36 research outputs found

    Gonadotrophin-mediated miRNA expression in testis at onset of puberty in rhesus monkey: Predictions on regulation of thyroid hormone activity and DLK1-DIO3 locus

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    Molecular mechanisms responsible for the initiation of primate spermatogenesis remain poorly characterized. Previously, 48 h stimulation of the testes of three juvenile rhesus monkeys with pulsatile LH and FSH resulted in down-regulation of a cohort of genes recognized to favor spermatogonia stem cell renewal. This change in genetic landscape occurred in concert with amplification of Sertoli cell proliferation and the commitment of undifferentiated spermatogonia to differentiate. In this report, the non-protein coding small RNA transcriptomes of the same testes were characterized using RNA sequencing: 537 mature micro-RNAs (miRNAs), 322 small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) and 49 small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) were identified. Pathway analysis of the 20 most highly expressed miRNAs suggested that these transcripts contribute to limiting the proliferation of the primate Sertoli cell during juvenile development. Gonadotrophin treatment resulted in differential expression of 35 miRNAs, 12 snoRNAs and four snRNA transcripts. Ten differentially expressed miRNAs were derived from the imprinted delta-like homolog 1-iodothyronine deiodinase 3 (DLK1-DIO3) locus that is linked to stem cell fate decisions. Four gonadotrophin-regulated expressed miRNAs were predicted to trigger a local increase in thyroid hormone activity within the juvenile testis. The latter finding leads us to predict that, in primates, a gonadotrophin-induced selective increase in testicular thyroid hormone activity, together with the established increase in androgen levels, at the onset of puberty is necessary for the normal timing of Sertoli cell maturation, and therefore initiation of spermatogenesis. Further examination of this hypothesis requires that peripubertal changes in thyroid hormone activity of the testis of a representative higher primate be determined empirically.Fil: Aliberti, Paula. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de PediatrĂ­a "Juan P. Garrahan". Servicio de EndocrinologĂ­a; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂ­ficas y TĂ©cnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sethi, Rahil. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Belgorosky, Alicia. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de PediatrĂ­a "Juan P. Garrahan". Servicio de EndocrinologĂ­a; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂ­ficas y TĂ©cnicas; ArgentinaFil: Chandran, Uma R.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Plant, Tony M.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Walker, William H.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unido

    Early administration of the first antimicrobials should be considered a marker of optimal care of patients with community-acquired pneumonia rather than a predictor of outcomes

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    Summary Background The effect of time of the first antimicrobial dose (TFAD) on the outcomes of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains a controversy. Methods This was an observational, retrospective study of consecutive adult patients hospitalized with CAP. TFAD was defined as the time in hours from arrival at the emergency department to the intravenous infusion of antimicrobial. All patients received appropriate antibiotic therapy according to available Infectious Diseases Society of America/American Thoracic Society guidelines during the time of our study. Multivariable analysis and a propensity score adjusted methodology were used to measure the association of TFAD with mortality, time to clinical stability (TCS), and length of stay in the hospital (LOS). Results Data of 372 patients with CAP were studied. A total 29 (8.4%) patients died within 30 days of hospitalization. Our propensity-adjusted logistic regression model did not show a significant association between TFAD and mortality ( p =0.148). Patients who died received antimicrobials significantly earlier than survivors: 5.7h vs. 7.5h, respectively ( p =0.04). The LOS and TCS were not significantly affected by the TFAD; the LOS hazard ratio was 0.996 (95% confidence interval 0.97–1.02; p =0.774) and the TCS hazard ratio was 1.01 (95% confidence interval 0.98–1.03; p =0.604). Conclusions TFAD does not seem to be associated with the clinical outcome of patients with CAP. Early TFAD should be considered as an important marker of optimal care of patients with CAP rather than as a factor predicting outcomes

    Short Duration of Antibiotic Therapy in Hospitalized Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia: Results from the CAPO International Cohort Study

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    Introduction: Experts suggest a short duration of antibiotic therapy (DOT) in responding patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical outcomes after hospital discharge among patients treated with short-course antibiotic therapy (SCT) vs. long-course antibiotic therapy (LCT) for CAP. Methods: A secondary analysis of the Community-Acquired Pneumonia Organization (CAPO) database from January 2007 to June 2013 was performed, including hospitalized CAP patients who reached clinical stability within 5 days. Two groups were identified: patients who were treated with antibiotic therapy for a total duration of 5 days or less (SCT Group) vs. longer than 5 days (LCT Group). Rehospitalization and mortality were evaluated at 30 days after discharge. Results: 1,849 patients were enrolled (58% males; median age: 65 years), 179 (10%) were included in the SCT and 1,670 (90%) in the LTC group. Median DOT was 5 days in the SCT and 10 days in the LTC group, p Conclusions: A duration of antibiotic therapy of ≀ 5 days does not adversely impact clinical outcomes at 30-days after discharge compared to \u3e5 days in patients who reached early clinical stability

    understanding the roles of cytokines and neutrophil activity and neutrophil apoptosis in the protective versus deleterious inflammatory response in pneumonia

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    SummaryInflammation is a double-edged sword in the outcome of pneumonia. On the one hand, an effective and timely inflammatory response is required to eliminate the invading respiratory pathogen. On the other, a toxic and prolonged inflammatory response may result in lung injury and poor outcomes, even in those receiving advanced medical care. This review focuses on recent understanding of the dynamics of the cytokine response, neutrophil activity, and responsiveness to cytokines and neutrophil lifespan as major elements of lung inflammation resulting in favorable or poor outcomes in lung infection primarily due to pneumococcus and influenza virus. Although some progress has been made in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the pneumonia inflammation axis composed of cytokines modulating neutrophil activation and neutrophil apoptosis, important questions remain to be answered. The degree of neutrophil activation, generation of reactive oxygen species, and the release of granule antimicrobial peptides play a key role in microbial pathogen clearance; however, prolonged neutrophil activation may contribute to lung injury and poor outcomes in pneumonia. Molecular markers of the mechanisms regulating neutrophil survival and apoptosis may help in the identification of novel therapeutic targets to modulate inflammation by inducing timely neutrophil apoptosis. A major task is to identify the mechanisms of dysregulation in inflammation leading to toxic responses, thereby targeting a biomarker and enabling timely therapies to modulate inflammation

    Using Cluster Analysis of Cytokines to Identify Patterns of Inflammation in Hospitalized Patients with Community-acquired Pneumonia:A Pilot Study

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    Purpose: Patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are believed to have an exaggerated inflammatory response to bacterial infection. Therapies aiming to modulate the inflammatory response have been largely unsuccessful, perhaps reflecting that CAP is a heterogeneous disorder that cannot be modulated by a single anti-inflammatory approach. We hypothesize that the host inflammatory response to pneumonia may be characterized by distinct cytokine patterns, which can be harnessed for personalized therapies. Methods: Here, we use hierarchical cluster analysis of cytokines to examine if patterns of inflammatory response in 13 hospitalized patients with CAP can be defined. This was a secondary data analysis of the Community-Acquired Pneumonia Inflammatory Study Group (CAPISG) database. The following cytokines were measured in plasma and sputum on the day of admission: interleukin (IL)-1ÎČ, IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), IL-6, CXCL8 (IL-8), IL-10, IL-12p40, IL-17, interferon (IFN)Îł, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α, and CXCL10 (IP-10). Hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithms were used to evaluate clusters of patients within plasma and sputum cytokine determinations. Results: A total of thirteen patients were included in this pilot study. Cluster analysis identified distinct inflammatory response patterns of cytokines in the plasma, sputum, and the ratio of plasma to sputum. Conclusions: Inflammatory response patterns in plasma and sputum can be identified in hospitalized patients with CAP. Characterization of the local and systemic inflammatory response may help to better discriminate patients for enrollment into clinical trials of immunomodulatory therapies

    A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

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    The testicular transcriptome associated with spermatogonia differentiation initiated by gonadotrophin stimulation in the juvenile rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta)

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    STUDY QUESTION What is the genetic landscape within the testis of the juvenile rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) that underlies the decision of undifferentiated spermatogonia to commit to a pathway of differentiation when puberty is induced prematurely by exogenous LH and FSH stimulation? SUMMARY ANSWER Forty-eight hours of gonadotrophin stimulation of the juvenile monkey testis resulted in the appearance of differentiating B spermatogonia and the emergence of 1362 up-regulated and 225 down-regulated testicular mRNAs encoding a complex network of proteins ranging from enzymes regulating Leydig cell steroidogenesis to membrane receptors, and from juxtacrine and paracrine factors to transcriptional factors governing spermatogonial stem cell fate. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Our understanding of the cell and molecular biology underlying the fate of undifferentiated spermatogonia is based largely on studies of rodents, particularly of mice, but in the case of primates very little is known. The present study represents the first attempt to comprehensively address this question in a highly evolved primate. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION Global gene expression in the testis from juvenile rhesus monkeys that had been stimulated with recombinant monkey LH and FSH for 48 h (N = 3) or 96 h (N = 4) was compared to that from vehicle treated animals (N = 3). Testicular cell types and testosterone secretion were also monitored. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Precocious testicular puberty was initiated in juvenile rhesus monkeys, 14-24 months of age, using a physiologic mode of intermittent stimulation with i.v. recombinant monkey LH and FSH that within 48 h produced Ăą adult' levels of circulating LH, FSH and testosterone. Mitotic activity was monitored by immunohistochemical assays of 5-bromo-2â€Č-deoxyuridine and 5-ethynyl-2â€Č-deoxyuridine incorporation. Animals were bilaterally castrated and RNA was extracted from the right testis. Global gene expression was determined using RNA-Seq. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified and evaluated by pathway analysis. mRNAs of particular interest were also quantitated using quantitative RT-PCR. Fractions of the left testis were used for histochemistry or immunoflouresence. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Differentiating type B spematogonia were observed after both 48 and 96 h of gonadotrophin stimulation. Pathway analysis identified five super categories of over-represented DEGs. Repression of GFRA1 (glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor family receptor alpha 1) and NANOS2 (nanos C2HC-type zinc finger 2) that favor spermatogonial stem cell renewal was noted after 48 and 96 h of LH and FSH stimulation. Additionally, changes in expression of numerous genes involved in regulating the Notch pathway, cell adhesion, structural plasticity and modulating the immune system were observed. Induction of genes associated with the differentiation of spermatogonia stem cells (SOHLH1(spermatogenesis- A nd oogenesis-specific basic helix-loop-helix 1), SOHLH2 and KIT (V-Kit Hardy-Zuckerman 4 feline sarcoma viral oncogene homolog)) was not observed. Expression of the gene encoding STRA8 (stimulated by retinoic acid 8), a protein generally considered to mark activation of retinoic acid signaling, was below our limit of detection. LARGE SCALE DATA The entire mRNA data set for vehicle and gonadotrophin treated animals (N = 10) has been deposited in the GEO-NCBI repository (GSE97786). LIMITATIONS REASONS FOR CAUTION The limited number of monkeys per group and the dilution of low abundance germ cell transcripts by mRNAs contributed from somatic cells likely resulted in an underestimation of the number of differentially expressed germ cell genes. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS The findings that expression of GDNF (a major promoter of spermatogonial stem cell renewal) was not detected in the control juvenile testes, expression of SOHLH1, SOHLH2 and KIT, promoters of spermatogonial differentiation in mice, were not up-regulated in association with the gonadotrophin-induced generation of differentiating spermatogonia, and that robust activation of the retinoic acid signaling pathway was not observed, could not have been predicted. These unexpected results underline the importance of non-human primate models in translating data derived from animal research to the human situation.Fil: Ramaswamy, Suresh. University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown; Estados Unidos. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Walker, William H.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown; Estados UnidosFil: Aliberti, Paula. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de PediatrĂ­a "Juan P. Garrahan"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂ­ficas y TĂ©cnicas; ArgentinaFil: Sethi, Rahil. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown; Estados UnidosFil: Marshall, Gary R.. No especifĂ­ca;Fil: Smith, Alyxzandria. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown; Estados UnidosFil: Nourashrafeddin, Seyedmehdi. University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown; Estados Unidos. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: Belgorosky, Alicia. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de PediatrĂ­a "Juan P. Garrahan"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂ­ficas y TĂ©cnicas; ArgentinaFil: Chandran, Uma R.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown; Estados UnidosFil: Hedger, Mark P.. Hudson Institute Of Medical Research; AustraliaFil: Plant, Tony M.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown; Estados Unido
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