Anatomical structures and mechanisms linking genes to neuropsychiatric disorders are not deciphered. Reciprocal copy number variants at the 16p11.2 BP4-BP5 locus offer a unique opportunity to study ...the intermediate phenotypes in carriers at high risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or schizophrenia (SZ). We investigated the variation in brain anatomy in 16p11.2 deletion and duplication carriers. Beyond gene dosage effects on global brain metrics, we show that the number of genomic copies negatively correlated to the gray matter volume and white matter tissue properties in cortico-subcortical regions implicated in reward, language and social cognition. Despite the near absence of ASD or SZ diagnoses in our 16p11.2 cohort, the pattern of brain anatomy changes in carriers spatially overlaps with the well-established structural abnormalities in ASD and SZ. Using measures of peripheral mRNA levels, we confirm our genomic copy number findings. This combined molecular, neuroimaging and clinical approach, applied to larger datasets, will help interpret the relative contributions of genes to neuropsychiatric conditions by measuring their effect on local brain anatomy.
We test the hypothesis that endothelial cells adopt an inflammatory phenotype in functionally intact aged human subjects with radiographic evidence of white matter hyperintensity (WMH) suggestive of ...small cerebrovascular disease. Components of all three complement effector pathways and regulatory proteins were quantified in extracts of plasma endothelial-derived exosomes (EDE) of 11 subjects (age 70-82) with and 15 without evidence of WMH on MRI. Group differences and associations with plasma markers of immune activation (IL6, ICAM1), cognition and neuroimaging were calculated via regression modelling. EDE complement factors within the alternative and classical pathways were found to be higher and regulatory proteins lower in subjects with WMH. EDE levels of some complement components demonstrated significant associations with cognitive slowing and elevated systolic blood pressure. The inhibitor of the membrane attack complex, CD46, showed a significant positive association with cerebral grey matter volume. Plasma inflammatory markers, IL6 and ICAM1, were positively associated with EDE levels of several complement components. These findings provide the first in vivo evidence of the association of endothelial cell inflammation with white matter disease, age-associated cognitive changes, and brain degeneration in functionally normal older individuals. Future endothelial biomarker development may permit recognition of early or preclinical stages of vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia.
The 600 kb BP4-BP5 copy number variants (CNVs) at the 16p11.2 locus have been associated with a range of neurodevelopmental conditions including autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia. The ...number of genomic copies in this region is inversely correlated with body mass index (BMI): the deletion is associated with a highly penetrant form of obesity (present in 50% of carriers by the age of 7 years and in 70% of adults), and the duplication with being underweight. Mechanisms underlying this energy imbalance remain unknown.
This study aims to investigate eating behavior, cognitive traits and their relationships with BMI in carriers of 16p11.2 CNVs.
We assessed individuals carrying a 16p11.2 deletion or duplication and their intrafamilial controls using food-related behavior questionnaires and cognitive measures. We also compared these carriers with cohorts of individuals presenting with obesity, binge eating disorder or bulimia.
Response to satiety is gene dosage-dependent in pediatric CNV carriers. Altered satiety response is present in young deletion carriers before the onset of obesity. It remains altered in adolescent carriers and correlates with obesity. Adult deletion carriers exhibit eating behavior similar to that seen in a cohort of obesity without eating disorders such as bulimia or binge eating. None of the cognitive measures are associated with eating behavior or BMI.
These findings suggest that abnormal satiety response is a strong contributor to the energy imbalance in 16p11.2 CNV carriers, and, akin to other genetic forms of obesity, altered satiety responsiveness in children precedes the increase in BMI observed later in adolescence.
Summary Background The use of disinfectant pre-soaked wipes (DPW) to decontaminate high-touch environmental surfaces (HTES) by wiping is becoming increasingly widespread in the healthcare ...environment. However, DPW are rarely tested using conditions simulating their field use, and the label claims of environmental surface disinfectants seldom include wiping action. Aim To evaluate the new E2967-15 standard test specific to wipes, particularly their ability to decontaminate surfaces and to transfer acquired contamination to clean surfaces. Methods ASTM Standard E2967-15 was used by three independent laboratories to test the efficacy of five types of commercially available wipe products. All data generated were pulled together, and reproducibility and repeatability of the standard were measured. Findings All the commercial DPW tested achieved a >4 log10 (>99.99%) reduction in colony-forming units (CFU) of Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumanii with 10 s of wiping, but only one DPW containing 0.5% accelerated H2 O2 prevented the transfer of bacteria to another surface. Conclusion This newly introduced standard method represents a significant advance in assessing DPW for microbial decontamination of HTES, and should greatly assist research and development, and in making more relevant and reliable claims on marketed DPW.
Background
The world has suffered immeasurably during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Increased distress and mental and medical health concerns are collateral consequences to the disease itself. The Genes to ...Mental Health (G2MH) Network consortium sought to understand how individuals affected by the rare copy number variations of 22q11.2 deletion and duplication syndrome, associated with neurodevelopmental/neuropsychiatric conditions, were coping. The article focuses on worry and disruptions in medical care caused by the pandemic.
Methods
The University of Pennsylvania COVID‐19 Stressor List and care disruption questions were circulated by 22 advocacy groups in English and 11 other languages.
Results
A total of 512 people from 23 countries completed the survey; most were caregivers of affected individuals. Worry about family members acquiring COVID‐19 had the highest average endorsed worry, whilst currently having COVID‐19 had the lowest rated worry. Total COVID‐19 worries were higher in individuals completing the survey towards the end of the study (later pandemic wave); 36% (n = 186) of the sample reported a significant effect on health due to care interruption during the pandemic; 44% of individuals (n = 111) receiving care for their genetic syndrome in a hospital setting reported delaying appointments due to COVID‐19 fears; 12% (n = 59) of the sample reported disruptions to treatments; and of those reporting no current disruptions, 59% (n = 269) worried about future disruptions if the pandemic continued. Higher levels of care disruptions were related to higher COVID‐19 worries (Ps < 0.005). Minimal differences by respondent type or copy number variation type emerged.
Conclusions
Widespread medical care disruptions and pandemic‐related worries were reported by individuals with 22q11.2 syndrome and their family members. Reported worries were broadly consistent with research results from prior reports in the general population. The long‐term effects of COVID‐19 worries, interruptions to care and hospital avoidance require further study.
Human face perception requires a network of brain regions distributed throughout the occipital and temporal lobes with a right hemisphere advantage. Present theories consider this network as either a ...processing hierarchy beginning with the inferior occipital gyrus (occipital face area; IOG-faces/OFA) or a multiple-route network with nonhierarchical components. The former predicts that removing IOG-faces/OFA will detrimentally affect downstream stages, whereas the latter does not. We tested this prediction in a human patient (Patient S.P.) requiring removal of the right inferior occipital cortex, including IOG-faces/OFA. We acquired multiple fMRI measurements in Patient S.P. before and after a preplanned surgery and multiple measurements in typical controls, enabling both within-subject/across-session comparisons (Patient S.P. before resection vs Patient S.P. after resection) and between-subject/across-session comparisons (Patient S.P. vs controls). We found that the spatial topology and selectivity of downstream ipsilateral face-selective regions were stable 1 and 8 month(s) after surgery. Additionally, the reliability of distributed patterns of face selectivity in Patient S.P. before versus after resection was not different from across-session reliability in controls. Nevertheless, postoperatively, representations of visual space were typical in dorsal face-selective regions but atypical in ventral face-selective regions and V1 of the resected hemisphere. Diffusion weighted imaging in Patient S.P. and controls identifies white matter tracts connecting retinotopic areas to downstream face-selective regions, which may contribute to the stable and plastic features of the face network in Patient S.P. after surgery. Together, our results support a multiple-route network of face processing with nonhierarchical components and shed light on stable and plastic features of high-level visual cortex following focal brain damage.
Brain networks consist of interconnected functional regions commonly organized in processing hierarchies. Prevailing theories predict that damage to the input of the hierarchy will detrimentally affect later stages. We tested this prediction with multiple brain measurements in a rare human patient requiring surgical removal of the putative input to a network processing faces. Surprisingly, the spatial topology and selectivity of downstream face-selective regions are stable after surgery. Nevertheless, representations of visual space were typical in dorsal face-selective regions but atypical in ventral face-selective regions and V1. White matter connections from outside the face network may support these stable and plastic features. As processing hierarchies are ubiquitous in biological and nonbiological systems, our results have pervasive implications for understanding the construction of resilient networks.
Sugars play key roles in many molecular and cellular communication processes involving a family of proteins named lectins. The low affinity associated with sugar recognition is generally ...counterbalanced by the multivalent nature of the interaction. While many polyglycosylated architectures have been described, only a few studies focused on the impact of topology variations of the multivalent structures on the interaction with lectin proteins. One major interest of our group concerns the design of new highly predictable and stable molecular pseudo‐peptide architectures for therapeutic applications. In such a context, we described a class of constrained heterocyclic γ‐amino acids built around a thiazole ring, named ATCs. ATC oligomers are helical molecules resulting from the formation of a highly stable C9 hydrogen‐bonding pattern. Following our program, we herein address the potential of ATC oligomers as tunable scaffolds for the development of original multivalent glycoclusters.
ATC oligomers are helical molecules resulting from the formation of a highly stable C9 hydrogen‐bonding pattern. As a result of this work, the potential of ATC oligomers as tunable scaffolds for the development of original multivalent glycoclusters is addressed (see figure).
Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 is known to play a paradoxical positive role in tumor angiogenesis, but its contribution to metastatic spread remains unclear. We studied the impact of plasminogen ...activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 deficiency in a transgenic mouse model of ocular tumors originating from retinal epithelial cells and leading to brain metastasis (TRP-1/SV40 Tag mice). PAI-1 deficiency did not affect primary tumor growth or vascularization, but was associated with a smaller number of brain metastases. Brain metastases were found to be differentially distributed between the two genotypes. PAI-1-deficient mice displayed mostly secondary foci expanding from local optic nerve infiltration, whereas wild-type animals displayed more disseminated nodules in the scissura and meningeal spaces. SuperArray GEarray analyses aimed at detecting molecules potentially compensating for PAI-1 deficiency demonstrated an increase in fibroblast growth factor-1 (FGF-1) gene expression in primary tumors, which was confirmed by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Our data provide the first evidence of a key role for PAI-1 in a spontaneous model of metastasis and suggest that angiogenic factors, such as FGF-1, may be important for primary tumor growth and may compensate for the absence of PAI-1. They identify PAI-1 and FGF-1 as important targets for combined antitumor strategies.
Abstract Glycation is the process whereby sugars bind to the free amine residues of proteins. These newly formed modified molecular species are known as ‘advanced glycation end-products’, or AGEs. ...AGE toxicity may occur through at least three mechanisms: interaction with the receptor for AGEs (RAGE); tissue deposition; and in situ glycation. AGEs trigger proinflammatory, profibrotic and procoagulant cellular responses that are capable of damaging tissues, often targeting particular organs. In diabetic patients, the conditions needed to promote AGE formation are all present, and are further accentuated by accompanying renal failure. The aim of this review is to outline the involvement of AGEs in the various forms of renal pathology associated with diabetic and non-diabetic nephropathies. AGEs are present in all renal compartments in diabetic patients, including the vessels, glomeruli, tubules and interstitium. Many cell types may be activated—specifically, endothelial, tubular and mesangial cells, and podocytes. AGEs play a major role in the accumulation of extracellular matrix, as occurs in diabetic glomerulosclerosis, and are also involved in most diabetic (renovascular, microangiopathic and glomerular) and non-diabetic renal injury associated with progressive glomerulosclerosis and ageing.
This study aimed to develop consensus on an internationally agreed dataset for juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM), designed for clinical use, to enhance collaborative research and allow integration of ...data between centres.
A prototype dataset was developed through a formal process that included analysing items within existing databases of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. This template was used to aid a structured multistage consensus process. Exploiting Delphi methodology, two web-based questionnaires were distributed to healthcare professionals caring for patients with JDM identified through email distribution lists of international paediatric rheumatology and myositis research groups. A separate questionnaire was sent to parents of children with JDM and patients with JDM, identified through established research networks and patient support groups. The results of these parallel processes informed a face-to-face nominal group consensus meeting of international myositis experts, tasked with defining the content of the dataset. This developed dataset was tested in routine clinical practice before review and finalisation.
A dataset containing 123 items was formulated with an accompanying glossary. Demographic and diagnostic data are contained within form A collected at baseline visit only, disease activity measures are included within form B collected at every visit and disease damage items within form C collected at baseline and annual visits thereafter.
Through a robust international process, a consensus dataset for JDM has been formulated that can capture disease activity and damage over time. This dataset can be incorporated into national and international collaborative efforts, including existing clinical research databases.
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