PLoS One

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a common, progressive multifactorial vision-threatening disease and many genetic and environmental risk factors have been identified. The risk of AMD is influenced by lifestyle and diet, which may be reflected by an altered metabolic profile. Therefore, measurements of metabolites could identify biomarkers for AMD, and could aid in identifying high-risk individuals. Hypothesis-free technologies such as metabolomics have a great potential to uncover biomarkers or pathways that contribute to disease pathophysiology. To date, only a limited number of metabolomic studies have been performed in AMD. Here, we aim to contribute to the discovery of novel biomarkers and metabolic pathways for AMD using a targeted metabolomics approach of 188 metabolites. This study focuses on non-advanced AMD, since there is a need for biomarkers for the early stages of disease before severe visual loss has occurred. Targeted metabolomics was performed in 72 patients with early or intermediate AMD and 72 control individuals, and metabolites predictive for AMD were identified by a sparse partial least squares discriminant analysis. In our cohort, we identified four metabolite variables that were most predictive for early and intermediate stages of AMD. Increased glutamine and phosphatidylcholine diacyl C28:1 levels were detected in non-advanced AMD cases compared to controls, while the rate of glutaminolysis and the glutamine to glutamate ratio were reduced in non-advanced AMD. The association of glutamine with non-advanced AMD corroborates a recent report demonstrating an elevated glutamine level in early AMD using a different metabolomics technique. In conclusion, this study indicates that metabolomics is a suitable method for the discovery of biomarker candidates for AMD. In the future, larger metabolomics studies could add to the discovery of novel biomarkers in yet unknown AMD pathways and expand our insights in AMD pathophysiology

Ökosystemleistungen in der Stadt

ÖKOSYSTEMLEISTUNGEN IN DER STADT Ökosystemleistungen in der Stadt / Kowarik, Ingo (Rights reserved) ( -

An ex vivo human cartilage repair model to evaluate the potency of a cartilage cell transplant

Abstract Background Cell-based therapies such as autologous chondrocyte implantation are promising therapeutic approaches to treat cartilage defects to prevent further cartilage degeneration. To assure consistent quality of cell-based therapeutics, it is important to be able to predict the biological activity of such products. This requires the development of a potency assay, which assesses a characteristic of the cell transplant before implantation that can predict its cartilage regeneration capacity after implantation. In this study, an ex vivo human cartilage repair model was developed as quality assessment tool for potency and applied to co.don’s chondrosphere product, a matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte implant (chondrocyte spheroids) that is in clinical use in Germany. Methods Chondrocyte spheroids were generated from 14 donors, and implanted into a subchondral cartilage defect that was manually generated in human articular cartilage tissue. Implanted spheroids and cartilage tissue were co-cultured ex vivo for 12 weeks to allow regeneration processes to form new tissue within the cartilage defect. Before implantation, spheroid characteristics like glycosaminoglycan production and gene and protein expression of chondrogenic markers were assessed for each donor sample and compared to determine donor-dependent variation. Results After the co-cultivation, histological analyses showed the formation of repair tissue within the cartilage defect, which varied in amount for the different donors. In the repair tissue, aggrecan protein was expressed and extra-cellular matrix cartilage fibers were present, both indicative for a cartilage hyaline-like character of the repair tissue. The amount of formed repair tissue was used as a read-out for regeneration capacity and was correlated with the spheroid characteristics determined before implantation. A positive correlation was found between high level of aggrecan protein expression in spheroids before implantation and a higher regeneration potential after implantation, reflected by more newly formed repair tissue. Conclusion This demonstrated that aggrecan protein expression levels in spheroids before implantation can potentially be used as surrogate potency assay for the cartilage cell transplant to predict its regenerative capacity after implantation in human patients

Classificação Internacional para a Prática de Enfermagem: instrumental tecnológico para a prática profissional Clasificación Internacional para la Práctica de Enfermería: intrumentral tecnológico para la práctica profesional International Classification for Nursing Practice: technological instrument for professional practice

Considera-se o uso de tecnologias de informação como instrumentos que podem fazer com que a prática de enfermagem se torne visível no conjunto de dados de saúde, locais, nacionais e internacionais, de modo a influenciar na elaboração de políticas de saúde e de educação. Aborda-se o desenvolvimento dos sistemas de classificação em enfermagem, com ênfase na Classificação Internacional para a Prática de Enfermagem - CIPE®, como instrumental tecnológico para a prática profissional, que tem como um dos principais critérios para sua construção o de ser suficientemente ampla e sensível à diversidade cultural, de modo que sirva aos múltiplos propósitos requeridos pelos distintos países onde será utilizada.<br>El uso de tecnologías de información es considerado como instrumentos que pueden hacer la práctica de enfermería visible en los datos de salud, local, nacional e internacionalmente, de manera a influir en la elaboración de políticas de salud y educación. Aborda-se el desarrollo de los sistemas de la clasificación en enfermería se aproxima, con énfasis en la Clasificación Internacional para la Práctica de Enfermería - CIPE®, cono instrumental tecnológico para la practica profesional, que tiene como uno de los criterios para su construcción el de ser suficientemente ancho y sensible a la diversidad cultural, para que sirva a los múltiplos propósitos requeridos por los diferentes países dónde se la usará.<br>The use of information technologies are considered as instruments that can do that nursing practice becomes visible in health data, local, national and internationally, in way to influence the elaboration of health and education policies. The development of nursing classification systems is approached, with emphasis in the International Classification for Nursing Practice - ICNP®, with technological instrument for professional practice, which has as one of the principal criteria for its construction to be sufficiently wide and sensitive to cultural diversity, so that it serves to the multiples purposes requested by the different countries where it will be used

MOESM2 of An ex vivo human cartilage repair model to evaluate the potency of a cartilage cell transplant

Additional file 2: Figure S2. Lack of regeneration potential in spheroids derived from patient #14. Histological appearance of repair tissue formed after 12 weeks as shown by HE staining of cross sections of a condyle chip. (a) Without implanted spheroids (negative control), where only a multilayer (ML) of cells is present. (b) Of a condyle chip with implanted spheroids of patient #14, where the spheroids are only covered by a newly formed multilayer of cells (ML) that does not exceed the regeneration level of the negative control in (a). Scale bar 500 µm. ML, multilayer; NC, native cartilage; S, spheroid; SB, subchondral bone

Stadtnatur fördert die Gesundheit

Hornberg C, Beyer R, Claßen T, et al. Stadtnatur fördert die Gesundheit. In: Kowarik I, Bartz R, Brenck M, Technische Universität Berlin, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung – UFZ, eds. Ökosystem Leistungen in der Stadt - Gesundheit schützen und Lebensqualität erhöhen. Berlin, Leipzig; 2016: 98-126