Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Evidence For Association Between The Hla-Dqa Locus And Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms In The Belgian Population: A Case Control Study, Toru Ogata, Lucie Gregoire, Katrina Ab Goddard, Magdalena Skunca, Gerard Tromp, Wayne D. Lancaster, Antonio R. Parrado, Qing Lu, Hidenori Shibamura, Natzi Sakalihasan, Raymond Limet, Gerald L. Mackean, Claudette Arthur, Taijiro Sueda, Helena Kuivaniemi

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Chronic inflammation and autoimmunity likely contribute to the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of autoimmunity in the etiology of AAAs using a genetic association study approach with HLA polymorphisms.

Methods

HLA-DQA1, -DQB1, -DRB1 and -DRB3-5 alleles were determined in 387 AAA cases (180 Belgian and 207 Canadian) and 426 controls (269 Belgian and 157 Canadian) by a PCR and single-strand oligonucleotide probe hybridization assay.

Results

We observed a potential association with the HLA-DQA1 locus among Belgian males (empirical p = 0.027, asymptotic p = 0.071). Specifically, there …

A Database And Tool, Im Browser, For Exploring And Integrating Emerging Gene And Protein Interaction Data For Drosophila, Svetlana Pacifico, Guozhen Liu, Stephen Guest, Jodi R. Parrish, Farshad Fotouhi, Russell L. Finley Jr

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Biological processes are mediated by networks of interacting genes and proteins. Efforts to map and understand these networks are resulting in the proliferation of interaction data derived from both experimental and computational techniques for a number of organisms. The volume of this data combined with the variety of specific forms it can take has created a need for comprehensive databases that include all of the available data sets, and for exploration tools to facilitate data integration and analysis. One powerful paradigm for the navigation and analysis of interaction data is an interaction graph or map that represents proteins …

Decreased Intracellular Zinc In Human Tumorigenic Prostate Epithelial Cells: A Possible Role In Prostate Cancer Progression, Liping Huang, Catherine P. Kirschke, Yunfan Zhang

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Zinc plays important roles in maintaining normal function of the prostate and in development of prostate malignancy. It has been demonstrated that prostate malignant epithelial cells contain much less cellular zinc than the surrounding normal epithelial cells. However, the pathway(s) which leads to lower zinc accumulation in malignant prostate epithelial cells is poorly understood. In this study, the zinc homeostatic features of two human prostate epithelial cell lines (non-tumorigenic, RWPE1, and tumorigenic, RWPE2) were investigated. Effects of over-expression of ZIP1 in RWPE2 on cell proliferation and apoptosis were also studied.

Results

RWPE2 accumulated less intracellular zinc than RWPE1 …

Transcriptional Profiling Of Degraded Rna In Cryopreserved And Fixed Tissue Samples Obtained At Autopsy, Andrew C. Haller, Deepa Kanakapalli, Rosemarie Walter, Samir Alhasan, James F. Eliason, Richard B. Everson

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Traditional multiplexed gene expression methods require well preserved, intact RNA. Such specimens are difficult to acquire in clinical practice where formalin fixation is the standard procedure for processing tissue. Even when special handling methods are used to obtain frozen tissue, there may be RNA degradation; for example autopsy samples where degradation occurs both pre-mortem and during the interval between death and cryopreservation. Although specimens with partially degraded RNA can be analyzed by qRT-PCR, these analyses can only be done individually or at low levels of multiplexing and are laborious and expensive to run for large numbers of RNA …

Identification Of Novel Functional Sequence Variants In The Gene For Peptidase Inhibitor 3, Mahboob A. Chowdhury, Helena Kuivaniemi, Roberto Romero, Samuel Edwin, Tinnakorn Chaiworapongsa, Gerard Tromp

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Peptidase inhibitor 3 (PI3) inhibits neutrophil elastase and proteinase-3, and has a potential role in skin and lung diseases as well as in cancer. Genome-wide expression profiling of chorioamniotic membranes revealed decreased expression of PI3 in women with preterm premature rupture of membranes. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms contributing to the decreased expression in amniotic membranes, the PI3 gene was searched for sequence variations and the functional significance of the identified promoter variants was studied.

Methods

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified by direct sequencing of PCR products spanning a region from 1,173 bp upstream to 1,266 bp …

Production Of Il-16 Correlates With Cd4+ Th1 Inflammation And Phosphorylation Of Axonal Cytoskeleton In Multiple Sclerosis Lesions, Dusanka S. Skundric, Juan Cai, William W. Cruikshank, Djordje Gveric

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system-specific autoimmune, demyelinating and neurodegenerative disease. Infiltration of lesions by autoaggressive, myelin-specific CD4+Th1 cells correlates with clinical manifestations of disease. The cytokine IL-16 is a CD4+ T cell-specific chemoattractant that is biased towards CD4+ Th1 cells. IL-16 precursor is constitutively expressed in lymphocytes and during CD4+ T cell activation; active caspase-3 cleaves and releases C-terminal bioactive IL-16. Previously, we used an animal model of MS to demonstrate an important role for IL-16 in regulation of autoimmune inflammation and subsequent axonal damage. This role of IL-16 in MS is largely unexplored. Here …

K-Spmm: A Database Of Murine Spermatogenic Promoters Modules & Motifs, Yi Lu, Adrian E. Platts, G Charles Ostermeier, Stephen A. Krawetz

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Understanding the regulatory processes that coordinate the cascade of gene expression leading to male gamete development has proven challenging. Research has been hindered in part by an incomplete picture of the regulatory elements that are both characteristic of and distinctive to the broad population of spermatogenically expressed genes.

Description

K-SPMM, a database of murine Spermatogenic Promoters Modules and Motifs, has been developed as a web-based resource for the comparative analysis of promoter regions and their constituent elements in developing male germ cells. The system contains data on 7,551 genes and 11,715 putative promoter regions …

Arterial Blood Pressure Monitoring In Overweight Critically Ill Patients: Invasive Or Noninvasive?, Ali Araghi, Joseph J. Bander, Jorge A. Guzman

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Introduction

Blood pressure measurements frequently guide management in critical care. Direct readings, commonly from a major artery, are considered to be the gold standard. Because arterial cannulation is associated with risks, alternative noninvasive blood pressure (NIBP) measurements are routinely used. However, the accuracy of NIBP determinations in overweight patients in the outpatient setting is variable, and little is known about critically ill patients. This prospective, observational study was performed to compare direct intra-arterial blood pressure (IABP) with NIBP measurements obtained using auscultatory and oscillometric methods in overweight patients admitted to our medical intensive care unit.

Method

Adult critically ill …