the expression profile of Hsa21 genes in trisomic human subjects as well as their effects on genes located on different chromosomes are largely unknown. Using oligonucleotide microarrays we compared the gene expression profiles of hearts of human fetuses with and without Hsa21 trisomy. Results Approximately half of the 15,000 genes examined (87 of the 168 genes on Hsa21 were expressed in the heart at 18–22 weeks of gestation. Hsa21 gene expression was globally upregulated 1.5 fold in trisomic samples. However, not all genes were equally dysregulated and 25 genes were not upregulated at all. Genes located on other chromosomes were also significantly dysregulated. Functional class scoring and gene set enrichment analyses of 473 genes, differentially expressed between trisomic and non-trisomic hearts, revealed downregulation of genes encoding mitochondrial enzymes and upregulation of genes encoding extracellular matrix proteins. There were no significant differences between trisomic fetuses with and without heart defects. Conclusion We conclude that dosage-dependent upregulation of Hsa21 genes causes dysregulation of the genes responsible for mitochondrial function and for the extracellular matrix organization in the fetal heart of trisomic subjects. These alterations might be harbingers of the heart defects associated with Hsa21 trisomy, which could be based on elusive mechanisms involving genetic variability, environmental factors and/or stochastic events.

  16. Genome-Wide Screening of Genes Showing Altered Expression in Liver Metastases of Human Colorectal Cancers by cDNA Microarray

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rempei Yanagawa

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available In spite of intensive and increasingly successful attempts to determine the multiple steps involved in colorectal carcinogenesis, the mechanisms responsible for metastasis of colorectal tumors to the liver remain to be clarified. To identify genes that are candidates for involvement in the metastatic process, we analyzed genome-wide expression profiles of 10 primary colorectal cancers and their corresponding metastatic lesions by means of a cDNA microarray consisting of 9121 human genes. This analysis identified 40 genes whose expression was commonly upregulated in metastatic lesions, and 7 that were commonly downregulated. The upregulated genes encoded proteins involved in cell adhesion, or remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton. Investigation of the functions of more of the altered genes should improve our understanding of metastasis and may identify diagnostic markers and/or novel molecular targets for prevention or therapy of metastatic lesions.

  17. Low-power millimeter wave radiations do not alter stress-sensitive gene expression of chaperone proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhadobov, M; Sauleau, R; Le Coq, L; Debure, L; Thouroude, D; Michel, D; Le Dréan, Y

    2007-04-01

    This article reports experimental results on the influence of low-power millimeter wave (MMW) radiation at 60 GHz on a set of stress-sensitive gene expression of molecular chaperones, namely clusterin (CLU) and HSP70, in a human brain cell line. Selection of the exposure frequency is determined by its near-future applications for the new broadband civil wireless communication systems including wireless local area networks (WLAN) for domestic and professional uses. Frequencies around 60 GHz are strongly attenuated in the earth's atmosphere and such radiations represent a new environmental factor. An exposure system operating in V-band (50-75 GHz) was developed for cell exposure. U-251 MG glial cell line was sham-exposed or exposed to MMW radiation for different durations (1-33 h) and two different power densities (5.4 microW/cm(2) or 0.54 mW/cm(2)). As gene expression is a multiple-step process, we analyzed chaperone proteins induction at different levels. First, using luciferase reporter gene, we investigated potential effect of MMWs on the activation of transcription factors (TFs) and gene promoter activity. Next, using RT-PCR and Western blot assays, we verified whether MMW exposure could alter RNA accumulation, translation, or protein stability. Experimental data demonstrated the absence of significant modifications in gene transcription, mRNA, and protein amount for the considered stress-sensitive genes for the exposure durations and power densities investigated. The main results of this study suggest that low-power 60 GHz radiation does not modify stress-sensitive gene expression of chaperone proteins. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  18. Tumoral Environment Triggers Transcript Anomalies in Established Tumors: Induction of Altered Gene Expression and of Aberrant, Truncated and B2 Repeat-Containing Gene Transcripts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pieter Rottiers

    1999-12-01

    Full Text Available In addition to eugenetic changes, cancerous cells exhibit extensive modifications in the expression levels of a variety of genes. The phenotypic switch observed after inoculation of T lymphoma cells into syngenic mice illustrates the active participation of tumoral environment in the induction of an aberrant gene expression pattern. To further substantiate this contribution, we performed polymerase chain reaction (PCR-based subtraction suppression hybridization (SSH to identify genes that are differentially expressed in tumor-derived EL4/13.3 cells compared to the same cells isolated from cultures. Besides a number of unknown genes, the subtracted library contained several known genes that have been reported to be expressed at increased levels in tumors and/or to contribute to carcinogenesis. Apart from clones representing translated transcripts, the subtracted library also contained a high number of clones representing B2 repeat elements, viz. short interspersed repetitive elements that are transcribed by RNA polymerase III. Northern blotting confirmed the induction of B2 transcripts in tumor tissue and also revealed induction of chimeric, B2 repeat-containing mRNA. The appearance of chimeric transcripts was accompanied by aberrant, shorter-than-full-length transcripts, specifically from upregulated genes. Accordingly, in addition to altered gene expression, tumoral environmental triggers constitute a potent mechanism to create an epigenetic diversity in cancers by inducing extensive transcript anomalies.

  19. Alteration of gene expression by zinc oxide nanoparticles or zinc sulfate in vivo and comparison with in vitro data: A harmonious case.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wei-Dong; Zhao, Yong; Zhang, Hong-Fu; Wang, Shu-Kun; Hao, Zhi-Hui; Liu, Jing; Yuan, Yu-Qing; Zhang, Peng-Fei; Yang, Hong-Di; Shen, Wei; Li, Lan

    2016-08-01

    Granulosa cells (GCs) are those somatic cells closest to the female germ cell. GCs play a vital role in oocyte growth and development, and the oocyte is necessary for multiplication of a species. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) readily cross biologic barriers to be absorbed into biologic systems that make them promising candidates as food additives. The objective of the present investigation was to explore the impact of intact NPs on gene expression and the functional classification of altered genes in hen GCs in vivo, to compare the data from in vivo and in vitro studies, and finally to point out the adverse effects of ZnO NPs on the reproductive system. After a 24-week treatment, hen GCs were isolated and gene expression was quantified. Intact NPs were found in the ovary and other organs. Zn levels were similar in ZnO-NP-100 mg/kg- and ZnSO4-100 mg/kg-treated hen ovaries. ZnO-NP-100 mg/kg and ZnSO4-100 mg/kg regulated the expression of the same sets of genes, and they also altered the expression of different sets of genes individually. The number of genes altered by the ZnO-NP-100 mg/kg and ZnSO4-100 mg/kg treatments was different. Gene Ontology (GO) functional analysis reported that different results for the two treatments and, in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment, 12 pathways (out of the top 20 pathways) in each treatment were different. These results suggested that intact NPs and Zn(2+) had different effects on gene expression in GCs in vivo. In our recent publication, we noted that intact NPs and Zn(2+) differentially altered gene expression in GCs in vitro. However, GO functional classification and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses revealed close similarities for the changed genes in vivo and in vitro after ZnO NP treatment. Furthermore, close similarities were observed for the changed genes after ZnSO4 treatments in vivo and in vitro by GO functional classification and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses. Therefore

  20. Complete depletion of primordial germ cells in an All-female fish leads to Sex-biased gene expression alteration and sterile All-male occurrence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Wei; Li, Shi-Zhu; Li, Zhi; Wang, Yang; Li, Xi-Yin; Zhong, Jian-Xiang; Zhang, Xiao-Juan; Zhang, Jun; Zhou, Li; Gui, Jian-Fang

    2015-11-18

    Gynogenesis is one of unisexual reproduction modes in vertebrates, and produces all-female individuals with identical genetic background. In sexual reproduction vertebrates, the roles of primordial germ cells on sexual dimorphism and gonadal differentiation have been largely studied, and two distinct functional models have been proposed. However, the role of primordial germ cells remains unknown in unisexual animals, and it is also unclear whether the functional models in sexual reproduction animals are common in unisexual animals. To solve these puzzles, we attempt to utilize the gynogenetic superiority of polyploid Carassius gibelio to create a complete germ cell-depleted gonad model by a similar morpholino-mediated knockdown approach used in other examined sexual reproduction fishes. Through the germ cell-depleted gonad model, we have performed comprehensive and comparative transcriptome analysis, and revealed a complete alteration of sex-biased gene expression. Moreover, the expression alteration leads to up-regulation of testis-biased genes and down-regulation of ovary-biased genes, and results in the occurrence of sterile all-males with testis-like gonads and secondary sex characteristics in the germ cell-depleted gynogenetic Carassius gibelio. Our current results have demonstrated that unisexual gynogenetic embryos remain keeping male sex determination information in the genome, and the complete depletion of primordial germ cells in the all-female fish leads to sex-biased gene expression alteration and sterile all-male occurrence.

  1. Brain region-specific altered expression and association of mitochondria-related genes in autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anitha, Ayyappan; Nakamura, Kazuhiko; Thanseem, Ismail; Yamada, Kazuo; Iwayama, Yoshimi; Toyota, Tomoko; Matsuzaki, Hideo; Miyachi, Taishi; Yamada, Satoru; Tsujii, Masatsugu; Tsuchiya, Kenji J; Matsumoto, Kaori; Iwata, Yasuhide; Suzuki, Katsuaki; Ichikawa, Hironobu; Sugiyama, Toshiro; Yoshikawa, Takeo; Mori, Norio

    2012-11-01

    Mitochondrial dysfunction (MtD) has been observed in approximately five percent of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). MtD could impair highly energy-dependent processes such as neurodevelopment, thereby contributing to autism. Most of the previous studies of MtD in autism have been restricted to the biomarkers of energy metabolism, while most of the genetic studies have been based on mutations in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Despite the mtDNA, most of the proteins essential for mitochondrial replication and function are encoded by the genomic DNA; so far, there have been very few studies of those genes. Therefore, we carried out a detailed study involving gene expression and genetic association studies of genes related to diverse mitochondrial functions. For gene expression analysis, postmortem brain tissues (anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG), motor cortex (MC) and thalamus (THL)) from autism patients (n=8) and controls (n=10) were obtained from the Autism Tissue Program (Princeton, NJ, USA). Quantitative real-time PCR arrays were used to quantify the expression of 84 genes related to diverse functions of mitochondria, including biogenesis, transport, translocation and apoptosis. We used the delta delta Ct (∆∆Ct) method for quantification of gene expression. DNA samples from 841 Caucasian and 188 Japanese families were used in the association study of genes selected from the gene expression analysis. FBAT was used to examine genetic association with autism. Several genes showed brain region-specific expression alterations in autism patients compared to controls. Metaxin 2 (MTX2), neurofilament, light polypeptide (NEFL) and solute carrier family 25, member 27 (SLC25A27) showed consistently reduced expression in the ACG, MC and THL of autism patients. NEFL (P = 0.038; Z-score 2.066) and SLC25A27 (P = 0.046; Z-score 1.990) showed genetic association with autism in Caucasian and Japanese samples, respectively. The expression of DNAJC19, DNM1L, LRPPRC

  2. Brain region-specific altered expression and association of mitochondria-related genes in autism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anitha Ayyappan

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Mitochondrial dysfunction (MtD has been observed in approximately five percent of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD. MtD could impair highly energy-dependent processes such as neurodevelopment, thereby contributing to autism. Most of the previous studies of MtD in autism have been restricted to the biomarkers of energy metabolism, while most of the genetic studies have been based on mutations in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA. Despite the mtDNA, most of the proteins essential for mitochondrial replication and function are encoded by the genomic DNA; so far, there have been very few studies of those genes. Therefore, we carried out a detailed study involving gene expression and genetic association studies of genes related to diverse mitochondrial functions. Methods For gene expression analysis, postmortem brain tissues (anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG, motor cortex (MC and thalamus (THL from autism patients (n=8 and controls (n=10 were obtained from the Autism Tissue Program (Princeton, NJ, USA. Quantitative real-time PCR arrays were used to quantify the expression of 84 genes related to diverse functions of mitochondria, including biogenesis, transport, translocation and apoptosis. We used the delta delta Ct (∆∆Ct method for quantification of gene expression. DNA samples from 841 Caucasian and 188 Japanese families were used in the association study of genes selected from the gene expression analysis. FBAT was used to examine genetic association with autism. Results Several genes showed brain region-specific expression alterations in autism patients compared to controls. Metaxin 2 (MTX2, neurofilament, light polypeptide (NEFL and solute carrier family 25, member 27 (SLC25A27 showed consistently reduced expression in the ACG, MC and THL of autism patients. NEFL (P = 0.038; Z-score 2.066 and SLC25A27 (P = 0.046; Z-score 1.990 showed genetic association with autism in Caucasian and Japanese samples, respectively. The

  3. Comparing motor performance, praxis, coordination, and interpersonal synchrony between children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaur, Maninderjit; M Srinivasan, Sudha; N Bhat, Anjana

    2018-01-01

    Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have basic motor impairments in balance, gait, and coordination as well as autism-specific impairments in praxis/motor planning and interpersonal synchrony. Majority of the current literature focuses on isolated motor behaviors or domains. Additionally, the relationship between cognition, symptom severity, and motor performance in ASD is unclear. We used a comprehensive set of measures to compare gross and fine motor, praxis/imitation, motor coordination, and interpersonal synchrony skills across three groups of children between 5 and 12 years of age: children with ASD with high IQ (HASD), children with ASD with low IQ (LASD), and typically developing (TD) children. We used the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency and the Bilateral Motor Coordination subtest of the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests to assess motor performance and praxis skills respectively. Children were also examined while performing simple and complex rhythmic upper and lower limb actions on their own (solo context) and with a social partner (social context). Both ASD groups had lower gross and fine motor scores, greater praxis errors in total and within various error types, lower movement rates, greater movement variability, and weaker interpersonal synchrony compared to the TD group. In addition, the LASD group had lower gross motor scores and greater mirroring errors compared to the HASD group. Overall, a variety of motor impairments are present across the entire spectrum of children with ASD, regardless of their IQ scores. Both, fine and gross motor performance significantly correlated with IQ but not with autism severity; however, praxis errors (mainly, total, overflow, and rhythmicity) strongly correlated with autism severity and not IQ. Our study findings highlight the need for clinicians and therapists to include motor evaluations and interventions in the standard-of-care of children with ASD and for the broader autism community to

  4. Cyclophosphamide Alters the Gene Expression Profile in Patients Treated with High Doses Prior to Stem Cell Transplantation

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Serafi, Ibrahim; Abedi-Valugerdi, Manuchehr; Potácová, Zuzana; Afsharian, Parvaneh; Mattsson, Jonas; Moshfegh, Ali; Hassan, Moustapha

    2014-01-01

    Background Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a curative treatment for several haematological malignancies. However, treatment related morbidity and mortality still is a limiting factor. Cyclophosphamide is widely used in condition regimens either in combination with other chemotherapy or with total body irradiation. Methods We present the gene expression profile during cyclophosphamide treatment in 11 patients conditioned with cyclophosphamide for 2 days followed by total body irradiation prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. 299 genes were identified as specific for cyclophosphamide treatment and were arranged into 4 clusters highly down-regulated genes, highly up-regulated genes, early up-regulated but later normalized genes and moderately up-regulated genes. Results Cyclophosphamide treatment down-regulated expression of several genes mapped to immune/autoimmune activation and graft rejection including CD3, CD28, CTLA4, MHC II, PRF1, GZMB and IL-2R, and up-regulated immune-related receptor genes, e.g. IL1R2, IL18R1, and FLT3. Moreover, a high and significant expression of ANGPTL1 and c-JUN genes was observed independent of cyclophosphamide treatment. Conclusion This is the first investigation to provide significant information about alterations in gene expression following cyclophosphamide treatment that may increase our understanding of the cyclophosphamide mechanism of action and hence, in part, avoid its toxicity. Furthermore, ANGPTL1 remained highly expressed throughout the treatment and, in contrast to several other alkylating agents, cyclophosphamide did not influence c-JUN expression. PMID:24466173

  5. Selection for growth rate and body size have altered the expression profiles of somatotropic axis genes in chickens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yong; Xu, Zhiqiang; Duan, Xiaohua; Li, Qihua; Dou, Tengfei; Gu, Dahai; Rong, Hua; Wang, Kun; Li, Zhengtian; Talpur, Mir Zulqarnain; Huang, Ying; Wang, Shanrong; Yan, Shixiong; Tong, Huiquan; Zhao, Sumei; Zhao, Guiping; Su, Zhengchang; Ge, Changrong

    2018-01-01

    The growth hormone / insulin-like growth factor-1 (GH/IGF-1) pathway of the somatotropic axis is the major controller for growth rate and body size in vertebrates, but the effect of selection on the expression of GH/IGF-1 somatotropic axis genes and their association with body size and growth performance in farm animals is not fully understood. We analyzed a time series of expression profiles of GH/IGF-1 somatotropic axis genes in two chicken breeds, the Daweishan mini chickens and Wuding chickens, and the commercial Avian broilers hybrid exhibiting markedly different body sizes and growth rates. We found that growth rate and feed conversion efficiency in Daweishan mini chickens were significantly lower than those in Wuding chickens and Avian broilers. The Wuding and Daweishan mini chickens showed higher levels of plasma GH, pituitary GH mRNA but lower levels of hepatic growth hormone receptor (GHR) mRNA than in Avian broilers. Daweishan mini chickens showed significantly lower levels of plasma IGF-1, thigh muscle and hepatic IGF-1 mRNA than did Avian broilers and Wuding chickens. These results suggest that the GH part of the somatotropic axis is the main regulator of growth rate, while IGF-1 may regulate both growth rate and body weight. Selection for growth performance and body size have altered the expression profiles of somatotropic axis genes in a breed-, age-, and tissue-specific manner, and manner, and alteration of regulatory mechanisms of these genes might play an important role in the developmental characteristics of chickens. PMID:29630644

  6. Chronic LSD alters gene expression profiles in the mPFC relevant to schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, David A; Marona-Lewicka, Danuta; Nichols, David E; Nichols, Charles D

    2014-08-01

    Chronic administration of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) every other day to rats results in a variety of abnormal behaviors. These build over the 90 day course of treatment and can persist at full strength for at least several months after cessation of treatment. The behaviors are consistent with those observed in animal models of schizophrenia and include hyperactivity, reduced sucrose-preference, and decreased social interaction. In order to elucidate molecular changes that underlie these aberrant behaviors, we chronically treated rats with LSD and performed RNA-sequencing on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), an area highly associated with both the actions of LSD and the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and other psychiatric illnesses. We observed widespread changes in the neurogenetic state of treated animals four weeks after cessation of LSD treatment. QPCR was used to validate a subset of gene expression changes observed with RNA-Seq, and confirmed a significant correlation between the two methods. Functional clustering analysis indicates differentially expressed genes are enriched in pathways involving neurotransmission (Drd2, Gabrb1), synaptic plasticity (Nr2a, Krox20), energy metabolism (Atp5d, Ndufa1) and neuropeptide signaling (Npy, Bdnf), among others. Many processes identified as altered by chronic LSD are also implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, and genes affected by LSD are enriched with putative schizophrenia genes. Our results provide a relatively comprehensive analysis of mPFC transcriptional regulation in response to chronic LSD, and indicate that the long-term effects of LSD may bear relevance to psychiatric illnesses, including schizophrenia. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Low-intensity infrared lasers alter actin gene expression in skin and muscle tissue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fonseca, A S; Mencalha, A L; Campos, V M A; Ferreira-Machado, S C; Peregrino, A A F; Magalhães, L A G; Geller, M; Paoli, F

    2013-01-01

    The biostimulative effect of low-intensity lasers is the basis for treatment of diseases in soft tissues. However, data about the influence of biostimulative lasers on gene expression are still scarce. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of low-intensity infrared lasers on the expression of actin mRNA in skin and muscle tissue. Skin and muscle tissue of Wistar rats was exposed to low-intensity infrared laser radiation at different fluences and frequencies. One and 24 hours after laser exposure, tissue samples were withdrawn for total RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis and evaluation of actin gene expression by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The data obtained show that laser radiation alters the expression of actin mRNA differently in skin and muscle tissue of Wistar rats depending of the fluence, frequency and time after exposure. The results could be useful for laser dosimetry, as well as to justify the therapeutic protocols for treatment of diseases of skin and muscle tissues based on low-intensity infrared laser radiation. (paper)

  8. Conditional deletion of Msx homeobox genes in the uterus inhibits blastocyst implantation by altering uterine receptivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daikoku, Takiko; Cha, Jeeyeon; Sun, Xiaofei; Tranguch, Susanne; Xie, Huirong; Fujita, Tomoko; Hirota, Yasushi; Lydon, John; DeMayo, Francesco; Maxson, Robert; Dey, Sudhansu K

    2011-12-13

    An effective bidirectional communication between an implantation-competent blastocyst and the receptive uterus is a prerequisite for mammalian reproduction. The blastocyst will implant only when this molecular cross-talk is established. Here we show that the muscle segment homeobox gene (Msh) family members Msx1 and Msx2, which are two highly conserved genes critical for epithelial-mesenchymal interactions during development, also play crucial roles in embryo implantation. Loss of Msx1/Msx2 expression correlates with altered uterine luminal epithelial cell polarity and affects E-cadherin/β-catenin complex formation through the control of Wnt5a expression. Application of Wnt5a in vitro compromised blastocyst invasion and trophoblast outgrowth on cultured uterine epithelial cells. The finding that Msx1/Msx2 genes are critical for conferring uterine receptivity and readiness to implantation could have clinical significance, because compromised uterine receptivity is a major cause of pregnancy failure in IVF programs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. CD133+ cells contribute to radioresistance via altered regulation of DNA repair genes in human lung cancer cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Desai, Amar; Webb, Bryan; Gerson, Stanton L.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Radioresistance in human tumors has been linked in part to a subset of cells termed cancer stem cells (CSCs). The prominin 1 (CD133) cell surface protein is proposed to be a marker enriching for CSCs. We explore the importance of DNA repair in contributing to radioresistance in CD133+ lung cancer cells. Materials and methods: A549 and H1299 lung cancer cell lines were used. Sorted CD133+ cells were exposed to either single 4 Gy or 8 Gy doses and clonogenic survival measured. ϒ-H2AX immunofluorescence and quantitative real time PCR was performed on sorted CD133+ cells both in the absence of IR and after two single 4 Gy doses. Lentiviral shRNA was used to silence repair genes. Results: A549 but not H1299 cells expand their CD133+ population after single 4 Gy exposure, and isolated A549 CD133+ cells demonstrate IR resistance. This resistance corresponded with enhanced repair of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) and upregulated expression of DSB repair genes in A549 cells. Prior IR exposure of two single 4 Gy doses resulted in acquired DNA repair upregulation and improved repair proficiency in both A549 and H1299. Finally Exo1 and Rad51 silencing in A549 cells abrogated the CD133+ IR expansion phenotype and induced IR sensitivity in sorted CD133+ cells. Conclusions: CD133 identifies a population of cells within specific tumor types containing altered expression of DNA repair genes that are inducible upon exposure to chemotherapy. This altered gene expression contributes to enhanced DSB resolution and the radioresistance phenotype of these cells. We also identify DNA repair genes which may serve as promising therapeutic targets to confer radiosensitivity to CSCs

  10. Seasonal alteration in amounts of lignans and their glucosides and gene expression of the relevant biosynthetic enzymes in the Forsythia suspense leaf.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morimoto, Kinuyo; Satake, Honoo

    2013-01-01

    Lignans of Forsythia spp. are essential components of various Chinese medicines and health diets. However, the seasonal alteration in lignan amounts and the gene expression profile of lignan-biosynthetic enzymes has yet to be investigated. In this study, we have assessed seasonal alteration in amounts of major lignans, such as pinoresinol, matairesinol, and arctigenin, and examined the gene expression profile of pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase (PLR), pinoresinol-glucosylating enzyme (UGT71A18), and secoisolariciresinol dehydrogenase (SIRD) in the leaf of Forsythia suspense from April to November. All of the lignans in the leaf continuously increased from April to June, reached the maximal level in June, and then decreased. Ninety percent of pinoresinol and matairesinol was converted into glucosides, while approximately 50% of arctigenin was aglycone. PLR was stably expressed from April to August, whereas the PLR expression was not detected from September to November. In contrast, the UGT71A18 expression was found from August to November, but not from April to July. The SIRD expression was prominent from April to May, not detected in June to July, and then increased again from September to November. These expression profiles of the lignan-synthetic enzymes are largely compatible with the alteration in lignan contents. Furthermore, such seasonal lignan profiles are in good agreement with the fact that the Forsythia leaves for Chinese medicinal tea are harvested in June. This is the first report on seasonal alteration in lignans and the relevant biosynthetic enzyme genes in the leaf of Forsythia species.

  11. Gene Therapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gene therapy Overview Gene therapy involves altering the genes inside your body's cells in an effort to treat or stop disease. Genes contain your ... that don't work properly can cause disease. Gene therapy replaces a faulty gene or adds a new ...

  12. Phenological synchrony and seasonality of understory Rubiaceae in the Atlantic Forest, Bahia, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heitor Scarpati Liuth

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available In tropical forests with low seasonality, climatic variables generally exert a weak influence on the phenology of species. The seasonality of phenophases in closely related taxa can be controlled by phylogenetic constraints in such environments. In this study, our aim was to describe the phenology of Rubiaceae in the understory of the Atlantic Forest in the southern part of Bahia, Brazil, as well as to evaluate the seasonality and phenological synchrony of this family. For two years, we observed 90 individuals belonging to 13 species, in an area of 0.2 ha. Leaf flushing and leaf fall did not demonstrate any seasonality, were continuous for most species and correlated with few of the climatic variables. Flowering was seasonal and correlated positively with all climatic variables. Species exhibited seasonality for this phenophase with high flowering overlap among species of Psychotria, indicating an aggregated pattern for this genus. Fruiting was also seasonal and correlated with all the climatic variables, unripe fruit development peaking at the beginning of the season during which humidity is highest and fruit ripening peaking in the season during which humidity is slightly lower. The vegetative and flowering patterns observed in the study area are commonly seen in other tropical forests. The reproductive seasonality of this family can facilitate the attraction of biotic agents, as postulated in the facilitation hypothesis. Our results demonstrate that climatic variables influenced the phenological patterns observed here, although the high reproductive seasonality and interspecific synchrony, especially in congeneric species, raises the possibility that phylogenetic proximity plays a role in the pattern of the family Rubiaceae.

  13. The genetic alteration of p53 in esophageal cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Jae Il; Baik, Hee Jong; Kim, Chang Min; Kim, Mi Hee [Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1996-01-01

    Genetic alterations in the p53 gene have been detected in various human malignancies, and its alterations inactive the function of p53 as a tumor suppressor. Point mutation and gene deletion are the main mechanisms of p53 inactivation. To determine the incidence of genetic alteration of p53 and their clinical implications in Korean patients of esophageal cancer, we investigated p53 alterations in 26 esophageal cancer tissues paired with its normal tissue by Southern blot analysis, PCR-SSCP, and direct sequencing. Allelic loss of chromosome 17p occurred in 12 out of 21 informative cases(57%) by Southern blot analysis, and 16 cases showed mobility shift in PCR-SSCP, so overall incidence of p53 gene alterations was 77%(20/26). The mutations detected was randomly dispersed over exon4-8 and was frequently G-T transversion and C:T transitions. Three identical mutations were clustered at codon 213 suggested the same etiologic agents in this cases. The p53 gene alterations play a significant role in the development of esophageal cancers, however, no relationship between p53 mutation and clinical data was detected so far. 9 refs. (Author).

  14. Transient resetting: a novel mechanism for synchrony and its biological examples.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunguang Li

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available The study of synchronization in biological systems is essential for the understanding of the rhythmic phenomena of living organisms at both molecular and cellular levels. In this paper, by using simple dynamical systems theory, we present a novel mechanism, named transient resetting, for the synchronization of uncoupled biological oscillators with stimuli. This mechanism not only can unify and extend many existing results on (deterministic and stochastic stimulus-induced synchrony, but also may actually play an important role in biological rhythms. We argue that transient resetting is a possible mechanism for the synchronization in many biological organisms, which might also be further used in the medical therapy of rhythmic disorders. Examples of the synchronization of neural and circadian oscillators as well as a chaotic neuron model are presented to verify our hypothesis.

  15. Content congruency and its interplay with temporal synchrony modulate integration between rhythmic audiovisual streams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Huang eSu

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Both lower-level stimulus factors (e.g., temporal proximity and higher-level cognitive factors (e.g., content congruency are known to influence multisensory integration. The former can direct attention in a converging manner, and the latter can indicate whether information from the two modalities belongs together. The present research investigated whether and how these two factors interacted in the perception of rhythmic, audiovisual streams derived from a human movement scenario. Congruency here was based on sensorimotor correspondence pertaining to rhythm perception. Participants attended to bimodal stimuli consisting of a humanlike figure moving regularly to a sequence of auditory beat, and detected a possible auditory temporal deviant. The figure moved either downwards (congruently or upwards (incongruently to the downbeat, while in both situations the movement was either synchronous with the beat, or lagging behind it. Greater cross-modal binding was expected to hinder deviant detection. Results revealed poorer detection for congruent than for incongruent streams, suggesting stronger integration in the former. False alarms increased in asynchronous stimuli only for congruent streams, indicating greater tendency for deviant report due to visual capture of asynchronous auditory events. In addition, a greater increase in perceived synchrony was associated with a greater reduction in false alarms for congruent streams, while the pattern was reversed for incongruent ones. These results demonstrate that content congruency as a top-down factor not only promotes integration, but also modulates bottom-up effects of synchrony. Results are also discussed regarding how theories of integration and attentional entrainment may be combined in the context of rhythmic multisensory stimuli.

  16. Content congruency and its interplay with temporal synchrony modulate integration between rhythmic audiovisual streams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Yi-Huang

    2014-01-01

    Both lower-level stimulus factors (e.g., temporal proximity) and higher-level cognitive factors (e.g., content congruency) are known to influence multisensory integration. The former can direct attention in a converging manner, and the latter can indicate whether information from the two modalities belongs together. The present research investigated whether and how these two factors interacted in the perception of rhythmic, audiovisual (AV) streams derived from a human movement scenario. Congruency here was based on sensorimotor correspondence pertaining to rhythm perception. Participants attended to bimodal stimuli consisting of a humanlike figure moving regularly to a sequence of auditory beat, and detected a possible auditory temporal deviant. The figure moved either downwards (congruently) or upwards (incongruently) to the downbeat, while in both situations the movement was either synchronous with the beat, or lagging behind it. Greater cross-modal binding was expected to hinder deviant detection. Results revealed poorer detection for congruent than for incongruent streams, suggesting stronger integration in the former. False alarms increased in asynchronous stimuli only for congruent streams, indicating greater tendency for deviant report due to visual capture of asynchronous auditory events. In addition, a greater increase in perceived synchrony was associated with a greater reduction in false alarms for congruent streams, while the pattern was reversed for incongruent ones. These results demonstrate that content congruency as a top-down factor not only promotes integration, but also modulates bottom-up effects of synchrony. Results are also discussed regarding how theories of integration and attentional entrainment may be combined in the context of rhythmic multisensory stimuli.

  17. Mother-Child Dyadic Synchrony in European American and African American Families during Early Adolescence: Relations with Self-Esteem and Prosocial Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsey, Eric W.; Colwell, Malinda J.; Frabutt, James M.; Chambers, Jessica Campbell; MacKinnon-Lewis, Carol

    2008-01-01

    Mother-child relationships characterized by dyadic synchrony, a mutually responsive and interconnected interaction style, have been consistently linked to children's psychosocial adjustment in early childhood, but it is unclear whether such interaction patterns remain conducive to positive outcomes in early adolescence. The aim of the present…

  18. alpha-Globin genes: thalassemic and structural alterations in a Brazilian population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.R.S.C. Wenning

    2000-09-01

    Full Text Available Seven unrelated patients with hemoglobin (Hb H disease and 27 individuals with alpha-chain structural alterations were studied to identify the alpha-globin gene mutations present in the population of Southeast Brazil. The -alpha3.7, --MED and -(alpha20.5 deletions were investigated by PCR, whereas non-deletional alpha-thalassemia (alphaHphalpha, alphaNcoIalpha, aaNcoI, alphaIcalpha and alphaTSaudialpha was screened with restriction enzymes and by nested PCR. Structural alterations were identified by direct DNA sequencing. Of the seven patients with Hb H disease, all of Italian descent, two had the -(alpha20.5/-alpha3.7 genotype, one had the --MED/-alpha3.7 genotype, one had the --MED/alphaHphalpha genotype and three showed interaction of the -alpha3.7 deletion with an unusual, unidentified form of non-deletional alpha-thalassemia [-alpha3.7/(aaT]. Among the 27 patients with structural alterations, 15 (of Italian descent had Hb Hasharon (alpha47Asp->His associated with the -alpha3.7 deletion, 4 (of Italian descent were heterozygous for Hb J-Rovigo (alpha53Ala->Asp, 4 (3 Blacks and 1 Caucasian were heterozygous for Hb Stanleyville-II (alpha78Asn->Lys associated with the alpha+-thalassemia, 1 (Black was heterozygous for Hb G-Pest (alpha74Asp->Asn, 1 (Caucasian was heterozygous for Hb Kurosaki (alpha7Lys->Glu, 1 (Caucasian was heterozygous for Hb Westmead (alpha122His->Gln, and 1 (Caucasian was the carrier of a novel silent variant (Hb Campinas, alpha26Ala->Val. Most of the mutations found reflected the Mediterranean and African origins of the population. Hbs G-Pest and Kurosaki, very rare, and Hb Westmead, common in southern China, were initially described in individuals of ethnic origin differing from those of the carriers reported in the present study and are the first cases to be reported in the Brazilian population.

  19. Arsenic-induced alteration in the expression of genes related to type 2 diabetes mellitus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diaz-Villasenor, Andrea; Burns, Anna L.; Hiriart, Marcia; Cebrian, Mariano E.; Ostrosky-Wegman, Patricia

    2007-01-01

    Chronic exposure to high concentrations of arsenic in drinking water is associated with an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The present revision focuses on the effect of arsenic on tissues that participate directly in glucose homeostasis, integrating the most important published information about the impairment of the expression of genes related to type 2 diabetes by arsenic as one of the possible mechanisms by which it leads to the disease. Many factors are involved in the manner in which arsenic contributes to the occurrence of diabetes. The reviewed studies suggest that arsenic might increase the risk for type 2 diabetes via multiple mechanisms, affecting a cluster of regulated events, which in conjunction trigger the disease. Arsenic affects insulin sensitivity in peripheral tissue by modifying the expression of genes involved in insulin resistance and shifting away cells from differentiation to the proliferation pathway. In the liver arsenic disturbs glucose production, whereas in pancreatic beta-cells arsenic decreases insulin synthesis and secretion and reduces the expression of antioxidant enzymes. The consequences of these changes in gene expression include the reduction of insulin secretion, induction of oxidative stress in the pancreas, alteration of gluconeogenesis, abnormal proliferation and differentiation pattern of muscle and adipocytes as well as peripheral insulin resistance

  20. Gene alterations at Drosophila inversion breakpoints provide prima facie evidence for natural selection as an explanation for rapid chromosomal evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guillén, Yolanda; Ruiz, Alfredo

    2012-02-01

    Chromosomal inversions have been pervasive during the evolution of the genus Drosophila, but there is significant variation between lineages in the rate of rearrangement fixation. D. mojavensis, an ecological specialist adapted to a cactophilic niche under extreme desert conditions, is a chromosomally derived species with ten fixed inversions, five of them not present in any other species. In order to explore the causes of the rapid chromosomal evolution in D. mojavensis, we identified and characterized all breakpoints of seven inversions fixed in chromosome 2, the most dynamic one. One of the inversions presents unequivocal evidence for its generation by ectopic recombination between transposon copies and another two harbor inverted duplications of non-repetitive DNA at the two breakpoints and were likely generated by staggered single-strand breaks and repair by non-homologous end joining. Four out of 14 breakpoints lay in the intergenic region between preexisting duplicated genes, suggesting an adaptive advantage of separating previously tightly linked duplicates. Four out of 14 breakpoints are associated with transposed genes, suggesting these breakpoints are fragile regions. Finally two inversions contain novel genes at their breakpoints and another three show alterations of genes at breakpoints with potential adaptive significance. D. mojavensis chromosomal inversions were generated by multiple mechanisms, an observation that does not provide support for increased mutation rate as explanation for rapid chromosomal evolution. On the other hand, we have found a number of gene alterations at the breakpoints with putative adaptive consequences that directly point to natural selection as the cause of D. mojavensis rapid chromosomal evolution.

  1. Gene alterations at Drosophila inversion breakpoints provide prima facie evidence for natural selection as an explanation for rapid chromosomal evolution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guillén Yolanda

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Chromosomal inversions have been pervasive during the evolution of the genus Drosophila, but there is significant variation between lineages in the rate of rearrangement fixation. D. mojavensis, an ecological specialist adapted to a cactophilic niche under extreme desert conditions, is a chromosomally derived species with ten fixed inversions, five of them not present in any other species. Results In order to explore the causes of the rapid chromosomal evolution in D. mojavensis, we identified and characterized all breakpoints of seven inversions fixed in chromosome 2, the most dynamic one. One of the inversions presents unequivocal evidence for its generation by ectopic recombination between transposon copies and another two harbor inverted duplications of non-repetitive DNA at the two breakpoints and were likely generated by staggered single-strand breaks and repair by non-homologous end joining. Four out of 14 breakpoints lay in the intergenic region between preexisting duplicated genes, suggesting an adaptive advantage of separating previously tightly linked duplicates. Four out of 14 breakpoints are associated with transposed genes, suggesting these breakpoints are fragile regions. Finally two inversions contain novel genes at their breakpoints and another three show alterations of genes at breakpoints with potential adaptive significance. Conclusions D. mojavensis chromosomal inversions were generated by multiple mechanisms, an observation that does not provide support for increased mutation rate as explanation for rapid chromosomal evolution. On the other hand, we have found a number of gene alterations at the breakpoints with putative adaptive consequences that directly point to natural selection as the cause of D. mojavensis rapid chromosomal evolution.

  2. Gene alterations at Drosophila inversion breakpoints provide prima facie evidence for natural selection as an explanation for rapid chromosomal evolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Chromosomal inversions have been pervasive during the evolution of the genus Drosophila, but there is significant variation between lineages in the rate of rearrangement fixation. D. mojavensis, an ecological specialist adapted to a cactophilic niche under extreme desert conditions, is a chromosomally derived species with ten fixed inversions, five of them not present in any other species. Results In order to explore the causes of the rapid chromosomal evolution in D. mojavensis, we identified and characterized all breakpoints of seven inversions fixed in chromosome 2, the most dynamic one. One of the inversions presents unequivocal evidence for its generation by ectopic recombination between transposon copies and another two harbor inverted duplications of non-repetitive DNA at the two breakpoints and were likely generated by staggered single-strand breaks and repair by non-homologous end joining. Four out of 14 breakpoints lay in the intergenic region between preexisting duplicated genes, suggesting an adaptive advantage of separating previously tightly linked duplicates. Four out of 14 breakpoints are associated with transposed genes, suggesting these breakpoints are fragile regions. Finally two inversions contain novel genes at their breakpoints and another three show alterations of genes at breakpoints with potential adaptive significance. Conclusions D. mojavensis chromosomal inversions were generated by multiple mechanisms, an observation that does not provide support for increased mutation rate as explanation for rapid chromosomal evolution. On the other hand, we have found a number of gene alterations at the breakpoints with putative adaptive consequences that directly point to natural selection as the cause of D. mojavensis rapid chromosomal evolution. PMID:22296923

  3. A network of epigenetic modifiers and DNA repair genes controls tissue-specific copy number alteration preference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cramer, Dina; Serrano, Luis; Schaefer, Martin H

    2016-11-10

    Copy number alterations (CNAs) in cancer patients show a large variability in their number, length and position, but the sources of this variability are not known. CNA number and length are linked to patient survival, suggesting clinical relevance. We have identified genes that tend to be mutated in samples that have few or many CNAs, which we term CONIM genes (COpy Number Instability Modulators). CONIM proteins cluster into a densely connected subnetwork of physical interactions and many of them are epigenetic modifiers. Therefore, we investigated how the epigenome of the tissue-of-origin influences the position of CNA breakpoints and the properties of the resulting CNAs. We found that the presence of heterochromatin in the tissue-of-origin contributes to the recurrence and length of CNAs in the respective cancer type.

  4. Spatial patterning and floral synchrony among trillium populations with contrasting histories of herbivory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher R. Webster

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available We investigated the spatial patterning and floral synchrony within and among populations of a non-clonal, forest understory herb, Trillium catesbaei. Two populations of T. catesbaei within Great Smoky Mountains National Park were monitored for five years: Cades Cove (high deer abundance and Whiteoak Sink (low deer abundance. All individuals within each population were mapped during year one and five. Only flowering and single-leaf juveniles were mapped during intervening years. Greater distances between flowering plants (plants currently in flower and substantially lower population densities and smaller patch sizes were observed at Cades Cove versus Whiteoak Sink. However, with the exception of flowering plants, contrasting histories of herbivory did not appear to fundamentally alter the spatial patterning of the T. catesbaei population at Cades Cove, an area with a long and well-documented history of deer overabundance. Regardless of browse history, non-flowering life stages were significantly clustered at all spatial scales examined. Flowering plants were clustered in all years at Whiteoak Sink, but more often randomly distributed at Cades Cove, possibly as a result of their lower abundance. Between years, however, there was a positive spatial association between the locations of flowering plants at both sites. Flowering rate was synchronous between sites, but lagged a year behind favorable spring growing conditions, which likely allowed plants to allocate photosynthate from a favorable year towards flowering the subsequent year. Collectively, our results suggest that chronically high levels of herbivory may be associated with spatial patterning of flowering within populations of a non-clonal plant. They also highlight the persistence of underlying spatial patterns, as evidenced by high levels of spatial clustering among non-flowering individuals, and the pervasive, although muted in a population subjected to chronic herbivory, influence of

  5. Overexpression of GRß in colonic mucosal cell line partly reflects altered gene expression in colonic mucosa of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagy, Zsolt; Acs, Bence; Butz, Henriett; Feldman, Karolina; Marta, Alexa; Szabo, Peter M; Baghy, Kornelia; Pazmany, Tamas; Racz, Karoly; Liko, Istvan; Patocs, Attila

    2016-01-01

    The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) plays a crucial role in inflammatory responses. GR has several isoforms, of which the most deeply studied are the GRα and GRß. Recently it has been suggested that in addition to its negative dominant effect on GRα, the GRß may have a GRα-independent transcriptional activity. The GRß isoform was found to be frequently overexpressed in various autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study, we wished to test whether the gene expression profile found in a GRß overexpressing intestinal cell line (Caco-2GRß) might mimic the gene expression alterations found in patients with IBD. Whole genome microarray analysis was performed in both normal and GRß overexpressing Caco-2 cell lines with and without dexamethasone treatment. IBD-related genes were identified from a meta-analysis of 245 microarrays available in online microarray deposits performed on intestinal mucosa samples from patients with IBD and healthy individuals. The differentially expressed genes were further studied using in silico pathway analysis. Overexpression of GRß altered a large proportion of genes that were not regulated by dexamethasone suggesting that GRß may have a GRα-independent role in the regulation of gene expression. About 10% of genes differentially expressed in colonic mucosa samples from IBD patients compared to normal subjects were also detected in Caco-2 GRß intestinal cell line. Common genes are involved in cell adhesion and cell proliferation. Overexpression of GRß in intestinal cells may affect appropriate mucosal repair and intact barrier function. The proposed novel role of GRß in intestinal epithelium warrants further studies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Alteration of sheep coat color pattern by disruption of ASIP gene via CRISPR Cas9.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xuemei; Li, Wenrong; Liu, Chenxi; Peng, Xinrong; Lin, Jiapeng; He, Sangang; Li, Xuejiao; Han, Bing; Zhang, Ning; Wu, Yangsheng; Chen, Lei; Wang, Liqin; MaYila; Huang, Juncheng; Liu, Mingjun

    2017-08-15

    Coat color is an important characteristic and economic trait in domestic sheep. Aiming at alteration of Chinese merino sheep coat color by genome manipulation, we disrupted sheep agouti signaling protein gene by CRISPR/Cas9. A total of seven indels were identified in 5 of 6 born lambs. Each targeted lamb happened at least two kinds of modifications, and targeted lambs with multiple modifications displayed variety of coat color patterns. Three lambs with 4 bp deletion showed badgerface with black body coat color in two lambs, and brown coat color with light ventral pigmentation in another one. The black-white spotted color was observed in two lambs with 2 bp deletion. Further analysis unraveled that modifications happened in one or more than two copies of ASIP gene, and moreover, the additional spontaneous mutations of D 9 and/or D 5 preceding the targeting modification could also involve the formation of coat color patterns. Taken together, the entanglement of ASIP modifications by CRISPR/Cas9, spontaneous D 9 /D 5 mutations, and ASIP gene duplications contributed to the variety of coat color patterns in targeted lambs.

  7. Low-level lasers alter mRNA levels from traditional reference genes used in breast cancer cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teixeira, A. F.; Canuto, K. S.; Rodrigues, J. A.; Fonseca, A. S.; Mencalha, A. L.

    2017-07-01

    Cancer is among the leading causes of mortality worldwide, increasing the importance of treatment development. Low-level lasers are used in several diseases, but some concerns remains on cancers. Reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a technique used to understand cellular behavior through quantification of mRNA levels. Output data from target genes are commonly relative to a reference that cannot vary according to treatment. This study evaluated reference genes levels from MDA-MB-231 cells exposed to red or infrared lasers at different fluences. Cultures were exposed to red and infrared lasers, incubated (4 h, 37 °C), total RNA was extracted and cDNA synthesis was performed to evaluate mRNA levels from ACTB, GUSB and TRFC genes by RT-qPCR. Specific amplification was verified by melting curves and agarose gel electrophoresis. RefFinder enabled data analysis by geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper. Specific amplifications were obtained and, although mRNA levels from ACTB, GUSB or TRFC genes presented no significant variation through traditional statistical analysis, Excel-based tools revealed that the use of these reference genes are dependent of laser characteristics. Our data showed that exposure to low-level red and infrared lasers at different fluences alter the mRNA levels from ACTB, GUSB and TRFC in MDA-MB-231 cells.

  8. 13N-Ammonia pet-derived ventricular synchrony correlates with myocardial perfusion reserve better than left ventricular ejection fraction : A study in infarcted patients

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Juarez-Orozco, Luis Eduardo; Slart, Riemer; Tio, Rene A.; Inarra-Talboy, Fernando; Monroy, Andrea; Ayala-German, AnaGabriela; Dierckx, Rudi A.; Rosas, Erick Alexanderson

    2016-01-01

    Background: PET myocardial perfusion allows myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR) quantification as well as left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and synchrony estimation through phase analysis. There is a relationship between MPR and LVEF and both have proven prognostic value in coronary artery

  9. Affective Synchrony and Autonomic Coupling during Cooperation: A Hyperscanning Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Elide Vanutelli

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Previous research highlighted that during social interactions people shape each other’s emotional states by resonance mechanisms and synchronized autonomic patterns. Starting from the idea that joint actions create shared emotional experiences, in the present study a social bond was experimentally induced by making subjects cooperate with each other. Participants’ autonomic system activity (electrodermal: skin conductance level and response: SCL, SCR; cardiovascular indices: heart rate: HR was continuously monitored during an attentional couple game. The cooperative motivation was induced by presenting feedback which reinforced the positive outcomes of the intersubjective exchange. 24 participants coupled in 12 dyads were recruited. Intrasubject analyses revealed higher HR in the first part of the task, connoted by increased cognitive demand and arousing social dynamic, while intersubject analysis showed increased synchrony in electrodermal activity after the feedback. Such results encourage the use of hyperscanning techniques to assess emotional coupling in ecological and real-time paradigms.

  10. Higher Order Spike Synchrony in Prefrontal Cortex during visual memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gordon ePipa

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Precise temporal synchrony of spike firing has been postulated as an important neuronal mechanism for signal integration and the induction of plasticity in neocortex. As prefrontal cortex plays an important role in organizing memory and executive functions, the convergence of multiple visual pathways onto PFC predicts that neurons should preferentially synchronize their spiking when stimulus information is processed. Furthermore, synchronous spike firing should intensify if memory processes require the induction of neuronal plasticity, even if this is only for short-term. Here we show with multiple simultaneously recorded units in ventral prefrontal cortex that neurons participate in 3 ms precise synchronous discharges distributed across multiple sites separated by at least 500 µm. The frequency of synchronous firing is modulated by behavioral performance and is specific for the memorized visual stimuli. In particular, during the memory period in which activity is not stimulus driven, larger groups of up to 7 sites exhibit performance dependent modulation of their spike synchronization.

  11. Timing intervals using population synchrony and spike timing dependent plasticity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Xu

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available We present a computational model by which ensembles of regularly spiking neurons can encode different time intervals through synchronous firing. We show that a neuron responding to a large population of convergent inputs has the potential to learn to produce an appropriately-timed output via spike-time dependent plasticity. We explain why temporal variability of this population synchrony increases with increasing time intervals. We also show that the scalar property of timing and its violation at short intervals can be explained by the spike-wise accumulation of jitter in the inter-spike intervals of timing neurons. We explore how the challenge of encoding longer time intervals can be overcome and conclude that this may involve a switch to a different population of neurons with lower firing rate, with the added effect of producing an earlier bias in response. Experimental data on human timing performance show features in agreement with the model’s output.

  12. Interaction between Olfaction and Gustation by Using Synchrony Perception Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatsu Kobayakawa

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available It seems that interaction between olfaction (smell sensation and gustation (taste sensation will stronger than other interactions among five senses, although no one has ever confirmed psychophysically. In this study, we utilized synchrony perception task to confirm this specificity comparing control condition, interaction between vision and olfaction and one between vision and gustation. We used NaCl as taste stimuli and flavor from bubbling chicken stock as olfactory stimuli. We used taste stimulator which was able to present pure gustation without tactile stimuli, and smell stimulator with original developed real time stimulus monitoring. We used LED for vision stimuli. Timing of both stimuli was shifted from −1000 ms to +1000ms with each other, and participants were instructed to judge synchronicity. Control conditions revealed that olfaction and gustation has almost equivalent temporal resolution to other sensations. And probability distribution between olfaction and gustation was quite different from other interactions including vision. These results shows interaction between olfaction and gustation is more specific.

  13. Treatment with analgesics after mouse sciatic nerve injury does not alter expression of wound healing-associated genes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matt C Danzi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Animal models of sciatic nerve injury are commonly used to study neuropathic pain as well as axon regeneration. Administration of post-surgical analgesics is an important consideration for animal welfare, but the actions of the analgesic must not interfere with the scientific goals of the experiment. In this study, we show that treatment with either buprenorphine or acetaminophen following a bilateral sciatic nerve crush surgery does not alter the expression in dorsal root ganglion (DRG sensory neurons of a panel of genes associated with wound healing. These findings indicate that the post-operative use of buprenorphine or acetaminophen at doses commonly suggested by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees does not change the intrinsic gene expression response of DRG neurons to a sciatic nerve crush injury, for many wound healing-associated genes. Therefore, administration of post-operative analgesics may not confound the results of transcriptomic studies employing this injury model.

  14. Identification of altered pathways in breast cancer based on individualized pathway aberrance score.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Sheng-Hong; Zhang, Wei; Jiang, Jing; Sun, Long

    2017-08-01

    The objective of the present study was to identify altered pathways in breast cancer based on the individualized pathway aberrance score (iPAS) method combined with the normal reference (nRef). There were 4 steps to identify altered pathways using the iPAS method: Data preprocessing conducted by the robust multi-array average (RMA) algorithm; gene-level statistics based on average Z ; pathway-level statistics according to iPAS; and a significance test dependent on 1 sample Wilcoxon test. The altered pathways were validated by calculating the changed percentage of each pathway in tumor samples and comparing them with pathways from differentially expressed genes (DEGs). A total of 688 altered pathways with Ppathways were involved in the total 688 altered pathways, which may validate the present results. In addition, there were 324 DEGs and 155 common genes between DEGs and pathway genes. DEGs and common genes were enriched in the same 9 significant terms, which also were members of altered pathways. The iPAS method was suitable for identifying altered pathways in breast cancer. Altered pathways (such as KIF and PLK mediated events) were important for understanding breast cancer mechanisms and for the future application of customized therapeutic decisions.

  15. Altered patterns of gene expression underlying the enhanced immunogenicity of radiation-attenuated schistosomes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gary P Dillon

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Schistosome cercariae only elicit high levels of protective immunity against a challenge infection if they are optimally attenuated by exposure to ionising radiation that truncates their migration in the lungs. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for the altered phenotype of the irradiated parasite that primes for protection have yet to be identified.We have used a custom microarray comprising probes derived from lung-stage parasites to compare patterns of gene expression in schistosomula derived from normal and irradiated cercariae. These were transformed in vitro and cultured for four, seven, and ten days to correspond in development to the priming parasites, before RNA extraction. At these late times after the radiation insult, transcript suppression was the principal feature of the irradiated larvae. Individual gene analysis revealed that only seven were significantly down-regulated in the irradiated versus normal larvae at the three time-points; notably, four of the protein products are present in the tegument or associated with its membranes, perhaps indicating a perturbed function. Grouping of transcripts using Gene Ontology (GO and subsequent Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA proved more informative in teasing out subtle differences. Deficiencies in signalling pathways involving G-protein-coupled receptors suggest the parasite is less able to sense its environment. Reduction of cytoskeleton transcripts could indicate compromised structure which, coupled with a paucity of neuroreceptor transcripts, may mean the parasite is also unable to respond correctly to external stimuli.The transcriptional differences observed are concordant with the known extended transit of attenuated parasites through skin-draining lymph nodes and the lungs: prolonged priming of the immune system by the parasite, rather than over-expression of novel antigens, could thus explain the efficacy of the irradiated vaccine.

  16. Antenatal maternal long-term hypoxia: acclimatization responses with altered gene expression in ovine fetal carotid arteries.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ravi Goyal

    Full Text Available In humans and other species, long-term hypoxia (LTH during pregnancy can lead to intrauterine growth restriction with reduced body/brain weight, dysregulation of cerebral blood flow (CBF, and other problems. To identify the signal transduction pathways and critical molecules, which may be involved in acclimatization to high altitude LTH, we conducted microarray with advanced bioinformatic analysis on carotid arteries (CA from the normoxic near-term ovine fetus at sea-level and those acclimatized to high altitude for 110+ days during gestation. In response to LTH acclimatization, in fetal CA we identified mRNA from 38 genes upregulated >2 fold (P2-fold (P<0.05. The major genes with upregulated mRNA were SLC1A3, Insulin-like growth factor (IGF binding protein 3, IGF type 2 receptor, transforming growth factor (TGF Beta-3, and genes involved in the AKT and BCL2 signal transduction networks. Most genes with upregulated mRNA have a common motif for Pbx/Knotted homeobox in the promoter region, and Sox family binding sites in the 3' un translated region (UTR. Genes with downregulated mRNA included those involved in the P53 pathway and 5-lipoxygenase activating proteins. The promoter region of all genes with downregulated mRNA, had a common 49 bp region with a binding site for DOT6 and TOD6, components of the RPD3 histone deacetylase complex RPD3C(L. We also identified miRNA complementary to a number of the altered genes. Thus, the present study identified molecules in the ovine fetus, which may play a role in the acclimatization response to high-altitude associated LTH.

  17. Mitochondrial gene polymorphisms alter hepatic cellular energy metabolism and aggravate diet-induced non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Torsten Schröder

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD is the most common chronic liver disease and is associated with an enhanced risk for liver and cardiovascular diseases and mortality. NAFLD can progress from simple hepatic steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH. However, the mechanisms predisposing to this progression remain undefined. Notably, hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction is a common finding in patients with NASH. Due to a lack of appropriate experimental animal models, it has not been evaluated whether this mitochondrial dysfunction plays a causative role for the development of NASH. Methods: To determine the effect of a well-defined mitochondrial dysfunction on liver physiology at baseline and during dietary challenge, C57BL/6J-mtFVB/N mice were employed. This conplastic inbred strain has been previously reported to exhibit decreased mitochondrial respiration likely linked to a non-synonymous gene variation (nt7778 G/T of the mitochondrial ATP synthase protein 8 (mt-ATP8. Results: At baseline conditions, C57BL/6J-mtFVB/N mice displayed hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction characterized by decreased ATP production and increased formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS. Moreover, genes affecting lipid metabolism were differentially expressed, hepatic triglyceride and cholesterol levels were changed in these animals, and various acyl-carnitines were altered, pointing towards an impaired mitochondrial carnitine shuttle. However, over a period of twelve months, no spontaneous hepatic steatosis or inflammation was observed. On the other hand, upon dietary challenge with either a methionine and choline deficient diet or a western-style diet, C57BL/6J-mtFVB/N mice developed aggravated steatohepatitis as characterized by lipid accumulation, ballooning of hepatocytes and infiltration of immune cells. Conclusions: We observed distinct metabolic alterations in mice with a mitochondrial polymorphism associated hepatic mitochondrial

  18. Polyploidization altered gene functions in cotton (Gossypium spp.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Zhanyou; Yu, John Z; Cho, Jaemin; Yu, Jing; Kohel, Russell J; Percy, Richard G

    2010-12-16

    Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is an important crop plant that is widely grown to produce both natural textile fibers and cottonseed oil. Cotton fibers, the economically more important product of the cotton plant, are seed trichomes derived from individual cells of the epidermal layer of the seed coat. It has been known for a long time that large numbers of genes determine the development of cotton fiber, and more recently it has been determined that these genes are distributed across At and Dt subgenomes of tetraploid AD cottons. In the present study, the organization and evolution of the fiber development genes were investigated through the construction of an integrated genetic and physical map of fiber development genes whose functions have been verified and confirmed. A total of 535 cotton fiber development genes, including 103 fiber transcription factors, 259 fiber development genes, and 173 SSR-contained fiber ESTs, were analyzed at the subgenome level. A total of 499 fiber related contigs were selected and assembled. Together these contigs covered about 151 Mb in physical length, or about 6.7% of the tetraploid cotton genome. Among the 499 contigs, 397 were anchored onto individual chromosomes. Results from our studies on the distribution patterns of the fiber development genes and transcription factors between the At and Dt subgenomes showed that more transcription factors were from Dt subgenome than At, whereas more fiber development genes were from At subgenome than Dt. Combining our mapping results with previous reports that more fiber QTLs were mapped in Dt subgenome than At subgenome, the results suggested a new functional hypothesis for tetraploid cotton. After the merging of the two diploid Gossypium genomes, the At subgenome has provided most of the genes for fiber development, because it continues to function similar to its fiber producing diploid A genome ancestor. On the other hand, the Dt subgenome, with its non-fiber producing D genome ancestor

  19. Evaluation of Real-time Measurement Liver Tumor's Movement and SynchronyTM System's Accuracy of Radiosurgery using a Robot CyberKnife

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Gha Jung; Shim, Su Jung; Kim, Jeong Ho; Min, Chul Kee; Chung, Weon Kuu

    2008-01-01

    This study aimed to quantitatively measure the movement of tumors in real-time and evaluate the treatment accuracy, during the treatment of a liver tumor patient, who underwent radiosurgery with a Synchrony Respiratory motion tracking system of a robot CyberKnife. Materials and Methods: The study subjects included 24 liver tumor patients who underwent CyberKnife treatment, which included 64 times of treatment with the Synchrony Respiratory motion tracking system (SynchronyTM). The treatment involved inserting 4 to 6 acupuncture needles into the vicinity of the liver tumor in all the patients using ultrasonography as a guide. A treatment plan was set up using the CT images for treatment planning uses. The position of the acupuncture needle was identified for every treatment time by Digitally Reconstructed Radiography (DRR) prepared at the time of treatment planning and X-ray images photographed in real-time. Subsequent results were stored through a Motion Tracking System (MTS) using the Mtsmain.log treatment file. In this way, movement of the tumor was measured. Besides, the accuracy of radiosurgery using CyberKnife was evaluated by the correlation errors between the real-time positions of the acupuncture needles and the predicted coordinates. Results: The maximum and the average translational movement of the liver tumor were measured 23.5 mm and 13.9±5.5 mm, respectively from the superior to the inferior direction, 3.9 mm and 1.9±0.9 mm, respectively from left to right, and 8.3 mm and 4.9±1.9 mm, respectively from the anterior to the posterior direction. The maximum and the average rotational movement of the liver tumor were measured to be 3.3o and 2.6±1.3o, respectively for X (Left-Right) axis rotation, 4.8o and 2.3±1.0o, respectively for Y (Cranio-Caudal) axis rotation, 3.9o and 2.8±1.1o, respectively for Z (Anterior-Posterior) axis rotation. In addition, the average correlation error, which represents the treatment's accuracy was 1.1±0.7 mm. Conclusion

  20. Specific genes involved in synthesis and editing of heparan sulfate proteoglycans show altered expression patterns in breast cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernández-Vega, Iván; García, Olivia; Crespo, Ainara; Castañón, Sonia; Menéndez, Primitiva; Astudillo, Aurora; Quirós, Luis M

    2013-01-01

    The expression of a specific set of genes controls the different structures of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), which are involved in the growth, invasion and metastatic properties of cancerous cells. The purpose of this study is to increase knowledge of HSPG alterations in breast cancer. Twenty-three infiltrating ductal adenocarcinomas (IDCs), both metastatic and non-metastatic were studied. A transcriptomic approach to the structure of heparan sulfate (HS) chains was used, employing qPCR to analyze both the expression of the enzymes involved in their biosynthesis and editing, as well as the proteoglycan core proteins. Since some of these proteoglycans can also carry chondroitin sulfate chains, we extended the study to include the genes involved in the biosynthesis of these glycosaminoglycans. Histochemical techniques were also used to analyze tissular expression of particular genes showing significant expression differences, of potential interest. No significant change in transcription was detected in approximately 70% of analyzed genes. However, 13 demonstrated changes in both tumor types (40% showing more intense deregulation in the metastatic), while 5 genes showed changes only in non-metastatic tumors. Changes were related to 3 core proteins: overexpression of syndecan-1 and underexpression of glypican-3 and perlecan. HS synthesis was affected by lower levels of some 3-O-sulfotransferase transcripts, the expression of NDST4 and, only in non metastatic tumors, higher levels of extracellular sulfatases. Furthermore, the expression of chondroitin sulfate also was considerably affected, involving both the synthesis of the saccharidic chains and sulfations at all locations. However, the pro-metastatic enzyme heparanase did not exhibit significant changes in mRNA expression, although in metastatic tumors it appeared related to increased levels of the most stable form of mRNA. Finally, the expression of heparanase 2, which displays anti-metastatic features

  1. miR-24-2 controls H2AFX expression regardless of gene copy number alteration and induces apoptosis by targeting antiapoptotic gene BCL-2: a potential for therapeutic intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Niloo; Manvati, Siddharth; Srivastava, Archita; Pal, Ranjana; Kalaiarasan, Ponnusamy; Chattopadhyay, Shilpi; Gochhait, Sailesh; Dua, Raina; Bamezai, Rameshwar N K

    2011-04-04

    New levels of gene regulation with microRNA (miR) and gene copy number alterations (CNAs) have been identified as playing a role in various cancers. We have previously reported that sporadic breast cancer tissues exhibit significant alteration in H2AX gene copy number. However, how CNA affects gene expression and what is the role of miR, miR-24-2, known to regulate H2AX expression, in the background of the change in copy number, are not known. Further, many miRs, including miR-24-2, are implicated as playing a role in cell proliferation and apoptosis, but their specific target genes and the pathways contributing to them remain unexplored. Changes in gene copy number and mRNA/miR expression were estimated using real-time polymerase chain reaction assays in two mammalian cell lines, MCF-7 and HeLa, and in a set of sporadic breast cancer tissues. In silico analysis was performed to find the putative target for miR-24-2. MCF-7 cells were transfected with precursor miR-24-2 oligonucleotides, and the gene expression levels of BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM, MDM2, TP53, CHEK2, CYT-C, BCL-2, H2AFX and P21 were examined using TaqMan gene expression assays. Apoptosis was measured by flow cytometric detection using annexin V dye. A luciferase assay was performed to confirm BCL-2 as a valid cellular target of miR-24-2. It was observed that H2AX gene expression was negatively correlated with miR-24-2 expression and not in accordance with the gene copy number status, both in cell lines and in sporadic breast tumor tissues. Further, the cells overexpressing miR-24-2 were observed to be hypersensitive to DNA damaging drugs, undergoing apoptotic cell death, suggesting the potentiating effect of mir-24-2-mediated apoptotic induction in human cancer cell lines treated with anticancer drugs. BCL-2 was identified as a novel cellular target of miR-24-2. mir-24-2 is capable of inducing apoptosis by modulating different apoptotic pathways and targeting BCL-2, an antiapoptotic gene. The study suggests

  2. Rhythm and interpersonal synchrony in early social development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trainor, Laurel J; Cirelli, Laura

    2015-03-01

    Adults who engage in synchronous movement to music later report liking each other better, remembering more about each other, trusting each other more, and are more likely to cooperate with each other compared to adults who engage in asynchronous movements. Although poor motor coordination limits infants' ability to entrain to a musical beat, they perceive metrical structure in auditory rhythm patterns, their movements are affected by the tempo of music they hear, and if they are bounced by an adult to a rhythm pattern, the manner of this bouncing can affect their auditory interpretation of the meter of that pattern. In this paper, we review studies showing that by 14 months of age, infants who are bounced in synchrony with an adult subsequently show more altruistic behavior toward that adult in the form of handing back objects "accidentally" dropped by the adult compared to infants who are bounced asynchronously with the adult. Furthermore, increased helpfulness is directed at the synchronized bounce partner, but not at a neutral stranger. Interestingly, however, helpfulness does generalize to a "friend" of the synchronized bounce partner. In sum, synchronous movement between infants and adults has a powerful effect on infants' expression of directed prosocial behavior. © 2014 New York Academy of Sciences.

  3. Alterations in LMTK2, MSMB and HNF1B gene expression are associated with the development of prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harries, Lorna W; Perry, John RB; McCullagh, Paul; Crundwell, Malcolm

    2010-01-01

    Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several genetic variants that are associated with prostate cancer. Most of these variants, like other GWAS association signals, are located in non-coding regions of potential candidate genes, and thus could act at the level of the mRNA transcript. We measured the expression and isoform usage of seven prostate cancer candidate genes in benign and malignant prostate by real-time PCR, and correlated these factors with cancer status and genotype at the GWAS risk variants. We determined that levels of LMTK2 transcripts in prostate adenocarcinomas were only 32% of those in benign tissues (p = 3.2 × 10 -7 ), and that an independent effect of genotype at variant rs6465657 on LMTK2 expression in benign (n = 39) and malignant tissues (n = 21) was also evident (P = 0.002). We also identified that whilst HNF1B(C) and MSMB2 comprised the predominant isoforms in benign tissues (90% and 98% of total HNF1B or MSMB expression), HNF1B(B) and MSMB1 were predominant in malignant tissue (95% and 96% of total HNF1B or MSMB expression; P = 1.7 × 10 -7 and 4 × 10 -4 respectively), indicating major shifts in isoform usage. Our results indicate that the amount or nature of mRNA transcripts expressed from the LMTK2, HNF1B and MSMB candidate genes is altered in prostate cancer, and provides further evidence for a role for these genes in this disorder. The alterations in isoform usage we detect highlights the potential importance of alternative mRNA processing and moderation of mRNA stability as potentially important disease mechanisms

  4. MGMT DNA repair gene promoter/enhancer haplotypes alter transcription factor binding and gene expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Meixiang; Cross, Courtney E; Speidel, Jordan T; Abdel-Rahman, Sherif Z

    2016-10-01

    The O 6 -methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) protein removes O 6 -alkyl-guanine adducts from DNA. MGMT expression can thus alter the sensitivity of cells and tissues to environmental and chemotherapeutic alkylating agents. Previously, we defined the haplotype structure encompassing single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the MGMT promoter/enhancer (P/E) region and found that haplotypes, rather than individual SNPs, alter MGMT promoter activity. The exact mechanism(s) by which these haplotypes exert their effect on MGMT promoter activity is currently unknown, but we noted that many of the SNPs comprising the MGMT P/E haplotypes are located within or in close proximity to putative transcription factor binding sites. Thus, these haplotypes could potentially affect transcription factor binding and, subsequently, alter MGMT promoter activity. In this study, we test the hypothesis that MGMT P/E haplotypes affect MGMT promoter activity by altering transcription factor (TF) binding to the P/E region. We used a promoter binding TF profiling array and a reporter assay to evaluate the effect of different P/E haplotypes on TF binding and MGMT expression, respectively. Our data revealed a significant difference in TF binding profiles between the different haplotypes evaluated. We identified TFs that consistently showed significant haplotype-dependent binding alterations (p ≤ 0.01) and revealed their role in regulating MGMT expression using siRNAs and a dual-luciferase reporter assay system. The data generated support our hypothesis that promoter haplotypes alter the binding of TFs to the MGMT P/E and, subsequently, affect their regulatory function on MGMT promoter activity and expression level.

  5. Heterologous expression of oxytetracycline biosynthetic gene cluster in Streptomyces venezuelae WVR2006 to improve production level and to alter fermentation process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Shouliang; Li, Zilong; Wang, Xuefeng; Wang, Huizhuan; Jia, Xiaole; Ai, Guomin; Bai, Zishang; Shi, Mingxin; Yuan, Fang; Liu, Tiejun; Wang, Weishan; Yang, Keqian

    2016-12-01

    Heterologous expression is an important strategy to activate biosynthetic gene clusters of secondary metabolites. Here, it is employed to activate and manipulate the oxytetracycline (OTC) gene cluster and to alter OTC fermentation process. To achieve these goals, a fast-growing heterologous host Streptomyces venezuelae WVR2006 was rationally selected among several potential hosts. It shows rapid and dispersed growth and intrinsic high resistance to OTC. By manipulating the expression of two cluster-situated regulators (CSR) OtcR and OtrR and precursor supply, the OTC production level was significantly increased in this heterologous host from 75 to 431 mg/l only in 48 h, a level comparable to the native producer Streptomyces rimosus M4018 in 8 days. This work shows that S. venezuelae WVR2006 is a promising chassis for the production of secondary metabolites, and the engineered heterologous OTC producer has the potential to completely alter the fermentation process of OTC production.

  6. Rare MDM4 gene amplification in colorectal cancer: The principle of a mutually exclusive relationship between MDM alteration and TP53 inactivation is not applicable.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suda, Tetsuji; Yoshihara, Mitsuyo; Nakamura, Yoshiyasu; Sekiguchi, Hironobu; Godai, Ten-I; Sugano, Nobuhiro; Tsuchida, Kazuhito; Shiozawa, Manabu; Sakuma, Yuji; Tsuchiya, Eiju; Kameda, Yoichi; Akaike, Makoto; Matsukuma, Shoichi; Miyagi, Yohei

    2011-07-01

    MDM4, a homolog of MDM2, is considered a key negative regulator of p53. Gene amplification of MDM4 has been identified in a variety of tumors. MDM2 or MDM4 gene amplification is only associated with the wild-type TP53 gene in retinoblastomas, thus the amplification of the two genes is mutually exclusive. Previously, we demonstrated that MDM2 amplification and TP53 alteration were not mutually exclusive in colorectal cancer, and we identified a subset of colorectal cancer patients without alterations in either the TP53 or the MDM2 gene. In this study, we investigated the gene amplification status of MDM4 in the same set of colorectal cancer cases. Unexpectedly, MDM4 amplification was rare, detected in only 1.4% (3 out of 211) of colorectal cancer cases. All the three gene-amplified tumors also harbored TP53-inactivating mutations. This contradicts the simple mutually exclusive relationship observed in retinoblastomas. Surprisingly, two of the three MDM4-amplified tumors also demonstrated MDM2 amplification. Paradoxically, the MDM4 protein levels were decreased in the tumor tissue of the gene-amplified cases compared with levels in the matched normal mucosa. We speculate that MDM4 might play a role in colorectal carcinogenesis that is not limited to negative regulation of p53 in combination with MDM2. The functional significance of MDM4 is still unclear and further studies are needed.

  7. Altered Gene Expressions and Cytogenetic Repair Efficiency in Cells with Suppressed Expression of XPA after Proton Exposure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ye; Rohde, Larry H.; Gridley, Daila S.; Mehta, Satish K.; Pierson, Duane L.; Wu, Honglu

    2009-01-01

    Cellular responses to damages from ionizing radiation (IR) exposure are influenced not only by the genes involved in DNA double strand break (DSB) repair, but also by non- DSB repair genes. We demonstrated previously that suppressed expression of several non-DSB repair genes, such as XPA, elevated IR-induced cytogenetic damages. In the present study, we exposed human fibroblasts that were treated with control or XPA targeting siRNA to 250 MeV protons (0 to 4 Gy), and analyzed chromosome aberrations and expressions of genes involved in DNA repair. As expected, after proton irradiation, cells with suppressed expression of XPA showed a significantly elevated frequency of chromosome aberrations compared with control siRNA treated (CS) cells. Protons caused more severe DNA damages in XPA knock-down cells, as 36% cells contained multiple aberrations compared to 25% in CS cells after 4Gy proton irradiation. Comparison of gene expressions using the real-time PCR array technique revealed that expressions of p53 and its regulated genes in irradiated XPA suppressed cells were altered similarly as in CS cells, suggesting that the impairment of IR induced DNA repair in XPA suppressed cells is p53-independent. Except for XPA, which was more than 2 fold down regulated in XPA suppressed cells, several other DNA damage sensing and repair genes (GTSE1, RBBP8, RAD51, UNG and XRCC2) were shown a more than 1.5 fold difference between XPA knock-down cells and CS cells after proton exposure. The possible involvement of these genes in the impairment of DNA repair in XPA suppressed cells will be further investigated.

  8. Establishment of a new human pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line (KMO-90) with 1;19 translocation carrying p53 gene alterations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sotomatsu, M; Hayashi, Y; Kawamura, M; Yugami, S; Shitara, T

    1993-10-01

    A new human pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line (KMO-90) was established from the bone marrow sample of a 12-year-old girl with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) carrying 1;19 chromosome translocation. KMO-90 cells expressed HLA-DR, CD10, CD19, and CD22 antigens. These cells had also cytoplasmic immunoglobulin lacking surface immunoglobulin, indicating that these had a pre-B phenotype. Chromosome analysis of this cell line showed 48, XX, +8, +19, t(1;19)(q23;p13). Southern blot analysis showed the same sized rearrangements of the E2A gene in KMO-90 cells as those in the original leukemic cells. By means of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis, we detected E2A/PBX1 fusion transcripts in KMO-90 cells. KMO-90 is useful when studying the role of the 1;19 translocation in the etiology of pre-B ALL. Furthermore, we studied alterations of the p53 gene in this cell line by polymerase chain reaction, single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis. KMO-90 cells were identified to have a point mutation at codon 177 (CCC-->TCC) of the p53 gene, suggesting that alterations of the p53 gene may have an important role in the establishment of this cell line.

  9. Epidermal growth factor receptor structural alterations in gastric cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moutinho, Cátia; Mateus, Ana R; Milanezi, Fernanda; Carneiro, Fátima; Seruca, Raquel; Suriano, Gianpaolo

    2008-01-01

    EGFR overexpression has been described in many human tumours including gastric cancer. In NSCLC patients somatic EGFR mutations, within the kinase domain of the protein, as well as gene amplification were associated with a good clinical response to EGFR inhibitors. In gastric tumours data concerning structural alterations of EGFR remains controversial. Given its possible therapeutic relevance, we aimed to determine the frequency and type of structural alterations of the EGFR gene in a series of primary gastric carcinomas. Direct sequencing of the kinase domain of the EGFR gene was performed in a series of 77 primary gastric carcinomas. FISH analysis was performed in 30 cases. Association studies between EGFR alterations and the clinical pathological features of the tumours were performed. Within the 77 primary gastric carcinomas we found two EGFR somatic mutations and several EGFR polymorphisms in exon 20. Six different intronic sequence variants of EGFR were also found. Four gastric carcinomas showed balanced polysomy or EGFR gene amplification. We verified that gastric carcinoma with alterations of EGFR (somatic mutations or copy number variation) showed a significant increase of tumour size (p = 0.0094) in comparison to wild-type EGFR carcinomas. We demonstrate that EGFR structural alterations are rare in gastric carcinoma, but whenever present, it leads to tumour growth. We considered that searching for EGFR alterations in gastric cancer is likely to be clinically important in order to identify patients susceptible to respond to tyrosine kinase inhibitors

  10. Genomic and Epigenomic Alterations in Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakravarthi, Balabhadrapatruni V S K; Nepal, Saroj; Varambally, Sooryanarayana

    2016-07-01

    Multiple genetic and epigenetic events characterize tumor progression and define the identity of the tumors. Advances in high-throughput technologies, like gene expression profiling, next-generation sequencing, proteomics, and metabolomics, have enabled detailed molecular characterization of various tumors. The integration and analyses of these high-throughput data have unraveled many novel molecular aberrations and network alterations in tumors. These molecular alterations include multiple cancer-driving mutations, gene fusions, amplification, deletion, and post-translational modifications, among others. Many of these genomic events are being used in cancer diagnosis, whereas others are therapeutically targeted with small-molecule inhibitors. Multiple genes/enzymes that play a role in DNA and histone modifications are also altered in various cancers, changing the epigenomic landscape during cancer initiation and progression. Apart from protein-coding genes, studies are uncovering the critical regulatory roles played by noncoding RNAs and noncoding regions of the genome during cancer progression. Many of these genomic and epigenetic events function in tandem to drive tumor development and metastasis. Concurrent advances in genome-modulating technologies, like gene silencing and genome editing, are providing ability to understand in detail the process of cancer initiation, progression, and signaling as well as opening up avenues for therapeutic targeting. In this review, we discuss some of the recent advances in cancer genomic and epigenomic research. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. High glucose alters the expression of genes involved in proliferation and cell-fate specification of embryonic neural stem cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, J; Tay, S S W; Ling, E A; Dheen, S T

    2006-05-01

    Maternal diabetes induces neural tube defects during embryogenesis. Since the neural tube is derived from neural stem cells (NSCs), it is hypothesised that in diabetic pregnancy neural tube defects result from altered expression of developmental control genes, leading to abnormal proliferation and cell-fate choice of NSCs. Cell viability, proliferation index and apoptosis of NSCs and differentiated cells from mice exposed to physiological or high glucose concentration medium were examined by a tetrazolium salt assay, 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling and immunocytochemistry. Expression of developmental genes, including sonic hedgehog (Shh), bone morphogenetic protein 4 (Bmp4), neurogenin 1/2 (Neurog1/2), achaete-scute complex-like 1 (Ascl1), oligodendrocyte transcription factor 1 (Olig1), oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 (Olig2), hairy and enhancer of split 1/5 (Hes1/5) and delta-like 1 (Dll1), was analysed by real-time RT-PCR. Proliferation index and neuronal specification in the forebrain of embryos at embryonic day 11.5 were examined histologically. High glucose decreased the proliferation of NSCs and differentiated cells. The incidence of apoptosis was increased in NSCs treated with high glucose, but not in the differentiated cells. High glucose also accelerated neuronal and glial differentiation from NSCs. The decreased proliferation index and early differentiation of neurons were evident in the telencephalon of embryos derived from diabetic mice. Exposure to high glucose altered the mRNA expression levels of Shh, Bmp4, Neurog1/2, Ascl1, Hes1, Dll1 and Olig1 in NSCs and Shh, Dll1, Neurog1/2 and Hes5 in differentiated cells. The changes in proliferation and differentiation of NSCs exposed to high glucose are associated with altered expression of genes that are involved in cell-cycle progression and cell-fate specification during neurulation. These changes may form the

  12. Resting-state synchrony between anterior cingulate cortex and precuneus relates to body shape concern in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Seojung; Ran Kim, Kyung; Ku, Jeonghun; Lee, Jung-Hyun; Namkoong, Kee; Jung, Young-Chul

    2014-01-30

    Cortical areas supporting cognitive control and salience demonstrate different neural responses to visual food cues in patients with eating disorders. This top-down cognitive control, which interacts with bottom-up appetitive responses, is tightly integrated not only in task conditions but also in the resting-state. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) is a key node of a large-scale network that is involved in self-referential processing and cognitive control. We investigated resting-state functional connectivity of the dACC and hypothesized that altered connectivity would be demonstrated in cortical midline structures involved in self-referential processing and cognitive control. Seed-based resting-state functional connectivity was analyzed in women with anorexia nervosa (N=18), women with bulimia nervosa (N=20) and age matched healthy controls (N=20). Between group comparisons revealed that the anorexia nervosa group exhibited stronger synchronous activity between the dACC and retrosplenial cortex, whereas the bulimia nervosa group showed stronger synchronous activity between the dACC and medial orbitofrontal cortex. Both groups demonstrated stronger synchronous activity between the dACC and precuneus, which correlated with higher scores of the Body Shape Questionnaire. The dACC-precuneus resting-state synchrony might be associated with the disorder-specific rumination on eating, weight and body shape in patients with eating disorders. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  13. Low-dose dioxins alter gene expression related to cholesterol biosynthesis, lipogenesis, and glucose metabolism through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated pathway in mouse liver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Shoko; Shirakawa, Hitoshi; Tomita, Shuhei; Ohsaki, Yusuke; Haketa, Keiichi; Tooi, Osamu; Santo, Noriaki; Tohkin, Masahiro; Furukawa, Yuji; Gonzalez, Frank J.; Komai, Michio

    2008-01-01

    2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a common environmental contaminant. TCDD binds and activates the transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), leading to adverse biological responses via the alteration of the expression of various AHR target genes. Although small amounts of TCDD are consumed via contaminated daily foodstuffs and environmental exposures, the effects of low-dose TCDD on gene expression in animal tissues have not been clarified, while a number of genes affected by high-dose TCDD were reported. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed gene expression profiles in livers of C57BL/6N mice that were orally administered relatively low doses of TCDD (5, 50, or 500 ng/kg body weight (bw) day -1 ) for 18 days. The hepatic TCDD concentrations, measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, were 1.2, 17, and 1063 pg toxicity equivalent quantity (TEQ)/g, respectively. The mRNA level of the cytochrome P450 CYP1A1 was significantly increased by treatment with only TCDD 500 ng/kg bw day -1 . DNA microarray and quantitative RT-PCR analyses revealed changes in the expression of genes involved in the circadian rhythm, cholesterol biosynthesis, fatty acid synthesis, and glucose metabolism in the liver with at all doses of TCDD employed. However, repression of expression of genes involved in energy metabolism was not observed in the livers of Ahr-null mice that were administered the same dose of TCDD. These results indicate that changes in gene expression by TCDD are mediated by AHR and that exposure to low-dose TCDD could affect energy metabolism via alterations of gene expression

  14. Alterations in LMTK2, MSMB and HNF1B gene expression are associated with the development of prostate cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McCullagh Paul

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Genome wide association studies (GWAS have identified several genetic variants that are associated with prostate cancer. Most of these variants, like other GWAS association signals, are located in non-coding regions of potential candidate genes, and thus could act at the level of the mRNA transcript. Methods We measured the expression and isoform usage of seven prostate cancer candidate genes in benign and malignant prostate by real-time PCR, and correlated these factors with cancer status and genotype at the GWAS risk variants. Results We determined that levels of LMTK2 transcripts in prostate adenocarcinomas were only 32% of those in benign tissues (p = 3.2 × 10-7, and that an independent effect of genotype at variant rs6465657 on LMTK2 expression in benign (n = 39 and malignant tissues (n = 21 was also evident (P = 0.002. We also identified that whilst HNF1B(C and MSMB2 comprised the predominant isoforms in benign tissues (90% and 98% of total HNF1B or MSMB expression, HNF1B(B and MSMB1 were predominant in malignant tissue (95% and 96% of total HNF1B or MSMB expression; P = 1.7 × 10-7 and 4 × 10-4 respectively, indicating major shifts in isoform usage. Conclusions Our results indicate that the amount or nature of mRNA transcripts expressed from the LMTK2, HNF1B and MSMB candidate genes is altered in prostate cancer, and provides further evidence for a role for these genes in this disorder. The alterations in isoform usage we detect highlights the potential importance of alternative mRNA processing and moderation of mRNA stability as potentially important disease mechanisms.

  15. The Missense Alteration A5T of the Thyroid Peroxidase Gene is Pathogenic and Associated with Mild Congenital Hypothyroidism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cangül, Hakan; Demir, Korcan; Babayiğit, H Ömür; Abacı, Ayhan; Böber, Ece

    2015-09-01

    Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) occurs with a prevalence of approximately 1:4000 live births. Defects of thyroid hormone synthesis account for 15-20% of these cases. Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) gene is the most common cause for dyshormonogenesis. So far, more than 60 mutations in the TPO gene have been described, resulting in a variable decrease in TPO bioactivity. We present an 8-day-old male with mild CH who was identified to have a G to A transition in the fifth codon of the TPO gene (c.13G>A; p.Ala5Thr). The unaffected family members were heterozygous carriers of the mutation, whereas 400 healthy individuals of the same ethnic background did not have the mutation. Mutation analysis of 11 known causative CH genes and 4 of our own strong candidate genes with next-generation sequencing revealed no mutations in the patient nor in any other family members. The results of in silico functional analyses indicated partial loss-of-function (LOF) in the resulting enzyme molecule due to mutation. The patient's clinical finding s were consistent with the effect of this partial LOF of the mutation. In conclusion, we strongly believe that A5T alteration in the TPO gene is actually pathogenic and suggest that it should be classified as a mutation.

  16. Reproductive performance of cows after fixed-time artificial insemination with ovulation synchronisation and re-synchrony in southern Australian dairy herds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izzo, M M; Humphris, M; Pryor, L; Perry, A; Morton, J M

    2018-04-01

    To describe reproductive performance of lactating dairy cows after fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) with ovulation synchronisation and re-synchrony in Australian dairy herds, and to compare reproductive outcomes with those of conventional mating programs. The study was conducted in two seasonally calving dairy herds in which lactating dairy cows (n = 675) were enrolled into three treatment groups: group 1, oestrus detection and AI for 34 days followed by a natural service period; group 2, FTAI on day 1 followed by re-synchrony of all cows prior to ultrasound pregnancy diagnosis at day 31 and FTAI of cows diagnosed not pregnant at day 34, then a natural service period; group 3, FTAI on day 1 followed by oestrus detection and AI for 34 days, then a natural service period. First-service conception rate (FSCR), 6-week in-calf (6WIC) rate and proportions pregnant at the end of mating were compared using logistic regression with farm fitted as a fixed effect. Times from mating start date to conception were described using survival analysis with Kaplan-Meier failure functions. FSCRs (45.3%, 49.1% and 45.6% for groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively) and proportions pregnant at the end of mating (77.6%, 76.0% and 76.8% for groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively) were similar for all groups. The 6WIC rate in group 2 was similar to that in group 3 (70.4% vs. 67.2%; P = 0.486), but tended to be higher than in group 1 (70.4% vs. 62.0%, P = 0.066). The median days to pregnancy for cows that conceived was 1 day in groups 2 and 3 and 10 days in group 1. Mating plans that use FTAI with ovulation synchronisation and re-synchrony during the AI period can achieve comparable reproductive performance to conventional mating programs in seasonally calving dairy herds. © 2018 Australian Veterinary Association.

  17. Identification of a novel gene in ROD9 island of Salmonella Enteritidis involved in the alteration of virulence-associated genes expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Susmita; Ray, Shilpa; Ryan, Daniel; Sahu, Bikash; Suar, Mrutyunjay

    2018-01-01

    Salmonella enterica subsp. I serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis), one of the causative agents for non-typhoidal gastrointestinal diseases in humans is an intracellular bacterium and mechanism for its invasion into host cells is critical to cause infection. The virulence of the pathogen is explained by the expression of genes located on its pathogenicity islands, mostly encoded under SPI-1 and SPI-2. However, S. Typhimurium SL1344, despite sharing ∼98% of its genome with S. Enteritidis P125109, lacks few regions of differences (ROD) that are hypothesized to impart virulence potential to S. Enteritidis. In this study, we created different mutants in the ROD9 island of S. Enteritidis, also referred as SPI-19 and identified a novel locus, SEN1005, encoding a hypothetical protein that is involved in its pathogenesis. ΔSEN1005 displayed significantly reduced entry into cultured epithelial cells as well as uptake by macrophages and failed to cause acute colitis in C57BL/6 mice at day 3 post-infection (p.i.). Additionally, the global transcriptome analysis revealed a highly repressed SPI-1 and other down-regulated genes responsible for flagellar assembly, chemotaxis and motility in the mutant which correlated with decreased invasion and abated inflammation as compared to the wild-type. Therefore, our findings revealed that ΔSEN1005 was attenuated in vitro as well as in vivo and we propose this hypothetical protein to play a role in altering the expression of genes involved in Salmonella virulence.

  18. Genetic alteration with variable intron/exon organization amongst five PI-homoeologous genes in Platanus acerifolia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jiaqi; Guo, Cong; Liu, Guofeng; Li, Zhineng; Li, Xiaomei; Bao, Manzhu

    2011-03-01

    Flower development has been extensively characterized in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana and Antirrhinum majus. However, there have been few studies in woody species. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of five PISTILLATA (PI) homoeologous genes (PaPI1-to-5) from the London Plane tree (Platanus acerifolia Willd). PaPI1 and PaPI2 show a similar genomic structure to other known PI homoeologs, but PaPI3/4/5 lack intron sequences. In addition, PaPI5 lacks the third, fourth and fifth exons which encode the K-domain. These altered gene copies may have originated as 'processed' retrogenes. PaPI2 appears micro-regulated by alternative splicing, displaying three splice forms (PaPI2a, PaPI2b and PaPI2c). RT-PCR analysis showed different expression profiles and transcript abundance for the five PaPI genes. PaPI transcripts encoding full-length polypeptides were expressed predominantly in male/female inflorescences and PaPI2a was the most abundant transcript (59%) indicating that PaPI2 may be the major functional PI-homoeolog in London Plane. Phenotypic characterization in a heterologous expression system demonstrated that the full-length PaPI product functions as a B class gene. By contrast the PaPI5 form, which lacks the K-domain, had no apparent effect on flower development. In vitro studies also demonstrated that the K-domain is required to form PaPI/PaAP3 heterodimers. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Gamma-interferon alters globin gene expression in neonatal and adult erythroid cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, B.A.; Perrine, S.P.; Antognetti, G.; Perlmutter, D.H.; Emerson, S.G.; Sieff, C.; Faller, D.V.

    1987-01-01

    The effect of gamma-interferon on fetal hemoglobin synthesis by purified cord blood, fetal liver, and adult bone marrow erythroid progenitors was studied with a radioligand assay to measure hemoglobin production by BFU-E-derived erythroblasts. Coculture with recombinant gamma-interferon resulted in a significant and dose-dependent decrease in fetal hemoglobin production by neonatal and adult, but not fetal, BFU-E-derived erythroblasts. Accumulation of fetal hemoglobin by cord blood BFU-E-derived erythroblasts decreased up to 38.1% of control cultures (erythropoietin only). Synthesis of both G gamma/A gamma globin was decreased, since the G gamma/A gamma ratio was unchanged. Picograms fetal hemoglobin per cell was decreased by gamma-interferon addition, but picograms total hemoglobin was unchanged, demonstrating that a reciprocal increase in beta-globin production occurred in cultures treated with gamma-interferon. No toxic effect of gamma-interferon on colony growth was noted. The addition of gamma-interferon to cultures resulted in a decrease in the percentage of HbF produced by adult BFU-E-derived cells to 45.6% of control. Fetal hemoglobin production by cord blood, fetal liver, and adult bone marrow erythroid progenitors, was not significantly affected by the addition of recombinant GM-CSF, recombinant interleukin 1 (IL-1), recombinant IL-2, or recombinant alpha-interferon. Although fetal progenitor cells appear unable to alter their fetal hemoglobin program in response to any of the growth factors added here, the interaction of neonatal and adult erythroid progenitors with gamma-interferon results in an altered expression of globin genes

  20. Effect of an automatic triggering and cycling system on comfort and patient-ventilator synchrony during pressure support ventilation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasconcelos, Renata dos S; Melo, Luíz Henrique de P; Sales, Raquel P; Marinho, Liégina S; Deulefeu, Flávio C; Reis, Ricardo C; Alves-de-Almeida, Mirizana; Holanda, Marcelo A

    2013-01-01

    The digital Auto-Trak™ system is a technology capable of automatically adjusting the triggering and cycling mechanisms during pressure support ventilation (PSV). To compare Auto-Trak with conventional settings in terms of patient-ventilator synchrony and discomfort. Twelve healthy volunteers underwent PSV via the mouth by breathing through an endotracheal tube. In the conventional setting, a pressure support of 8 cm H2O with flow cycling (25% peak inspiratory flow) and a sensitivity of 1 cm H2O was adjusted. In Auto-Trak the triggering and cycling were automatically set. Discomfort, effort of breathing, and the asynchrony index (AI) were assessed. In a complementary bench study, the inspiratory and expiratory time delays were quantified for both settings in three mechanical models: 'normal', obstructive (COPD), and restrictive (ARDS), using the ASL 5000 simulator. In the volunteer study the AI and the discomfort scores did not differ statistically between the two settings. In the bench investigation the use of Auto-Trak was associated with a greater triggering delay in the COPD model and earlier expiratory cycling in the ARDS model but with no asynchronic events. Use of the Auto-Trak system during PSV showed similar results in comparison to the conventional adjustments with respect to patient-ventilator synchrony and discomfort in simulated conditions of invasive mechanical ventilation. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  1. Regulation of tumour related genes by dynamic epigenetic alteration at enhancer regions in gastric epithelial cells infected by Epstein-Barr virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okabe, Atsushi; Funata, Sayaka; Matsusaka, Keisuke; Namba, Hiroe; Fukuyo, Masaki; Rahmutulla, Bahityar; Oshima, Motohiko; Iwama, Atsushi; Fukayama, Masashi; Kaneda, Atsushi

    2017-08-11

    Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is associated with tumours such as Burkitt lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and gastric cancer. We previously showed that EBV(+) gastric cancer presents an extremely high-methylation epigenotype and this aberrant DNA methylation causes silencing of multiple tumour suppressor genes. However, the mechanisms that drive EBV infection-mediated tumorigenesis, including other epigenomic alteration, remain unclear. We analysed epigenetic alterations induced by EBV infection especially at enhancer regions, to elucidate their contribution to tumorigenesis. We performed ChIP sequencing on H3K4me3, H3K4me1, H3K27ac, H3K27me3, and H3K9me3 in gastric epithelial cells infected or not with EBV. We showed that repressive marks were redistributed after EBV infection, resulting in aberrant enhancer activation and repression. Enhancer dysfunction led to the activation of pathways related to cancer hallmarks (e.g., resisting cell death, disrupting cellular energetics, inducing invasion, evading growth suppressors, sustaining proliferative signalling, angiogenesis, and tumour-promoting inflammation) and inactivation of tumour suppressive pathways. Deregulation of cancer-related genes in EBV-infected gastric epithelial cells was also observed in clinical EBV(+) gastric cancer specimens. Our analysis showed that epigenetic alteration associated with EBV-infection may contribute to tumorigenesis through enhancer activation and repression.

  2. Microarray analysis of altered gene expression in murine fibroblasts transformed by nickel(II) to nickel(II)-resistant malignant phenotype

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kowara, Renata; Karaczyn, Aldona; Cheng, Robert Y.S.; Salnikow, Konstantin; Kasprzak, Kazimierz S.

    2005-01-01

    B200 cells are Ni(II)-transformed mouse BALB/c-3T3 fibroblasts displaying a malignant phenotype and increased resistance to Ni(II) toxicity. In an attempt to find genes whose expression has been altered by the transformation, the Atlas Mouse Stress/Toxicology cDNA Expression Array (Clontech Laboratories, Inc., Palo Alto, CA) was used to analyze the levels of gene expression in both parental and Ni(II)-transformed cells. Comparison of the results revealed a significant up- or downregulation of the expression of 62 of the 588 genes present in the array (approximately 10.5%) in B200 cells. These genes were assigned to different functional groups, including transcription factors and oncogenes (9/14; fractions in parentheses denote the number of up-regulated versus the total number of genes assigned to this group), stress and DNA damage response genes (11/12), growth factors and hormone receptors (6/9), metabolism (7/7), cell adhesion (2/7), cell cycle (3/6), apoptosis (3/4), and cell proliferation (2/3). Among those genes, overexpression of beta-catenin and its downstream targets c-myc and cyclin D1, together with upregulated cyclin G, points at the malignant character of B200 cells. While the increased expression of glutathione (GSH) synthetase, glutathione-S-transferase A4 (GSTA4), and glutathione-S-transferase theta (GSTT), together with high level of several genes responding to oxidative stress, suggests the enforcement of antioxidant defenses in Ni-transformed cells

  3. Identification of the Consistently Altered Metabolic Targets in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nwosu, Zeribe Chike; Megger, Dominik Andre; Hammad, Seddik; Sitek, Barbara; Roessler, Stephanie; Ebert, Matthias Philip; Meyer, Christoph; Dooley, Steven

    2017-09-01

    Cancer cells rely on metabolic alterations to enhance proliferation and survival. Metabolic gene alterations that repeatedly occur in liver cancer are largely unknown. We aimed to identify metabolic genes that are consistently deregulated, and are of potential clinical significance in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We studied the expression of 2,761 metabolic genes in 8 microarray datasets comprising 521 human HCC tissues. Genes exclusively up-regulated or down-regulated in 6 or more datasets were defined as consistently deregulated. The consistent genes that correlated with tumor progression markers ( ECM2 and MMP9) (Pearson correlation P < .05) were used for Kaplan-Meier overall survival analysis in a patient cohort. We further compared proteomic expression of metabolic genes in 19 tumors vs adjacent normal liver tissues. We identified 634 consistent metabolic genes, ∼60% of which are not yet described in HCC. The down-regulated genes (n = 350) are mostly involved in physiologic hepatocyte metabolic functions (eg, xenobiotic, fatty acid, and amino acid metabolism). In contrast, among consistently up-regulated metabolic genes (n = 284) are those involved in glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway, nucleotide biosynthesis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, proton transport, membrane lipid, and glycan metabolism. Several metabolic genes (n = 434) correlated with progression markers, and of these, 201 predicted overall survival outcome in the patient cohort analyzed. Over 90% of the metabolic targets significantly altered at the protein level were similarly up- or down-regulated as in genomic profile. We provide the first exposition of the consistently altered metabolic genes in HCC and show that these genes are potentially relevant targets for onward studies in preclinical and clinical contexts.

  4. Alteration in Methylation Pattern of Retinoblastoma 1 Gene Promotor Region in Intestinal Metaplasia with or without Helicobacter pylori and Gastric Cancer Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyacioglu, Seda Orenay; Kasap, Elmas; Yuceyar, Hakan; Korkmaz, Mehmet

    2016-01-01

    Helicobacter pylori, intestinal metaplasia (IM), and gene methylation play important roles in gastric carcinogenesis. However, the association among H. pylori infection, IM, gastric cancer (GC), and gene methylation is not fully understood. Cell cycle control involving retinoblastoma 1 (RB1) gene is one of the main regulatory pathways reported to be altered in gastric carcinogenesis. The purpose of this research is to assess the methylation status of RB1 gene in GC and IM with or without H. pylori infection, and to discuss the possible role of H. pylori-induced RB1 gene methylation in the mechanism of gastric carcinogenesis. The methylation profile of RB1 gene was analyzed by sodium bisulfite modification and methylation-specific PCR in GC (n = 24), IM patients with H. pylori positive (n = 20) and negative (n = 20), and control subjects (n = 20). According to methylation levels in RB1 gene; the high correlation values were detected between H. pylori positive-IM group and GC group, and between H. pylori positive-IM and H. pylori negative-IM groups (p gene. High methylation levels in RB1 gene in H. pylori positive individuals may suggest an elevated risk of gastric cancer occurrence.

  5. Association Between Brain Gene Expression, DNA Methylation, and Alteration of Ex Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging Transverse Relaxation in Late-Life Cognitive Decline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Lei; Dawe, Robert J; Boyle, Patricia A; Gaiteri, Chris; Yang, Jingyun; Buchman, Aron S; Schneider, Julie A; Arfanakis, Konstantinos; De Jager, Philip L; Bennett, David A

    2017-12-01

    Alteration of ex vivo magnetic resonance imaging transverse relaxation is associated with late-life cognitive decline even after controlling for common neuropathologic conditions. However, the underlying neurobiology of this association is unknown. To investigate the association between brain gene expression, DNA methylation, and alteration of magnetic resonance imaging transverse relaxation in late-life cognitive decline. Data came from 2 community-based longitudinal cohort studies of aging and dementia, the Religious Orders Study, which began in 1993, and the Rush Memory and Aging Project, which began in 1997. All participants agreed to undergo annual clinical evaluations and to donate their brains after death. By October 24, 2016, a total of 1358 individuals had died and had brain autopsies that were approved by board-certified neuropathologists. Of those, 552 had undergone ex vivo imaging. The gene expression analysis was limited to 174 individuals with both imaging and brain RNA sequencing data. The DNA methylation analysis was limited to 225 individuals with both imaging and brain methylation data. Maps of ex vivo magnetic resonance imaging transverse relaxation were generated using fast spin echo imaging. The target was a composite measure of the transverse relaxation rate (R2) that was associated with cognitive decline after controlling for common neuropathologic conditions. Next-generation RNA sequencing and DNA methylation data were generated using frozen tissue from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Genome-wide association analysis was used to investigate gene expression and, separately, DNA methylation for signals associated with the R2 measure. Of the 552 individuals with ex vivo imaging data, 394 were women and 158 were men, and the mean (SD) age at death was 90.4 (6.0) years. Four co-expressed genes (PADI2 [Ensembl ENSG00000117115], ZNF385A [Ensembl ENSG00000161642], PSD2 [Ensembl ENSG00000146005], and A2ML1 [Ensembl ENSG00000166535]) were

  6. Distinct genetic alterations in colorectal cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hassan Ashktorab

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Colon cancer (CRC development often includes chromosomal instability (CIN leading to amplifications and deletions of large DNA segments. Epidemiological, clinical, and cytogenetic studies showed that there are considerable differences between CRC tumors from African Americans (AAs and Caucasian patients. In this study, we determined genomic copy number aberrations in sporadic CRC tumors from AAs, in order to investigate possible explanations for the observed disparities. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We applied genome-wide array comparative genome hybridization (aCGH using a 105k chip to identify copy number aberrations in samples from 15 AAs. In addition, we did a population comparative analysis with aCGH data in Caucasians as well as with a widely publicized list of colon cancer genes (CAN genes. There was an average of 20 aberrations per patient with more amplifications than deletions. Analysis of DNA copy number of frequently altered chromosomes revealed that deletions occurred primarily in chromosomes 4, 8 and 18. Chromosomal duplications occurred in more than 50% of cases on chromosomes 7, 8, 13, 20 and X. The CIN profile showed some differences when compared to Caucasian alterations. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Chromosome X amplification in male patients and chromosomes 4, 8 and 18 deletions were prominent aberrations in AAs. Some CAN genes were altered at high frequencies in AAs with EXOC4, EPHB6, GNAS, MLL3 and TBX22 as the most frequently deleted genes and HAPLN1, ADAM29, SMAD2 and SMAD4 as the most frequently amplified genes. The observed CIN may play a distinctive role in CRC in AAs.

  7. Comparative transcriptome analysis on the alteration of gene expression in ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis larvae associated with salinity change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin-Jiang LU

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis fish, which are an amphidromous species distributed in East Asia, live in brackish water (BW during their larval stage and in fresh water (FW during their adult stage. In this study, we found that FW-acclimated ayu larvae exhibited a slower growth ratio compared with that of BW-acclimated larvae. However, the mechanism underlying FW acclimation on growth suppression is poorly known. We employed transcriptome analysis to investigate the differential gene expression of FW acclimation by RNA sequencing. We identified 158 upregulated and 139 downregulated transcripts in FW-acclimated ayu larvae compared with that in BW-acclimated larvae. As determined by Gene Ontology annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway mapping, functional annotation of the genes covered diverse biological functions and processes, and included neuroendocrinology, osmotic regulation, energy metabolism, and the cytoskeleton. Transcriptional expression of several differentially expressed genes in response to FW acclimation was further confirmed by real-time quantitative PCR. In accordance with transcriptome analysis, iodothyronine deiodinase (ID, pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC, betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase 1(BHMT, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase B (aldolase B, tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT, and Na+-K+ ATPase (NKA were upregulated after FW acclimation. Furthermore, the mRNA expressions of b-type natriuretic peptide (BNP and transgelin were downregulated after FW acclimation. Our data indicate that FW acclimation reduced the growth rate of ayu larvae, which might result from the expression alteration of genes related to endocrine hormones, energy metabolism, and direct osmoregulation.

  8. Comparative transcriptome analysis on the alteration of gene expression in ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis) larvae associated with salinity change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Xin-Jiang; Zhang, Hao; Yang, Guan-Jun; Li, Ming-Yun; Chen, Jiong

    2016-05-18

    Ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis) fish, which are an amphidromous species distributed in East Asia, live in brackish water (BW) during their larval stage and in fresh water (FW) during their adult stage. In this study, we found that FW-acclimated ayu larvae exhibited a slower growth ratio compared with that of BW-acclimated larvae. However, the mechanism underlying FW acclimation on growth suppression is poorly known. We employed transcriptome analysis to investigate the differential gene expression of FW acclimation by RNA sequencing. We identified 158 upregulated and 139 downregulated transcripts in FW-acclimated ayu larvae compared with that in BW-acclimated larvae. As determined by Gene Ontology annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway mapping, functional annotation of the genes covered diverse biological functions and processes, and included neuroendocrinology, osmotic regulation, energy metabolism, and the cytoskeleton. Transcriptional expression of several differentially expressed genes in response to FW acclimation was further confirmed by real-time quantitative PCR. In accordance with transcriptome analysis, iodothyronine deiodinase (ID), pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase 1(BHMT), fructose-bisphosphate aldolase B (aldolase B), tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT), and Na(+)-K(+) ATPase (NKA) were upregulated after FW acclimation. Furthermore, the mRNA expressions of b-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and transgelin were downregulated after FW acclimation. Our data indicate that FW acclimation reduced the growth rate of ayu larvae, which might result from the expression alteration of genes related to endocrine hormones, energy metabolism, and direct osmoregulation.

  9. Starch Biosynthesis during Pollen Maturation Is Associated with Altered Patterns of Gene Expression in Maize1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Datta, Rupali; Chamusco, Karen C.; Chourey, Prem S.

    2002-01-01

    Starch biosynthesis during pollen maturation is not well understood in terms of genes/proteins and intracellular controls that regulate it in developing pollen. We have studied two specific developmental stages: “early,” characterized by the lack of starch, before or during pollen mitosis I; and “late,” an actively starch-filling post-pollen mitosis I phase in S-type cytoplasmic male-sterile (S-CMS) and two related male-fertile genotypes. The male-fertile starch-positive, but not the CMS starch-deficient, genotypes showed changes in the expression patterns of a large number of genes during this metabolic transition. In addition to a battery of housekeeping genes of carbohydrate metabolism, we observed changes in hexose transporter, plasma membrane H+-ATPase, ZmMADS1, and 14-3-3 proteins. Reduction or deficiency in 14-3-3 protein levels in all three major cellular sites (amyloplasts [starch], mitochondria, and cytosol) in male-sterile relative to male-fertile genotypes are of potential interest because of interorganellar communication in this CMS system. Further, the levels of hexose sugars were significantly reduced in male-sterile as compared with male-fertile tissues, not only at “early” and “late” stages but also at an earlier point during meiosis. Collectively, these data suggest that combined effects of both reduced sugars and their reduced flux in starch biosynthesis along with a strong possibility for altered redox passage may lead to the observed temporal changes in gene expressions, and ultimately pollen sterility. PMID:12481048

  10. Adaptive global synchrony of inferior olive neurons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Keum W; Singh, Sahjendra N

    2009-01-01

    This paper treats the question of global adaptive synchronization of inferior olive neurons (IONs) based on the immersion and invariance approach. The ION exhibits a variety of orbits as the parameter (termed the bifurcation parameter), which appears in its nonlinear functions, is varied. It is seen that once the bifurcation parameter exceeds a critical value, the stability of the equilibrium point of the ION is lost, and periodic orbits are born. The size and shape of the orbits depend on the value of the bifurcation parameter. It is assumed that bifurcation parameters of the IONs are not known. The orbits of IONs beginning from arbitrary initial conditions are not synchronized. For the synchronization of the IONs, a non-certainty equivalent adaptation law is derived. The control system has a modular structure consisting of an identifier and a control module. Using the Lyapunov approach, it is shown that in the closed-loop system, global synchronization of the neurons with a prescribed relative phase is accomplished, and the estimated bifurcation parameters converge to the true parameters. Unlike the certainty-equivalent adaptive control systems, an interesting feature of the designed control system is that whenever the estimated parameters coincide with the true values, the parameter estimates remain frozen thereafter, and the closed-loop system recovers the performance of the deterministic closed-loop system. Simulation results are presented which show that in the closed-loop system, the synchrony of neurons with prescribed phases is accomplished despite the uncertainties in the bifurcation parameters.

  11. Alterations of social interaction through genetic and environmental manipulation of the 22q11.2 gene Sept5 in the mouse brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harper, Kathryn M; Hiramoto, Takeshi; Tanigaki, Kenji; Kang, Gina; Suzuki, Go; Trimble, William; Hiroi, Noboru

    2012-08-01

    Social behavior dysfunction is a symptomatic element of schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although altered activities in numerous brain regions are associated with defective social cognition and perception, the causative relationship between these altered activities and social cognition and perception-and their genetic underpinnings-are not known in humans. To address these issues, we took advantage of the link between hemizygous deletion of human chromosome 22q11.2 and high rates of social behavior dysfunction, schizophrenia and ASD. We genetically manipulated Sept5, a 22q11.2 gene, and evaluated its role in social interaction in mice. Sept5 deficiency, against a high degree of homogeneity in a congenic genetic background, selectively impaired active affiliative social interaction in mice. Conversely, virally guided overexpression of Sept5 in the hippocampus or, to a lesser extent, the amygdala elevated levels of active affiliative social interaction in C57BL/6J mice. Congenic knockout mice and mice overexpressing Sept5 in the hippocampus or amygdala were indistinguishable from control mice in novelty and olfactory responses, anxiety or motor activity. Moreover, post-weaning individual housing, an environmental condition designed to reduce stress in male mice, selectively raised levels of Sept5 protein in the amygdala and increased active affiliative social interaction in C57BL/6J mice. These findings identify this 22q11.2 gene in the hippocampus and amygdala as a determinant of social interaction and suggest that defective social interaction seen in 22q11.2-associated schizophrenia and ASD can be genetically and environmentally modified by altering this 22q11.2 gene.

  12. A Tox21 Approach to Altered Epigenetic Landscapes: Assessing Epigenetic Toxicity Pathways Leading to Altered Gene Expression and Oncogenic Transformation In Vitro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Craig L. Parfett

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available An emerging vision for toxicity testing in the 21st century foresees in vitro assays assuming the leading role in testing for chemical hazards, including testing for carcinogenicity. Toxicity will be determined by monitoring key steps in functionally validated molecular pathways, using tests designed to reveal chemically-induced perturbations that lead to adverse phenotypic endpoints in cultured human cells. Risk assessments would subsequently be derived from the causal in vitro endpoints and concentration vs. effect data extrapolated to human in vivo concentrations. Much direct experimental evidence now shows that disruption of epigenetic processes by chemicals is a carcinogenic mode of action that leads to altered gene functions playing causal roles in cancer initiation and progression. In assessing chemical safety, it would therefore be advantageous to consider an emerging class of carcinogens, the epigenotoxicants, with the ability to change chromatin and/or DNA marks by direct or indirect effects on the activities of enzymes (writers, erasers/editors, remodelers and readers that convey the epigenetic information. Evidence is reviewed supporting a strategy for in vitro hazard identification of carcinogens that induce toxicity through disturbance of functional epigenetic pathways in human somatic cells, leading to inactivated tumour suppressor genes and carcinogenesis. In the context of human cell transformation models, these in vitro pathway measurements ensure high biological relevance to the apical endpoint of cancer. Four causal mechanisms participating in pathways to persistent epigenetic gene silencing were considered: covalent histone modification, nucleosome remodeling, non-coding RNA interaction and DNA methylation. Within these four interacting mechanisms, 25 epigenetic toxicity pathway components (SET1, MLL1, KDM5, G9A, SUV39H1, SETDB1, EZH2, JMJD3, CBX7, CBX8, BMI, SUZ12, HP1, MPP8, DNMT1, DNMT3A, DNMT3B, TET1, MeCP2, SETDB2, BAZ2

  13. High Gestational Folic Acid Supplementation Alters Expression of Imprinted and Candidate Autism Susceptibility Genes in a sex-Specific Manner in Mouse Offspring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barua, Subit; Kuizon, Salomon; Brown, W Ted; Junaid, Mohammed A

    2016-02-01

    Maternal nutrients play critical roles in modulating epigenetic events and exert long-term influences on the progeny's health. Folic acid (FA) supplementation during pregnancy has decreased the incidence of neural tube defects in newborns, but the influence of high doses of maternal FA supplementation on infants' brain development is unclear. The present study was aimed at investigating the effects of a high dose of gestational FA on the expression of genes in the cerebral hemispheres (CHs) of 1-day-old pups. One week prior to mating and throughout the entire period of gestation, female C57BL/6J mice were fed a diet, containing FA at either 2 mg/kg (control diet (CD)) or 20 mg/kg (high maternal folic acid (HMFA)). At postnatal day 1, pups from different dams were sacrificed and CH tissues were collected. Quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analysis confirmed sex-specific alterations in the expression of several genes that modulate various cellular functions (P < 0.05) in pups from the HMFA group. Genomic DNA methylation analysis showed no difference in the level of overall methylation in pups from the HMFA group. These findings demonstrate that HMFA supplementation alters offsprings' CH gene expression in a sex-specific manner. These changes may influence infants' brain development.

  14. Distinguishing between cancer driver and passenger gene alteration candidates via cross-species comparison: a pilot study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ji, Xinglai; Tang, Jie; Halberg, Richard; Busam, Dana; Ferriera, Steve; Peña, Maria Marjorette O; Venkataramu, Chinnambally; Yeatman, Timothy J; Zhao, Shaying

    2010-01-01

    We are developing a cross-species comparison strategy to distinguish between cancer driver- and passenger gene alteration candidates, by utilizing the difference in genomic location of orthologous genes between the human and other mammals. As an initial test of this strategy, we conducted a pilot study with human colorectal cancer (CRC) and its mouse model C57BL/6J Apc Min/+ , focusing on human 5q22.2 and 18q21.1-q21.2. We first performed bioinformatics analysis on the evolution of 5q22.2 and 18q21.1-q21.2 regions. Then, we performed exon-targeted sequencing, real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and real time quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) analyses on a number of genes of both regions with both human and mouse colon tumors. These two regions (5q22.2 and 18q21.1-q21.2) are frequently deleted in human CRCs and encode genuine colorectal tumor suppressors APC and SMAD4. They also encode genes such as MCC (mutated in colorectal cancer) with their role in CRC etiology unknown. We have discovered that both regions are evolutionarily unstable, resulting in genes that are clustered in each human region being found scattered at several distinct loci in the genome of many other species. For instance, APC and MCC are within 200 kb apart in human 5q22.2 but are 10 Mb apart in the mouse genome. Importantly, our analyses revealed that, while known CRC driver genes APC and SMAD4 were disrupted in both human colorectal tumors and tumors from Apc Min/+ mice, the questionable MCC gene was disrupted in human tumors but appeared to be intact in mouse tumors. These results indicate that MCC may not actually play any causative role in early colorectal tumorigenesis. We also hypothesize that its disruption in human CRCs is likely a mere result of its close proximity to APC in the human genome. Expanding this pilot study to the entire genome may identify more questionable genes like MCC, facilitating the discovery of new CRC driver gene candidates

  15. Distinguishing between cancer driver and passenger gene alteration candidates via cross-species comparison: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Xinglai; Tang, Jie; Halberg, Richard; Busam, Dana; Ferriera, Steve; Peña, Maria Marjorette O; Venkataramu, Chinnambally; Yeatman, Timothy J; Zhao, Shaying

    2010-08-13

    We are developing a cross-species comparison strategy to distinguish between cancer driver- and passenger gene alteration candidates, by utilizing the difference in genomic location of orthologous genes between the human and other mammals. As an initial test of this strategy, we conducted a pilot study with human colorectal cancer (CRC) and its mouse model C57BL/6J ApcMin/+, focusing on human 5q22.2 and 18q21.1-q21.2. We first performed bioinformatics analysis on the evolution of 5q22.2 and 18q21.1-q21.2 regions. Then, we performed exon-targeted sequencing, real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and real time quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) analyses on a number of genes of both regions with both human and mouse colon tumors. These two regions (5q22.2 and 18q21.1-q21.2) are frequently deleted in human CRCs and encode genuine colorectal tumor suppressors APC and SMAD4. They also encode genes such as MCC (mutated in colorectal cancer) with their role in CRC etiology unknown. We have discovered that both regions are evolutionarily unstable, resulting in genes that are clustered in each human region being found scattered at several distinct loci in the genome of many other species. For instance, APC and MCC are within 200 kb apart in human 5q22.2 but are 10 Mb apart in the mouse genome. Importantly, our analyses revealed that, while known CRC driver genes APC and SMAD4 were disrupted in both human colorectal tumors and tumors from ApcMin/+ mice, the questionable MCC gene was disrupted in human tumors but appeared to be intact in mouse tumors. These results indicate that MCC may not actually play any causative role in early colorectal tumorigenesis. We also hypothesize that its disruption in human CRCs is likely a mere result of its close proximity to APC in the human genome. Expanding this pilot study to the entire genome may identify more questionable genes like MCC, facilitating the discovery of new CRC driver gene candidates.

  16. Whole blood gene expression in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome: an exploratory cross-sectional study suggesting altered B cell differentiation and survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Chinh Bkrong; Alsøe, Lene; Lindvall, Jessica M; Sulheim, Dag; Fagermoen, Even; Winger, Anette; Kaarbø, Mari; Nilsen, Hilde; Wyller, Vegard Bruun

    2017-05-11

    Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a prevalent and disabling condition affecting adolescents. The pathophysiology is poorly understood, but immune alterations might be an important component. This study compared whole blood gene expression in adolescent CFS patients and healthy controls, and explored associations between gene expression and neuroendocrine markers, immune markers and clinical markers within the CFS group. CFS patients (12-18 years old) were recruited nation-wide to a single referral center as part of the NorCAPITAL project. A broad case definition of CFS was applied, requiring 3 months of unexplained, disabling chronic/relapsing fatigue of new onset, whereas no accompanying symptoms were necessary. Healthy controls having comparable distribution of gender and age were recruited from local schools. Whole blood samples were subjected to RNA sequencing. Immune markers were blood leukocyte counts, plasma cytokines, serum C-reactive protein and immunoglobulins. Neuroendocrine markers encompassed plasma and urine levels of catecholamines and cortisol, as well as heart rate variability indices. Clinical markers consisted of questionnaire scores for symptoms of post-exertional malaise, inflammation, fatigue, depression and trait anxiety, as well as activity recordings. A total of 29 CFS patients and 18 healthy controls were included. We identified 176 genes as differentially expressed in patients compared to controls, adjusting for age and gender factors. Gene set enrichment analyses suggested impairment of B cell differentiation and survival, as well as enhancement of innate antiviral responses and inflammation in the CFS group. A pattern of co-expression could be identified, and this pattern, as well as single gene transcripts, was significantly associated with indices of autonomic nervous activity, plasma cortisol, and blood monocyte and eosinophil counts. Also, an association with symptoms of post-exertional malaise was demonstrated. Adolescent CFS is

  17. Evaluation of Real-time Measurement Liver Tumor's Movement and SynchronyTM System's Accuracy of Radiosurgery using a Robot CyberKnife

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Gha Jung; Shim, Su Jung; Kim, Jeong Ho; Min, Chul Kee; Chung, Weon Kuu [Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2008-12-15

    This study aimed to quantitatively measure the movement of tumors in real-time and evaluate the treatment accuracy, during the treatment of a liver tumor patient, who underwent radiosurgery with a Synchrony Respiratory motion tracking system of a robot CyberKnife. Materials and Methods: The study subjects included 24 liver tumor patients who underwent CyberKnife treatment, which included 64 times of treatment with the Synchrony Respiratory motion tracking system (SynchronyTM). The treatment involved inserting 4 to 6 acupuncture needles into the vicinity of the liver tumor in all the patients using ultrasonography as a guide. A treatment plan was set up using the CT images for treatment planning uses. The position of the acupuncture needle was identified for every treatment time by Digitally Reconstructed Radiography (DRR) prepared at the time of treatment planning and X-ray images photographed in real-time. Subsequent results were stored through a Motion Tracking System (MTS) using the Mtsmain.log treatment file. In this way, movement of the tumor was measured. Besides, the accuracy of radiosurgery using CyberKnife was evaluated by the correlation errors between the real-time positions of the acupuncture needles and the predicted coordinates. Results: The maximum and the average translational movement of the liver tumor were measured 23.5 mm and 13.9{+-}5.5 mm, respectively from the superior to the inferior direction, 3.9 mm and 1.9{+-}0.9 mm, respectively from left to right, and 8.3 mm and 4.9{+-}1.9 mm, respectively from the anterior to the posterior direction. The maximum and the average rotational movement of the liver tumor were measured to be 3.3o and 2.6{+-}1.3o, respectively for X (Left-Right) axis rotation, 4.8o and 2.3{+-}1.0o, respectively for Y (Cranio-Caudal) axis rotation, 3.9o and 2.8{+-}1.1o, respectively for Z (Anterior-Posterior) axis rotation. In addition, the average correlation error, which represents the treatment's accuracy was 1

  18. Altered gene expression in pulmonary tissue of tryptophan hydroxylase-1 knockout mice: implications for pulmonary arterial hypertension.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard B Rothman

    Full Text Available The use of fenfluramines can increase the risk of developing pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH in humans, but the mechanisms responsible are unresolved. A recent study reported that female mice lacking the gene for tryptophan hydroxylase-1 (Tph1(-/- mice were protected from PAH caused by chronic dexfenfluramine, suggesting a pivotal role for peripheral serotonin (5-HT in the disease process. Here we tested two alternative hypotheses which might explain the lack of dexfenfluramine-induced PAH in Tph1(-/- mice. We postulated that: 1 Tph1(-/- mice express lower levels of pulmonary 5-HT transporter (SERT when compared to wild-type controls, and 2 Tph1(-/- mice display adaptive changes in the expression of non-serotonergic pulmonary genes which are implicated in PAH. SERT was measured using radioligand binding methods, whereas gene expression was measured using microarrays followed by quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR. Contrary to our first hypothesis, the number of pulmonary SERT sites was modestly up-regulated in female Tph1(-/- mice. The expression of 51 distinct genes was significantly altered in the lungs of female Tph1(-/- mice. Consistent with our second hypothesis, qRT-PCR confirmed that at least three genes implicated in the pathogenesis of PAH were markedly up-regulated: Has2, Hapln3 and Retlna. The finding that female Tph1(-/- mice are protected from dexfenfluramine-induced PAH could be related to compensatory changes in pulmonary gene expression, in addition to reductions in peripheral 5-HT. These observations emphasize the intrinsic limitation of interpreting data from studies conducted in transgenic mice that are not fully characterized.

  19. Systematic Investigation of Expression of G2/M Transition Genes Reveals CDC25 Alteration in Nonfunctioning Pituitary Adenomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butz, Henriett; Németh, Kinga; Czenke, Dóra; Likó, István; Czirják, Sándor; Zivkovic, Vladimir; Baghy, Kornélia; Korbonits, Márta; Kovalszky, Ilona; Igaz, Péter; Rácz, Károly; Patócs, Attila

    2017-07-01

    Dysregulation of G1/S checkpoint of cell cycle has been reported in pituitary adenomas. In addition, our previous finding showing that deregulation of Wee1 kinase by microRNAs together with other studies demonstrating alteration of G2/M transition in nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) suggest that G2/M transition may also be important in pituitary tumorigenesis. To systematically study the expression of members of the G2/M transition in NFPAs and to investigate potential microRNA (miRNA) involvement. Totally, 80 NFPA and 14 normal pituitary (NP) tissues were examined. Expression of 46 genes encoding members of the G2/M transition was profiled on 34 NFPA and 10 NP samples on TaqMan Low Density Array. Expression of CDC25A and two miRNAs targeting CDC25A were validated by individual quantitative real time PCR using TaqMan assays. Protein expression of CDC25A, CDC25C, CDK1 and phospho-CDK1 (Tyr-15) was investigated on tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry. Several genes' expression alteration were observed in NFPA compared to normal tissues by transcription profiling. On protein level CDC25A and both the total and the phospho-CDK1 were overexpressed in adenoma tissues. CDC25A correlated with nuclear localized CDK1 (nCDK1) and with tumor size and nCDK1 with Ki-67 index. Comparing primary vs. recurrent adenomas we found that Ki-67 proliferation index was higher and phospho-CDK1 (inactive form) was downregulated in recurrent tumors compared to primary adenomas. Investigating the potential causes behind CDC25A overexpression we could not find copy number variation at the coding region nor expression alteration of CDC25A regulating transcription factors however CDC25A targeting miRNAs were downregulated in NFPA and negatively correlated with CDC25A expression. Our results suggest that among alterations of G2/M transition of the cell cycle, overexpression of the CDK1 and CDC25A may have a role in the pathogenesis of the NFPA and that CDC25A is potentially

  20. Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants with enhanced induced mutation and altered mitotic gene conversion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanov, E L; Kovaltzova, S V; Korolev, V G

    1989-08-01

    We have developed a method to isolate yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) mutants with enhanced induced mutagenesis based on nitrous acid-induced reversion of the ade2-42 allele. Six mutants have been isolated and designated him (high induced mutagenesis), and 4 of them were studied in more detail. The him mutants displayed enhanced reversion of the ade2-42 allele, either spontaneous or induced by nitrous acid, UV light, and the base analog 6-N-hydroxylaminopurine, but not by gamma-irradiation. It is worth noting that the him mutants turned out not to be sensitive to the lethal effects of the mutagens used. The enhancement in mutation induced by nitrous acid, UV light, and 6-N-hydroxylaminopurine has been confirmed in a forward-mutation assay (induction of mutations in the ADE1, ADE2 genes). The latter agent revealed the most apparent differences between the him mutants and the wild-type strain and was, therefore, chosen for the genetic analysis of mutants, him mutations analyzed behaved as a single Mendelian trait; complementation tests indicated 3 complementation groups (HIM1, HIM2, and HIM3), each containing 1 mutant allele. Uracil-DNA glycosylase activity was determined in crude cell extracts, and no significant differences between the wild-type and him strains were detected. Spontaneous mitotic gene conversion at the ADE2 locus is altered in him1 strains, either increased or decreased, depending on the particular heteroallelic combination. Genetic evidence strongly suggests him mutations to be involved in a process of mismatch correction of molecular heteroduplexes.

  1. Neonatal hyper- and hypothyroidism alter the myoglobin gene expression program in adulthood

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Picoli Souza, K. de [Faculdade de Ciências Biológicas e Ambientais, Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados, Dourados, MS (Brazil); Nunes, M.T. [Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2014-06-24

    Myoglobin acts as an oxygen store and a reactive oxygen species acceptor in muscles. We examined myoglobin mRNA in rat cardiac ventricle and skeletal muscles during the first 42 days of life and the impact of transient neonatal hypo- and hyperthyroidism on the myoglobin gene expression pattern. Cardiac ventricle and skeletal muscles of Wistar rats at 7-42 days of life were quickly removed, and myoglobin mRNA was determined by Northern blot analysis. Rats were treated with propylthiouracil (5-10 mg/100 g) and triiodothyronine (0.5-50 µg/100 g) for 5, 15, or 30 days after birth to induce hypo- and hyperthyroidism and euthanized either just after treatment or at 90 days. During postnatal (P) days 7-28, the ventricle myoglobin mRNA remained unchanged, but it gradually increased in skeletal muscle (12-fold). Triiodothyronine treatment, from days P0-P5, increased the skeletal muscle myoglobin mRNA 1.5- to 4.5-fold; a 2.5-fold increase was observed in ventricle muscle, but only when triiodothyronine treatment was extended to day P15. Conversely, hypothyroidism at P5 markedly decreased (60%) ventricular myoglobin mRNA. Moreover, transient hyperthyroidism in the neonatal period increased ventricle myoglobin mRNA (2-fold), and decreased heart rate (5%), fast muscle myoglobin mRNA (30%) and body weight (20%) in adulthood. Transient hypothyroidism in the neonatal period also permanently decreased fast muscle myoglobin mRNA (30%) and body weight (14%). These results indicated that changes in triiodothyronine supply in the neonatal period alter the myoglobin expression program in ventricle and skeletal muscle, leading to specific physiological repercussions and alterations in other parameters in adulthood.

  2. Neonatal hyper- and hypothyroidism alter the myoglobin gene expression program in adulthood

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Picoli Souza, K. de; Nunes, M.T.

    2014-01-01

    Myoglobin acts as an oxygen store and a reactive oxygen species acceptor in muscles. We examined myoglobin mRNA in rat cardiac ventricle and skeletal muscles during the first 42 days of life and the impact of transient neonatal hypo- and hyperthyroidism on the myoglobin gene expression pattern. Cardiac ventricle and skeletal muscles of Wistar rats at 7-42 days of life were quickly removed, and myoglobin mRNA was determined by Northern blot analysis. Rats were treated with propylthiouracil (5-10 mg/100 g) and triiodothyronine (0.5-50 µg/100 g) for 5, 15, or 30 days after birth to induce hypo- and hyperthyroidism and euthanized either just after treatment or at 90 days. During postnatal (P) days 7-28, the ventricle myoglobin mRNA remained unchanged, but it gradually increased in skeletal muscle (12-fold). Triiodothyronine treatment, from days P0-P5, increased the skeletal muscle myoglobin mRNA 1.5- to 4.5-fold; a 2.5-fold increase was observed in ventricle muscle, but only when triiodothyronine treatment was extended to day P15. Conversely, hypothyroidism at P5 markedly decreased (60%) ventricular myoglobin mRNA. Moreover, transient hyperthyroidism in the neonatal period increased ventricle myoglobin mRNA (2-fold), and decreased heart rate (5%), fast muscle myoglobin mRNA (30%) and body weight (20%) in adulthood. Transient hypothyroidism in the neonatal period also permanently decreased fast muscle myoglobin mRNA (30%) and body weight (14%). These results indicated that changes in triiodothyronine supply in the neonatal period alter the myoglobin expression program in ventricle and skeletal muscle, leading to specific physiological repercussions and alterations in other parameters in adulthood

  3. Neonatal hyper- and hypothyroidism alter the myoglobin gene expression program in adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souza, K de Picoli; Nunes, M T

    2014-08-01

    Myoglobin acts as an oxygen store and a reactive oxygen species acceptor in muscles. We examined myoglobin mRNA in rat cardiac ventricle and skeletal muscles during the first 42 days of life and the impact of transient neonatal hypo- and hyperthyroidism on the myoglobin gene expression pattern. Cardiac ventricle and skeletal muscles of Wistar rats at 7-42 days of life were quickly removed, and myoglobin mRNA was determined by Northern blot analysis. Rats were treated with propylthiouracil (5-10 mg/100 g) and triiodothyronine (0.5-50 µg/100 g) for 5, 15, or 30 days after birth to induce hypo- and hyperthyroidism and euthanized either just after treatment or at 90 days. During postnatal (P) days 7-28, the ventricle myoglobin mRNA remained unchanged, but it gradually increased in skeletal muscle (12-fold). Triiodothyronine treatment, from days P0-P5, increased the skeletal muscle myoglobin mRNA 1.5- to 4.5-fold; a 2.5-fold increase was observed in ventricle muscle, but only when triiodothyronine treatment was extended to day P15. Conversely, hypothyroidism at P5 markedly decreased (60%) ventricular myoglobin mRNA. Moreover, transient hyperthyroidism in the neonatal period increased ventricle myoglobin mRNA (2-fold), and decreased heart rate (5%), fast muscle myoglobin mRNA (30%) and body weight (20%) in adulthood. Transient hypothyroidism in the neonatal period also permanently decreased fast muscle myoglobin mRNA (30%) and body weight (14%). These results indicated that changes in triiodothyronine supply in the neonatal period alter the myoglobin expression program in ventricle and skeletal muscle, leading to specific physiological repercussions and alterations in other parameters in adulthood.

  4. Neonatal hyper- and hypothyroidism alter the myoglobin gene expression program in adulthood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. de Picoli Souza

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Myoglobin acts as an oxygen store and a reactive oxygen species acceptor in muscles. We examined myoglobin mRNA in rat cardiac ventricle and skeletal muscles during the first 42 days of life and the impact of transient neonatal hypo- and hyperthyroidism on the myoglobin gene expression pattern. Cardiac ventricle and skeletal muscles of Wistar rats at 7-42 days of life were quickly removed, and myoglobin mRNA was determined by Northern blot analysis. Rats were treated with propylthiouracil (5-10 mg/100 g and triiodothyronine (0.5-50 µg/100 g for 5, 15, or 30 days after birth to induce hypo- and hyperthyroidism and euthanized either just after treatment or at 90 days. During postnatal (P days 7-28, the ventricle myoglobin mRNA remained unchanged, but it gradually increased in skeletal muscle (12-fold. Triiodothyronine treatment, from days P0-P5, increased the skeletal muscle myoglobin mRNA 1.5- to 4.5-fold; a 2.5-fold increase was observed in ventricle muscle, but only when triiodothyronine treatment was extended to day P15. Conversely, hypothyroidism at P5 markedly decreased (60% ventricular myoglobin mRNA. Moreover, transient hyperthyroidism in the neonatal period increased ventricle myoglobin mRNA (2-fold, and decreased heart rate (5%, fast muscle myoglobin mRNA (30% and body weight (20% in adulthood. Transient hypothyroidism in the neonatal period also permanently decreased fast muscle myoglobin mRNA (30% and body weight (14%. These results indicated that changes in triiodothyronine supply in the neonatal period alter the myoglobin expression program in ventricle and skeletal muscle, leading to specific physiological repercussions and alterations in other parameters in adulthood.

  5. P53 tumor suppressor gene and protein expression is altered in cell lines derived from spontaneous and alpha-radiation-induced canine lung tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tierney, L.A.; Johnson, N.F.; Lechner, J.F.

    1994-01-01

    Mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene are the most frequently occurring gene alterations in malignant human cancers, including lung cancer. In lung cancer, common point mutations within conserved exons of the p53 gene result in a stabilized form of mutant protein which is detectable in most cases by immunohistochemistry. In addition to point mutations, allelic loss, rearrangements, and deletions of the p53 gene have also been detected in both human and rodent tumors. It has been suggested that for at least some epithelial neoplasms, the loss of expression of wild-type p53 protein may be more important for malignant transformation than the acquisition of activating mutations. Mechanisms responsible for the loss of expression of wild-type protein include gene deletion or rearrangement, nonsense or stop mutations, mutations within introns or upstream regulatory regions of the gene, and accelerated rates of degradation of the protein by DNA viral oncoproteins

  6. Ambient particulate air pollution induces oxidative stress and alterations of mitochondria and gene expression in brown and white adipose tissues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harkema Jack R

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Prior studies have demonstrated a link between air pollution and metabolic diseases such as type II diabetes. Changes in adipose tissue and its mitochondrial content/function are closely associated with the development of insulin resistance and attendant metabolic complications. We investigated changes in adipose tissue structure and function in brown and white adipose depots in response to chronic ambient air pollutant exposure in a rodent model. Methods Male ApoE knockout (ApoE-/- mice inhaled concentrated fine ambient PM (PM 2.5 or filtered air (FA for 6 hours/day, 5 days/week, for 2 months. We examined superoxide production by dihydroethidium staining; inflammatory responses by immunohistochemistry; and changes in white and brown adipocyte-specific gene profiles by real-time PCR and mitochondria by transmission electron microscopy in response to PM2.5 exposure in different adipose depots of ApoE-/- mice to understand responses to chronic inhalational stimuli. Results Exposure to PM2.5 induced an increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS in brown adipose depots. Additionally, exposure to PM2.5 decreased expression of uncoupling protein 1 in brown adipose tissue as measured by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Mitochondrial number was significantly reduced in white (WAT and brown adipose tissues (BAT, while mitochondrial size was also reduced in BAT. In BAT, PM2.5 exposure down-regulated brown adipocyte-specific genes, while white adipocyte-specific genes were differentially up-regulated. Conclusions PM2.5 exposure triggers oxidative stress in BAT, and results in key alterations in mitochondrial gene expression and mitochondrial alterations that are pronounced in BAT. We postulate that exposure to PM2.5 may induce imbalance between white and brown adipose tissue functionality and thereby predispose to metabolic dysfunction.

  7. [Algorithm of toxigenic genetically altered Vibrio cholerae El Tor biovar strain identification].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smirnova, N I; Agafonov, D A; Zadnova, S P; Cherkasov, A V; Kutyrev, V V

    2014-01-01

    Development of an algorithm of genetically altered Vibrio cholerae biovar El Tor strai identification that ensures determination of serogroup, serovar and biovar of the studied isolate based on pheno- and genotypic properties, detection of genetically altered cholera El Tor causative agents, their differentiation by epidemic potential as well as evaluation of variability of key pathogenicity genes. Complex analysis of 28 natural V. cholerae strains was carried out by using traditional microbiological methods, PCR and fragmentary sequencing. An algorithm of toxigenic genetically altered V. cholerae biovar El Tor strain identification was developed that includes 4 stages: determination of serogroup, serovar and biovar based on phenotypic properties, confirmation of serogroup and biovar based on molecular-genetic properties determination of strains as genetically altered, differentiation of genetically altered strains by their epidemic potential and detection of ctxB and tcpA key pathogenicity gene polymorphism. The algorithm is based on the use of traditional microbiological methods, PCR and sequencing of gene fragments. The use of the developed algorithm will increase the effectiveness of detection of genetically altered variants of the cholera El Tor causative agent, their differentiation by epidemic potential and will ensure establishment of polymorphism of genes that code key pathogenicity factors for determination of origins of the strains and possible routes of introduction of the infection.

  8. Genetic alterations in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nagai M.A.

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available The genetic alterations observed in head and neck cancer are mainly due to oncogene activation (gain of function mutations and tumor suppressor gene inactivation (loss of function mutations, leading to deregulation of cell proliferation and death. These genetic alterations include gene amplification and overexpression of oncogenes such as myc, erbB-2, EGFR and cyclinD1 and mutations, deletions and hypermethylation leading to p16 and TP53 tumor suppressor gene inactivation. In addition, loss of heterozygosity in several chromosomal regions is frequently observed, suggesting that other tumor suppressor genes not yet identified could be involved in the tumorigenic process of head and neck cancers. The exact temporal sequence of the genetic alterations during head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC development and progression has not yet been defined and their diagnostic or prognostic significance is controversial. Advances in the understanding of the molecular basis of head and neck cancer should help in the identification of new markers that could be used for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of the disease.

  9. Histone modification alteration coordinated with acquisition of promoter DNA methylation during Epstein-Barr virus infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funata, Sayaka; Matsusaka, Keisuke; Yamanaka, Ryota; Yamamoto, Shogo; Okabe, Atsushi; Fukuyo, Masaki; Aburatani, Hiroyuki; Fukayama, Masashi; Kaneda, Atsushi

    2017-08-15

    Aberrant DNA hypermethylation is a major epigenetic mechanism to inactivate tumor suppressor genes in cancer. Epstein-Barr virus positive gastric cancer is the most frequently hypermethylated tumor among human malignancies. Herein, we performed comprehensive analysis of epigenomic alteration during EBV infection, by Infinium HumanMethylation 450K BeadChip for DNA methylation and ChIP-sequencing for histone modification alteration during EBV infection into gastric cancer cell line MKN7. Among 7,775 genes with increased DNA methylation in promoter regions, roughly half were "DNA methylation-sensitive" genes, which acquired DNA methylation in the whole promoter regions and thus were repressed. These included anti-oncogenic genes, e.g. CDKN2A . The other half were "DNA methylation-resistant" genes, where DNA methylation is acquired in the surrounding of promoter regions, but unmethylated status is protected in the vicinity of transcription start site. These genes thereby retained gene expression, and included DNA repair genes. Histone modification was altered dynamically and coordinately with DNA methylation alteration. DNA methylation-sensitive genes significantly correlated with loss of H3K27me3 pre-marks or decrease of active histone marks, H3K4me3 and H3K27ac. Apoptosis-related genes were significantly enriched in these epigenetically repressed genes. Gain of active histone marks significantly correlated with DNA methylation-resistant genes. Genes related to mitotic cell cycle and DNA repair were significantly enriched in these epigenetically activated genes. Our data show that orchestrated epigenetic alterations are important in gene regulation during EBV infection, and histone modification status in promoter regions significantly associated with acquisition of de novo DNA methylation or protection of unmethylated status at transcription start site.

  10. Early osteoinductive human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal/stem cells support an enhanced hematopoietic cell expansion with altered chemotaxis- and adhesion-related gene expression profiles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sugino, Noriko [Department of Hematology/Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507 (Japan); Department of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto 606-8507 (Japan); Miura, Yasuo, E-mail: ym58f5@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp [Department of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto 606-8507 (Japan); Yao, Hisayuki [Department of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto 606-8507 (Japan); Iwasa, Masaki; Fujishiro, Aya [Department of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto 606-8507 (Japan); Division of Gastroenterology and Hematology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Shiga 520-2192 (Japan); Fujii, Sumie [Department of Hematology/Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507 (Japan); Department of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto 606-8507 (Japan); Hirai, Hideyo [Department of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto 606-8507 (Japan); Takaori-Kondo, Akifumi [Department of Hematology/Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507 (Japan); Ichinohe, Tatsuo [Department of Hematology and Oncology, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553 (Japan); Maekawa, Taira [Department of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto 606-8507 (Japan)

    2016-01-22

    Bone marrow (BM) microenvironment has a crucial role in supporting hematopoiesis. Here, by using a microarray analysis, we demonstrate that human BM mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) in an early osteoinductive stage (e-MSCs) are characterized by unique hematopoiesis-associated gene expression with an enhanced hematopoiesis-supportive ability. In comparison to BM-MSCs without osteoinductive treatment, gene expression in e-MSCs was significantly altered in terms of their cell adhesion- and chemotaxis-related profiles, as identified with Gene Ontology and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis. Noteworthy, expression of the hematopoiesis-associated molecules CXCL12 and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 was remarkably decreased in e-MSCs. e-MSCs supported an enhanced expansion of CD34{sup +} hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, and generation of myeloid lineage cells in vitro. In addition, short-term osteoinductive treatment favored in vivo hematopoietic recovery in lethally irradiated mice that underwent BM transplantation. e-MSCs exhibited the absence of decreased stemness-associated gene expression, increased osteogenesis-associated gene expression, and apparent mineralization, thus maintaining the ability to differentiate into adipogenic cells. Our findings demonstrate the unique biological characteristics of e-MSCs as hematopoiesis-regulatory stromal cells at differentiation stage between MSCs and osteoprogenitor cells and have significant implications in developing new strategy for using pharmacological osteoinductive treatment to support hematopoiesis in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell transplantation. - Highlights: • Human BM-MSCs in an early osteoinductive stage (e-MSCs) support hematopoiesis. • Adhesion- and chemotaxis-associated gene signatures are altered in e-MSCs. • Expression of CXCL12 and VCAM1 is remarkably decreased in e-MSCs. • e-MSCs are at differentiation stage between MSCs and osteoprogenitor cells. • Osteoinductive treatment

  11. [Development of an automatic pneumatic tourniquet system that determines pressures in synchrony with systolic blood pressure].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hongyun; Li, Kaiyuan; Zhang, Zhengbo; Guo, Junyan; Wang, Weidong

    2012-11-01

    The correlation coefficients between arterial occlusion pressure and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, limb circumference, body mass etc were obtained through healthy volunteer experiments, in which tourniquet were applied on upper/lower extremities. The prediction equations were derived from the data of experiments by multiple regression analysis. Based on the microprocessor C8051F340, a new pneumatic tourniquet system that can determine tourniquet pressure in synchrony with systolic blood pressure was developed and verified the function and stability of designed system. Results showed that the pneumatic tourniquet which automatically adjusts occlusion pressure in accordance with systolic blood pressure could stop the flow of blood to get a bloodless field.

  12. Polyploidization altered gene functions in cotton (Gossypium spp.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotton fibers are seed trichomes derived from individual cells of the epidermal layer of the seed coat. It has been known for a long time that a large set of genes determine the development of cotton fiber, and more recently it has been determined that these genes are distributed across the At and ...

  13. Alteration of Gene Expression, DNA Methylation, and Histone Methylation in Free Radical Scavenging Networks in Adult Mouse Hippocampus following Fetal Alcohol Exposure.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric J Chater-Diehl

    Full Text Available The molecular basis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD is poorly understood; however, epigenetic and gene expression changes have been implicated. We have developed a mouse model of FASD characterized by learning and memory impairment and persistent gene expression changes. Epigenetic marks may maintain expression changes over a mouse's lifetime, an area few have explored. Here, mice were injected with saline or ethanol on postnatal days four and seven. At 70 days of age gene expression microarray, methylated DNA immunoprecipitation microarray, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 chromatin immunoprecipitation microarray were performed. Following extensive pathway analysis of the affected genes, we identified the top affected gene expression pathway as "Free radical scavenging". We confirmed six of these changes by droplet digital PCR including the caspase Casp3 and Wnt transcription factor Tcf7l2. The top pathway for all methylation-affected genes was "Peroxisome biogenesis"; we confirmed differential DNA methylation in the Acca1 thiolase promoter. Altered methylation and gene expression in oxidative stress pathways in the adult hippocampus suggests a novel interface between epigenetic and oxidative stress mechanisms in FASD.

  14. Alteration of Gene Expression, DNA Methylation, and Histone Methylation in Free Radical Scavenging Networks in Adult Mouse Hippocampus following Fetal Alcohol Exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chater-Diehl, Eric J; Laufer, Benjamin I; Castellani, Christina A; Alberry, Bonnie L; Singh, Shiva M

    2016-01-01

    The molecular basis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is poorly understood; however, epigenetic and gene expression changes have been implicated. We have developed a mouse model of FASD characterized by learning and memory impairment and persistent gene expression changes. Epigenetic marks may maintain expression changes over a mouse's lifetime, an area few have explored. Here, mice were injected with saline or ethanol on postnatal days four and seven. At 70 days of age gene expression microarray, methylated DNA immunoprecipitation microarray, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 chromatin immunoprecipitation microarray were performed. Following extensive pathway analysis of the affected genes, we identified the top affected gene expression pathway as "Free radical scavenging". We confirmed six of these changes by droplet digital PCR including the caspase Casp3 and Wnt transcription factor Tcf7l2. The top pathway for all methylation-affected genes was "Peroxisome biogenesis"; we confirmed differential DNA methylation in the Acca1 thiolase promoter. Altered methylation and gene expression in oxidative stress pathways in the adult hippocampus suggests a novel interface between epigenetic and oxidative stress mechanisms in FASD.

  15. Movement Synchrony Forges Social Bonds Across Group Divides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bahar eTuncgenc

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Group dynamics play an important role in the social interactions of both children and adults. A large amount of research has shown that merely being allocated to arbitrarily defined groups can evoke disproportionately positive attitudes toward one’s in-group and negative attitudes toward out-groups, and that these biases emerge in early childhood. This prompts important empirical questions with far-reaching theoretical and applied significance. How robust are these inter-group biases? Can biases be mitigated by behaviors known to bond individuals and groups together? How can bonds be forged across existing group divides? To explore these questions, we examined the bonding effects of interpersonal synchrony on minimally constructed groups in a controlled experiment. In-group and out-group bonding were assessed using questionnaires administered before and after a task in which groups performed movements either synchronously or non-synchronously in a between-participants design. We also developed an implicit behavioral measure, the Island Game, in which physical proximity was used as an indirect measure of interpersonal closeness. Self-report and behavioral measures showed increased bonding between groups after synchronous movement. Bonding with the out-group was significantly higher in the condition in which movements were performed synchronously than when movements were performed non-synchronously between groups. The findings are discussed in terms of their importance for the developmental social psychology of group dynamics as well as their implications for applied intervention programs.

  16. A maternal high-fat, high-sucrose diet alters insulin sensitivity and expression of insulin signalling and lipid metabolism genes and proteins in male rat offspring: effect of folic acid supplementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuthbert, Candace E; Foster, Jerome E; Ramdath, D Dan

    2017-10-01

    A maternal high-fat, high-sucrose (HFS) diet alters offspring glucose and lipid homoeostasis through unknown mechanisms and may be modulated by folic acid. We investigated the effect of a maternal HFS diet on glucose homoeostasis, expression of genes and proteins associated with insulin signalling and lipid metabolism and the effect of prenatal folic acid supplementation (HFS/F) in male rat offspring. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly fed control (CON), HFS or HFS/F diets. Offspring were weaned on CON; at postnatal day 70, fasting plasma insulin and glucose and liver and skeletal muscle gene and protein expression were measured. Treatment effects were assessed by one-way ANOVA. Maternal HFS diet induced higher fasting glucose in offspring v. HFS/F (P=0·027) and down-regulation (Pinsulin resistance v. CON (P=0·030) and HFS/F was associated with higher insulin (P=0·016) and lower glucose (P=0·025). Maternal HFS diet alters offspring insulin sensitivity and de novo hepatic lipogenesis via altered gene and protein expression, which appears to be potentiated by folate supplementation.

  17. Vorinostat in combination with bortezomib in patients with advanced malignancies directly alters transcription of target genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolesar, Jill M; Traynor, Anne M; Holen, Kyle D; Hoang, Tien; Seo, Songwon; Kim, Kyungmann; Alberti, Dona; Espinoza-Delgado, Igor; Wright, John J; Wilding, George; Bailey, Howard H; Schelman, William R

    2013-09-01

    Vorinostat is a small molecule inhibitor of class I and II histone deacetylase enzymes which alters the expression of target genes including the cell cycle gene p21, leading to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Patients enrolled in a phase I trial were treated with vorinostat alone on day 1 and vorinostat and bortezomib in combination on day 9. Paired biopsies were obtained in eleven subjects. Blood samples were obtained on days 1 and 9 of cycle 1 prior to dosing and 2 and 6 h post-dosing in all 60 subjects. Gene expression of p21, HSP70, AKT, Nur77, ERB1, and ERB2 was evaluated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and tissue samples. Chromatin immunoprecipitation of p21, HSP70, and Nur77 was also performed in biopsy samples. In peripheral blood mononuclear cells, Nur77 was significantly and consistently decreased 2 h after vorinostat administration on both days 1 and 9, median ratio of gene expression relative to baseline of 0.69 with interquartile range 0.49-1.04 (p vorinostat and bortezomib. p21, a downstream target of Nur77, was significantly decreased on day 9, 2 and 6 h after administration of vorinostat and bortezomib, 0.67 (0.41-1.03) (p vorinostat in tissue biopsies in most patients. Vorinostat inhibits Nur77 expression, which in turn may decrease p21 and AKT expression in PBMCs. The influence of vorinostat on target gene expression in tumor tissue was variable; however, most patients demonstrated interaction of acetylated H3 with Nur77, HSP70, and p21 which provides evidence of interaction with the transcriptionally active acetylated H3.

  18. Carbonated soft drinks induce oxidative stress and alter the expression of certain genes in the brains of Wistar rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Terras, Adel; Soliman, Mohamed Mohamed; Alkhedaide, Adel; Attia, Hossam Fouad; Alharthy, Abdullah; Banaja, Abdel Elah

    2016-04-01

    In Saudi Arabia, the consumption of carbonated soft drinks is common and often occurs with each meal. Carbonated soft drink consumption has been shown to exhibit effects on the liver, kidney and bone. However, the effects of these soft drinks on brain activity have not been widely examined, particularly at the gene level. Therefore, the current study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effects of chronic carbonated soft drink consumption on oxidative stress, brain gene biomarkers associated with aggression and brain histology. In total, 40 male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: Group 1 served as a control and was provided access to food and water ad libitum; and groups 2‑4 were given free access to food and carbonated soft drinks only (Cola for group 2, Pepsi for group 3 and 7‑UP for group 4). Animals were maintained on these diets for 3 consecutive months. Upon completion of the experimental period, animals were sacrificed and serological and histopathological analyses were performed on blood and tissues samples. Reverse transcription‑polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze alterations in gene expression levels. Results revealed that carbonated soft drinks increased the serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA). Carbonated soft drinks were also observed to downregulate the expression of antioxidants glutathione reductase (GR), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the brain when compared with that in the control rats. Rats administered carbonated soft drinks also exhibited decreased monoamine oxidase A (MAO‑A) and acetylcholine esterase (AChE) serum and mRNA levels in the brain. In addition, soft drink consumption upregulated mRNA expression of dopamine D2 receptor (DD2R), while 5-hydroxytryptamine transporter (5‑HTT) expression was decreased. However, following histological examination, all rats had a normal brain structure. The results of this study demonstrated that that carbonated soft drinks induced oxidative stress and

  19. Genes e epilepsia I: epilepsia e alterações genéticas Genes and epilepsy I: epilepsy and genetic alterations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel L. G. Gitaí

    2008-06-01

    hypersynchronous electrical activity, preferentially in cortical areas, caused by panoply of structural and neurochemical dysfunctions. Recent advances in the field have focused on the molecular mechanisms involved in the epileptogenic process. OBJECTIVES: In the present review, we describe the main genetic alterations associated to the process of epileptogenesis and discuss the new findings that are shedding light on the molecular substrates of monogenic idiopathic epilepsies (MIE and on genetically complex epilepsies (GCE. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Linkage and association studies have shown that mutations in ion channel genes are the main causes of MIE and of predisposition for GCE. Moreover, mutations in genes involved in neuronal migration, glycogen metabolism and respiratory chain are associated to other syndromes involving seizures. Therefore, different gene classes contribute to the epileptic trait. The identification of epilepsy-related gene families can help us understand the molecular mechanisms of neuronal hyperexcitability and recognize markers of early diagnosis as well as new treatments for these epilepsies.

  20. Enhanced phase synchrony in the electroencephalograph gamma band for musicians while listening to music.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharya, J; Petsche, H

    2001-07-01

    Multichannel electroencephalograph signals from two broad groups, 10 musicians and 10 nonmusicians, recorded in different states (in resting states or no task condition, with eyes opened and eyes closed, and with two musical tasks, listening to two different pieces of music) were studied. Degrees of phase synchrony in various frequency bands were assessed. No differences in the degree of synchronization in any frequency band were found between the two groups in resting conditions. Yet, while listening to music, significant increases of synchronization were found only in the gamma-frequency range (>30 Hz) over large cortical areas for the group of musicians. This high degree of synchronization elicited by music in the group of musicians might be due to their ability to host long-term memory representations of music and mediate access to these stored representations.

  1. Enhanced phase synchrony in the electroencephalograph γ band for musicians while listening to music

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharya, Joydeep; Petsche, Hellmuth

    2001-07-01

    Multichannel electroencephalograph signals from two broad groups, 10 musicians and 10 nonmusicians, recorded in different states (in resting states or no task condition, with eyes opened and eyes closed, and with two musical tasks, listening to two different pieces of music) were studied. Degrees of phase synchrony in various frequency bands were assessed. No differences in the degree of synchronization in any frequency band were found between the two groups in resting conditions. Yet, while listening to music, significant increases of synchronization were found only in the γ-frequency range (>30 Hz) over large cortical areas for the group of musicians. This high degree of synchronization elicited by music in the group of musicians might be due to their ability to host long-term memory representations of music and mediate access to these stored representations.

  2. Next-generation text-mining mediated generation of chemical response-specific gene sets for interpretation of gene expression data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hettne Kristina M

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Availability of chemical response-specific lists of genes (gene sets for pharmacological and/or toxic effect prediction for compounds is limited. We hypothesize that more gene sets can be created by next-generation text mining (next-gen TM, and that these can be used with gene set analysis (GSA methods for chemical treatment identification, for pharmacological mechanism elucidation, and for comparing compound toxicity profiles. Methods We created 30,211 chemical response-specific gene sets for human and mouse by next-gen TM, and derived 1,189 (human and 588 (mouse gene sets from the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD. We tested for significant differential expression (SDE (false discovery rate -corrected p-values Results Next-gen TM-derived gene sets matching the chemical treatment were significantly altered in three GE data sets, and the corresponding CTD-derived gene sets were significantly altered in five GE data sets. Six next-gen TM-derived and four CTD-derived fibrate gene sets were significantly altered in the PPARA knock-out GE dataset. None of the fibrate signatures in cMap scored significant against the PPARA GE signature. 33 environmental toxicant gene sets were significantly altered in the triazole GE data sets. 21 of these toxicants had a similar toxicity pattern as the triazoles. We confirmed embryotoxic effects, and discriminated triazoles from other chemicals. Conclusions Gene set analysis with next-gen TM-derived chemical response-specific gene sets is a scalable method for identifying similarities in gene responses to other chemicals, from which one may infer potential mode of action and/or toxic effect.

  3. Identification of the Consistently Altered Metabolic Targets in Human Hepatocellular CarcinomaSummary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeribe Chike Nwosu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background & Aims: Cancer cells rely on metabolic alterations to enhance proliferation and survival. Metabolic gene alterations that repeatedly occur in liver cancer are largely unknown. We aimed to identify metabolic genes that are consistently deregulated, and are of potential clinical significance in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC. Methods: We studied the expression of 2,761 metabolic genes in 8 microarray datasets comprising 521 human HCC tissues. Genes exclusively up-regulated or down-regulated in 6 or more datasets were defined as consistently deregulated. The consistent genes that correlated with tumor progression markers (ECM2 and MMP9 (Pearson correlation P < .05 were used for Kaplan-Meier overall survival analysis in a patient cohort. We further compared proteomic expression of metabolic genes in 19 tumors vs adjacent normal liver tissues. Results: We identified 634 consistent metabolic genes, ∼60% of which are not yet described in HCC. The down-regulated genes (n = 350 are mostly involved in physiologic hepatocyte metabolic functions (eg, xenobiotic, fatty acid, and amino acid metabolism. In contrast, among consistently up-regulated metabolic genes (n = 284 are those involved in glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway, nucleotide biosynthesis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, proton transport, membrane lipid, and glycan metabolism. Several metabolic genes (n = 434 correlated with progression markers, and of these, 201 predicted overall survival outcome in the patient cohort analyzed. Over 90% of the metabolic targets significantly altered at the protein level were similarly up- or down-regulated as in genomic profile. Conclusions: We provide the first exposition of the consistently altered metabolic genes in HCC and show that these genes are potentially relevant targets for onward studies in preclinical and clinical contexts. Keywords: Liver Cancer, HCC, Tumor Metabolism

  4. Gene Duplication Leads to Altered Membrane Topology of a Cytochrome P450 Enzyme in Seed Plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renault, Hugues; De Marothy, Minttu; Jonasson, Gabriella; Lara, Patricia; Nelson, David R; Nilsson, IngMarie; André, François; von Heijne, Gunnar; Werck-Reichhart, Danièle

    2017-08-01

    Evolution of the phenolic metabolism was critical for the transition of plants from water to land. A cytochrome P450, CYP73, with cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) activity, catalyzes the first plant-specific and rate-limiting step in this pathway. The CYP73 gene is absent from green algae, and first detected in bryophytes. A CYP73 duplication occurred in the ancestor of seed plants and was retained in Taxaceae and most angiosperms. In spite of a clear divergence in primary sequence, both paralogs can fulfill comparable cinnamate hydroxylase roles both in vitro and in vivo. One of them seems dedicated to the biosynthesis of lignin precursors. Its N-terminus forms a single membrane spanning helix and its properties and length are highly constrained. The second is characterized by an elongated and variable N-terminus, reminiscent of ancestral CYP73s. Using as proxies the Brachypodium distachyon proteins, we show that the elongation of the N-terminus does not result in an altered subcellular localization, but in a distinct membrane topology. Insertion in the membrane of endoplasmic reticulum via a double-spanning open hairpin structure allows reorientation to the lumen of the catalytic domain of the protein. In agreement with participation to a different functional unit and supramolecular organization, the protein displays modified heme proximal surface. These data suggest the evolution of divergent C4H enzymes feeding different branches of the phenolic network in seed plants. It shows that specialization required for retention of gene duplicates may result from altered protein topology rather than change in enzyme activity. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

  5. Hypothalamic-pituitary thyroid axis alterations in female mice with deletion of the neuromedin B receptor gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Karen J; Paula, Gabriela S M; Império, Guinever E; Bressane, Nina O; Magalhães, Carolina M A; Miranda-Alves, Leandro; Ortiga-Carvalho, Tania M; Pazos-Moura, Carmen C

    2014-11-01

    Neuromedin B, a peptide highly expressed at the pituitary, has been shown to act as autocrine/paracrine inhibitor of thyrotropin (TSH) release. Here we studied the thyroid axis of adult female mice lacking neuromedin B receptor (NBR-KO), compared to wild type (WT) littermates. They exhibited slight increase in serum TSH (18%), with normal pituitary expression of mRNA coding for α-glycoprotein subunit (Cga), but reduced TSH β-subunit mRNA (Tshb, 41%), lower intra-pituitary TSH content (24%) and increased thyroid hormone transporter MCT-8 (Slc16a2, 44%) and thyroid hormone receptor β mRNA expression (Thrb, 39%). NBR-KO mice exhibited normal thyroxine (T4) and reduced triiodothyronine (T3) (30%), with no alterations in the intra-thyroidal content of T4 and T3 or thyroid morphological changes. Hypothalamic thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) mRNA (Trh) was increased (68%), concomitant with a reduction in type 2 deiodinase mRNA (Dio2, 30%) and no changes in MCT-8 and thyroid hormone receptor mRNA expression. NBR-KO mice exhibited a 56% higher increase in serum TSH in response to an acute single intraperitoneal injection of TRH concomitant with a non-significant increase in pituitary TRH receptor (Trhr) mRNA at basal state. The phenotype of female NBR-KO mice at the hypothalamus-pituitary axis revealed alterations in pituitary and hypothalamic gene expression, associated with reduced serum T3, and higher TSH response to TRH, with apparently normal thyroid morphology and hormonal production. Thus, results confirm that neuromedin B pathways are importantly involved in secretory pathways of TSH and revealed its participation in the in vivo regulation of gene expression of TSH β-subunit and pituitary MCT8 and Thrb and hypothalamic TRH and type 2 deiodinase. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Specitic gene alterations in radiation-induced tumorigenesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahn, Joo Mee; Kang, Chang Mo; Lee, Seung Sook; Cho, Chul Koo; Bae, Sang Woo; Lee, Su Jae; Lee, Yun Sil [Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2004-07-01

    To identify a set of genes involved in the development of radiation-induced tumorigenesis, we used DNA microarrays consisting of 1,176 mouse genes and compared expression profiles of radioresistant cells, designated NIH3T3-R1 and -R4. These cells were tumorigenic in a nude mouse grafting system, as compared to the parental NIH3T3 cells. Expressions of MDM2, CDK6 and CDC25B were found to increase more than 3-fold. Entactin protein levels were downregulated in NIH3T3-R1 and -R4 cells. Changes in expression genes were confirmed by reverse transcription-PCR or western blotting. When these genes were transfected to NIH3T3 cells, the CDC25B and MDM2 overexpressing NIH3T3 cells showed radioresistance, while 2 CDK6 overexpressing cells did not. In the case of entactin overexpressing NIH3T3-R1 or R-4 cells were still radioresistant. Furthermore, the CDC25B and MDM2 overexpressing cells grafted to nude mice, were tumorigenic. NIH3T3-R1 and R4 cells showed increased radiation-induced apoptosis, accompanied by faster growth rate, rather than and earlier radiation-induced G2/M phase arrest, suggesting that the radioresistance of NIH3T3-R1 and R4 cells was due to faster growth rate, rather than induction of apoptosis. In the case of MDM2 and CDC25B overexpressing cells, similar phenomena, such as increased apoptosis and faster growth rate, were shown. The above results, therefore, demonstrate involvement of CDC25B and MDM2 overexpression in radiation-induced tumorigenesis and provide novel targets for detection of radiation-induced carcinogenesis.

  7. Early Right Ventricular Apical Pacing-Induced Gene Expression Alterations Are Associated with Deterioration of Left Ventricular Systolic Function

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haiyan Xu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The chronic high-dose right ventricular apical (RVA pacing may have deleterious effects on left ventricular (LV systolic function. We hypothesized that the expression changes of genes regulating cardiomyocyte energy metabolism and contractility were associated with deterioration of LV function in patients who underwent chronic RVA pacing. Sixty patients with complete atrioventricular block and preserved ejection fraction (EF who underwent pacemaker implantation were randomly assigned to either RVA pacing (n=30 group or right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT pacing (n=30 group. The mRNA levels of OPA1 and SERCA2a were significantly lower in the RVA pacing group at 1 month’s follow-up (both p<0.001. Early changes in the expression of selected genes OPA1 and SERCA2a were associated with deterioration in global longitudinal strain (GLS that became apparent months later (p=0.002 and p=0.026, resp. The altered expressions of genes that regulate cardiomyocyte energy metabolism and contractility measured in the peripheral blood at one month following pacemaker implantation were associated with subsequent deterioration in LV dyssynchrony and function in patients with preserved LVEF, who underwent RVA pacing.

  8. Short-term exposure of arsenite disrupted thyroid endocrine system and altered gene transcription in the HPT axis in zebrafish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Hong-Jie; Li, Hong-Bo; Xiang, Ping; Zhang, Xiaowei; Ma, Lena Q

    2015-10-01

    Arsenic (As) pollution in aquatic environment may adversely impact fish health by disrupting their thyroid hormone homeostasis. In this study, we explored the effect of short-term exposure of arsenite (AsIII) on thyroid endocrine system in zebrafish. We measured As concentrations, As speciation, and thyroid hormone thyroxine levels in whole zebrafish, oxidative stress (H2O2) and damage (MDA) in the liver, and gene transcription in hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis in the brain and liver tissues of zebrafish after exposing to different AsIII concentrations for 48 h. Result indicated that exposure to AsIII increased inorganic As in zebrafish to 0.46-0.72 mg kg(-1), induced oxidative stress with H2O2 being increased by 1.4-2.5 times and caused oxidative damage with MDA being augmented by 1.6 times. AsIII exposure increased thyroxine levels by 1.3-1.4 times and modulated gene transcription in HPT axis. Our study showed AsIII caused oxidative damage, affected thyroid endocrine system and altered gene transcription in HPT axis in zebrafish. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  9. Trans-10, cis-12-conjugated linoleic acid alters hepatic gene expression in a polygenic obese line of mice displaying hepatic lipidosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashwell, Melissa S; Ceddia, Ryan P; House, Ralph L; Cassady, Joseph P; Eisen, Eugene J; Eling, Thomas E; Collins, Jennifer B; Grissom, Sherry F; Odle, Jack

    2010-09-01

    The trans-10, cis-12 isomer of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) causes a rapid reduction of body and adipose mass in mice. In addition to changes in adipose tissue, numerous studies have reported alterations in hepatic lipid metabolism. Livers of CLA-fed mice gain mass, partly due to lipid accumulation; however, the precise molecular mechanisms are unknown. To elucidate these mechanisms, we examined fatty acid composition and gene expression profiles of livers from a polygenic obese line of mice fed 1% trans-10, cis-12-CLA for 14 days. Analysis of gene expression data led to the identification of 1393 genes differentially expressed in the liver of CLA-fed male mice at a nominal P value of .01, and 775 were considered significant using a false discovery rate (FDR) threshold of .05. While surprisingly few genes in lipid metabolism were impacted, pathway analysis found that protein kinase A (PKA) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) pathways signaling pathways were affected by CLA treatment and 98 of the 775 genes were found to be regulated by hepatocyte nuclear factor 4alpha, a transcription factor important in controlling liver metabolic status. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. A large scale survey reveals that chromosomal copy-number alterations significantly affect gene modules involved in cancer initiation and progression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cigudosa Juan C

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent observations point towards the existence of a large number of neighborhoods composed of functionally-related gene modules that lie together in the genome. This local component in the distribution of the functionality across chromosomes is probably affecting the own chromosomal architecture by limiting the possibilities in which genes can be arranged and distributed across the genome. As a direct consequence of this fact it is therefore presumable that diseases such as cancer, harboring DNA copy number alterations (CNAs, will have a symptomatology strongly dependent on modules of functionally-related genes rather than on a unique "important" gene. Methods We carried out a systematic analysis of more than 140,000 observations of CNAs in cancers and searched by enrichments in gene functional modules associated to high frequencies of loss or gains. Results The analysis of CNAs in cancers clearly demonstrates the existence of a significant pattern of loss of gene modules functionally related to cancer initiation and progression along with the amplification of modules of genes related to unspecific defense against xenobiotics (probably chemotherapeutical agents. With the extension of this analysis to an Array-CGH dataset (glioblastomas from The Cancer Genome Atlas we demonstrate the validity of this approach to investigate the functional impact of CNAs. Conclusions The presented results indicate promising clinical and therapeutic implications. Our findings also directly point out to the necessity of adopting a function-centric, rather a gene-centric, view in the understanding of phenotypes or diseases harboring CNAs.

  11. Alterations in the 5 'untranslated region of the EPSPS gene influence EPSPS overexpression in glyphosate-resistant Eleusine indica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Chun; Feng, Li; Tian, Xing-Shan

    2018-04-26

    The herbicide glyphosate inhibits the enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS). Overexpression of the EPSPS gene is one of the molecular mechanisms conferring glyphosate resistance in weeds, but the transcriptional regulation of this gene is poorly understood. The EPSPS gene was found to be significantly up-regulated following glyphosate treatment in a glyphosate- resistant Eleusine indica population from South China. To further investigate the regulation of EPSPS overexpression, the promoter of the EPSPS gene from this E. indica population was cloned and analyzed. Two upstream regulatory sequences, Epro-S (862 bp) and Epro-R (877 bp) of EPSPS were obtained from glyphosate-susceptible (S) and -resistant (R) E. indica plants respectively by HiTAIL-PCR. The Epro-S and Epro-R sequences were 99% homologous, except for the two insertions (3 bp and12 bp) in the R sequence. The 12-base insertion of the Epro-R sequence was located in the 5'-UTR-Py-rich stretch element. The promoter activity tests showed that the 12-base insertion resulted in significant enhancement of the Epro-R promoter activity, whereas the 3-base insertion had little effect on Epro-R promoter activity. Alterations in the 5'-UTR-Py-rich stretch element of EPSPS are responsible for glyphosate induced EPSPS overexpression. Therefore, EPSPS transcriptional regulation confers glyphosate resistance in this E. indica population. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  12. Epigenetic alteration of p16 and retinoic acid receptor beta genes in the development of epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhagat, Rahul; Kumar, Sandeep Sriram; Vaderhobli, Shilpa; Premalata, Chennagiri S; Pallavi, Venkateshaiah Reddihalli; Ramesh, Gawari; Krishnamoorthy, Lakshmi

    2014-09-01

    Silencing of tumor suppressor and tumor-related genes by promoter hypermethylation is one of the major events in ovarian carcinogenesis. In this study, we analyzed aberrant promoter methylation of p16 and RAR-β genes in 134 epithelial ovarian carcinomas (EOCs), 23 low malignant potential (LMP) tumors, 26 benign cystadenomas, and 15 normal ovarian tissues. Methylation was investigated by methylation-specific PCR (MSP), and the results were confirmed by bisulfite DNA sequencing. Relative gene expression of p16 and RAR-β was done using quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) on 51 EOC cases, 9 LMP tumors, and 7 benign cystadenomas with 5 normal ovarian tissues. Aberrant methylation for p16 and RAR-β was present in 43 % (58/134) and 31 % (41/134) in carcinoma cases, 22 % (05/23) and 52 % (12/23) in LMP tumors, and 42 % (11/26) and 69 % (18/26) in benign cystadenomas. No methylation was observed in any of the normal ovarian tissues. The mRNA expression level of p16 and RAR-β was significantly downregulated in EOC and LMP tumors than the corresponding normal tissues whereas the expression level was normal in benign cystadenomas for p16 and slightly reduced for RAR-β. A significant correlation of p16 promoter methylation was observed with reduced gene expression in EOC. For RAR-β, no significant correlation was observed between promoter methylation and gene expression. Our results suggest that epigenetic alterations of p16 and RAR-β have an important role in ovarian carcinogenesis and that mechanism along with methylation plays a significant role in downregulation of RAR-β gene in ovarian cancer.

  13. Gene dosage, expression, and ontology analysis identifies driver genes in the carcinogenesis and chemoradioresistance of cervical cancer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malin Lando

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Integrative analysis of gene dosage, expression, and ontology (GO data was performed to discover driver genes in the carcinogenesis and chemoradioresistance of cervical cancers. Gene dosage and expression profiles of 102 locally advanced cervical cancers were generated by microarray techniques. Fifty-two of these patients were also analyzed with the Illumina expression method to confirm the gene expression results. An independent cohort of 41 patients was used for validation of gene expressions associated with clinical outcome. Statistical analysis identified 29 recurrent gains and losses and 3 losses (on 3p, 13q, 21q associated with poor outcome after chemoradiotherapy. The intratumor heterogeneity, assessed from the gene dosage profiles, was low for these alterations, showing that they had emerged prior to many other alterations and probably were early events in carcinogenesis. Integration of the alterations with gene expression and GO data identified genes that were regulated by the alterations and revealed five biological processes that were significantly overrepresented among the affected genes: apoptosis, metabolism, macromolecule localization, translation, and transcription. Four genes on 3p (RYBP, GBE1 and 13q (FAM48A, MED4 correlated with outcome at both the gene dosage and expression level and were satisfactorily validated in the independent cohort. These integrated analyses yielded 57 candidate drivers of 24 genetic events, including novel loci responsible for chemoradioresistance. Further mapping of the connections among genetic events, drivers, and biological processes suggested that each individual event stimulates specific processes in carcinogenesis through the coordinated control of multiple genes. The present results may provide novel therapeutic opportunities of both early and advanced stage cervical cancers.

  14. Diet alters performance and transcription patterns in Oedaleus asiaticus (Orthoptera: Acrididae) grasshoppers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Xunbing; Whitman, Douglas W; Ma, Jingchuan; McNeill, Mark Richard; Zhang, Zehua

    2017-01-01

    We reared Oedaleus asiaticus grasshoppers under four different single-plant diets to examine the relationships among diet, performance, stress, and transcription patterns. Grasshoppers fed only Artemisia frigida (Asteraceae) were stressed, as indicated by their lower growth, size, development, and survival, in comparison to grasshoppers fed on any of three grasses, Cleistogenes squarrosa, Leymus chinensis, or Stipa krylovii (all Poaceae). We then used transcriptome analysis to examine how gene expression levels in O. asiaticus were altered by feeding on these diets. Nymphs fed A. frigida had the largest variation in gene expression profiles with a total of 299 genes significantly up- or down-regulated compared to those feeding on the three grasses: down-regulated genes included those involved in cuticle biosynthesis, DNA replication, biosynthesis and metabolism of nutrition. The up-regulated genes included stress-resistant and detoxifying enzymes. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis also showed that feeding on A. frigida could down-regulate biosynthesis and metabolism related pathways, and up-regulate stress-resistant and detoxification terms and pathways. Our results show that diet significantly altered gene-expression, and that unfavorable, stressful diets induce more transcriptional changes than favorable diets. Altered gene-expression represents phenotypic plasticity, and many such changes appear to be evolved, adaptive responses. The ease and regularity by which individuals shift phenotypes via altered transcription suggests that populations consist not of similar, fixed phenotypes, but of a collection of ever-changing, divergent phenotypes.

  15. Alteration of the gene expression profile of T-cell receptor αβ-modified T-cells with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma specificity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zha, Xianfeng; Yin, Qingsong; Tan, Huo; Wang, Chunyan; Chen, Shaohua; Yang, Lijian; Li, Bo; Wu, Xiuli; Li, Yangqiu

    2013-05-01

    Antigen-specific, T-cell receptor (TCR)-modified cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that target tumors are an attractive strategy for specific adoptive immunotherapy. Little is known about whether there are any alterations in the gene expression profile after TCR gene transduction in T cells. We constructed TCR gene-redirected CTLs with specificity for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)-associated antigens to elucidate the gene expression profiles of TCR gene-redirected T-cells, and we further analyzed the gene expression profile pattern of these redirected T-cells by Affymetrix microarrays. The resulting data were analyzed using Bioconductor software, a two-fold cut-off expression change was applied together with anti-correlation of the profile ratios to render the microarray analysis set. The fold change of all genes was calculated by comparing the three TCR gene-modified T-cells and a negative control counterpart. The gene pathways were analyzed using Bioconductor and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. Identical genes whose fold change was greater than or equal to 2.0 in all three TCR gene-redirected T-cell groups in comparison with the negative control were identified as the differentially expressed genes. The differentially expressed genes were comprised of 33 up-regulated genes and 1 down-regulated gene including JUNB, FOS, TNF, INF-γ, DUSP2, IL-1B, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL9, CCL2, CCL4, and CCL8. These genes are mainly involved in the TCR signaling, mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathways. In conclusion, we characterized the gene expression profile of DLBCL-specific TCR gene-redirected T-cells. The changes corresponded to an up-regulation in the differentiation and proliferation of the T-cells. These data may help to explain some of the characteristics of the redirected T-cells.

  16. Lack of visual orienting to biological motion and audiovisual synchrony in 3-year-olds with autism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Terje Falck-Ytter

    Full Text Available It has been suggested that children with autism orient towards audiovisual synchrony (AVS rather than biological motion and that the opposite pattern is to be expected in typical development. Here, we challenge this notion by showing that 3-year-old neurotypical children orient to AVS and to biological motion in point-light displays but that 3-year-old children with autism orient to neither of these types of information. Thus, our data suggest that two fundamental mechanisms are disrupted in young children with autism: one that supports orienting towards others' movements and one that supports orienting towards multimodally specified events. These impairments may have consequences for socio-cognitive development and brain organization.

  17. Altered Gene-Regulatory Function of KDM5C by a Novel Mutation Associated With Autism and Intellectual Disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vallianatos, Christina N; Farrehi, Clara; Friez, Michael J; Burmeister, Margit; Keegan, Catherine E; Iwase, Shigeki

    2018-01-01

    Intellectual disability (ID) affects up to 2% of the population world-wide and often coincides with other neurological conditions such as autism spectrum disorders. Mutations in KDM5C cause Mental Retardation, X-linked, Syndromic, Claes-Jensen type (MRXSCJ, OMIM #300534) and are one of the most common causes of X-linked ID. KDM5C encodes a histone demethylase for di- and tri-methylated histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4me2/3), which are enriched in transcriptionally engaged promoter regions. KDM5C regulates gene transcription; however, it remains unknown whether removal of H3K4me is fully responsible for KDM5C-mediated gene regulation. Most mutations functionally tested to date result in reduced enzymatic activity of KDM5C, indicating loss of demethylase function as the primary mechanism underlying MRXSCJ. Here, we report a novel KDM5C mutation, R1115H, identified in an individual displaying MRXSCJ-like symptoms. The carrier mother's cells exhibited a highly skewed X-inactivation pattern. The KDM5C-R1115H substitution does not have an impact on enzymatic activity nor protein stability. However, when overexpressed in post-mitotic neurons, KDM5C-R1115H failed to fully suppress expression of target genes, while the mutant also affected expression of a distinct set of genes compared to KDM5C-wildtype. These results suggest that KDM5C may have non-enzymatic roles in gene regulation, and alteration of these roles contributes to MRXSCJ in this patient.

  18. Contributions of Function-Altering Variants in Genes Implicated in Pubertal Timing and Body Mass for Self-Limited Delayed Puberty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Sasha R; Guasti, Leonardo; Poliandri, Ariel; David, Alessia; Cabrera, Claudia P; Barnes, Michael R; Wehkalampi, Karoliina; O'Rahilly, Stephen; Aiken, Catherine E; Coll, Anthony P; Ma, Marcella; Rimmington, Debra; Yeo, Giles S H; Dunkel, Leo

    2018-02-01

    Self-limited delayed puberty (DP) is often associated with a delay in physical maturation, but although highly heritable the causal genetic factors remain elusive. Genome-wide association studies of the timing of puberty have identified multiple loci for age at menarche in females and voice break in males, particularly in pathways controlling energy balance. We sought to assess the contribution of rare variants in such genes to the phenotype of familial DP. We performed whole-exome sequencing in 67 pedigrees (125 individuals with DP and 35 unaffected controls) from our unique cohort of familial self-limited DP. Using a whole-exome sequencing filtering pipeline one candidate gene [fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO)] was identified. In silico, in vitro, and mouse model studies were performed to investigate the pathogenicity of FTO variants and timing of puberty in FTO+/- mice. We identified potentially pathogenic, rare variants in genes in linkage disequilibrium with genome-wide association studies of age at menarche loci in 283 genes. Of these, five genes were implicated in the control of body mass. After filtering for segregation with trait, one candidate, FTO, was retained. Two FTO variants, found in 14 affected individuals from three families, were also associated with leanness in these patients with DP. One variant (p.Leu44Val) demonstrated altered demethylation activity of the mutant protein in vitro. Fto+/- mice displayed a significantly delayed timing of pubertal onset (P puberty in the general population may contribute to the pathogenesis of self-limited DP. Copyright © 2017 Endocrine Society

  19. Comparative gene expression between two yeast species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guan Yuanfang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Comparative genomics brings insight into sequence evolution, but even more may be learned by coupling sequence analyses with experimental tests of gene function and regulation. However, the reliability of such comparisons is often limited by biased sampling of expression conditions and incomplete knowledge of gene functions across species. To address these challenges, we previously systematically generated expression profiles in Saccharomyces bayanus to maximize functional coverage as compared to an existing Saccharomyces cerevisiae data repository. Results In this paper, we take advantage of these two data repositories to compare patterns of ortholog expression in a wide variety of conditions. First, we developed a scalable metric for expression divergence that enabled us to detect a significant correlation between sequence and expression conservation on the global level, which previous smaller-scale expression studies failed to detect. Despite this global conservation trend, between-species gene expression neighborhoods were less well-conserved than within-species comparisons across different environmental perturbations, and approximately 4% of orthologs exhibited a significant change in co-expression partners. Furthermore, our analysis of matched perturbations collected in both species (such as diauxic shift and cell cycle synchrony demonstrated that approximately a quarter of orthologs exhibit condition-specific expression pattern differences. Conclusions Taken together, these analyses provide a global view of gene expression patterns between two species, both in terms of the conditions and timing of a gene's expression as well as co-expression partners. Our results provide testable hypotheses that will direct future experiments to determine how these changes may be specified in the genome.

  20. Altered Expression of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Associated Genes in Hippocampus of Learned Helpless Rats: Relevance to Depression Pathophysiology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew A. Timberlake

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The unfolded protein response (UPR is an evolutionarily conserved defensive mechanism that is used by cells to correct misfolded proteins that accumulate in the endoplasmic reticulum. These proteins are misfolded as a result of physical stress on a cell and initiate a host of downstream effects that govern processes ranging from inflammation to apoptosis. To examine whether UPR system plays a role in depression, we examined the expression of genes that are part of the three different pathways for UPR activation, namely GRP78, GRP94, ATF6, XBP-1, ATF4 and CHOP using an animal model system that distinguishes vulnerability (learned helpless, LH from resistance (non-learned helpless, NLH to develop depression. Rats were exposed to inescapable shock on day 1 and day 7 and were tested for escape latency on day 14. Rats not given shock but tested for escape latency were used as tested control (TC. Plasma corticosterone levels were measured. Expression levels of various UPR associated genes were determined in hippocampus using qPCR. We found that the corticosterone level was higher in LH rats compared with TC and NLH rats. Expression of GRP78, GRP94, ATF6 and XBP-1 were significantly upregulated in LH rats compared with TC or NLH rats, whereas NLH rats did not show such changes. Expression levels of ATF4 and CHOP showed trends towards upregulation but were not significantly altered in LH or NLH group. Our data show strong evidence of altered UPR system in depressed rats, which could be associated with development of depressive behavior.