Closing the treatment gap in low-income countries: outlining a culturally sensitive digital self-guided intervention for adolescents with anxiety disorder

Hovedoppgave psykologprogrammetPROPSY317PRPSY

Evasion of phagocytosis through cooperation between two ligand-binding regions in Streptococcus pyogenes M protein.

The M protein of Streptococcus pyogenes is a major bacterial virulence factor that confers resistance to phagocytosis. To analyze how M protein allows evasion of phagocytosis, we used the M22 protein, which has features typical of many M proteins and has two well-characterized regions binding human plasma proteins: the hypervariable NH2-terminal region binds C4b-binding protein (C4BP), which inhibits the classical pathway of complement activation; and an adjacent semivariable region binds IgA-Fc. Characterization of chromosomal S. pyogenes mutants demonstrated that each of the ligand-binding regions contributed to phagocytosis resistance, which could be fully explained as cooperation between the two regions. Deposition of complement on S. pyogenes occurred almost exclusively via the classical pathway, even under nonimmune conditions, but was down-regulated by bacteria-bound C4BP, providing an explanation for the ability of bound C4BP to inhibit phagocytosis. Different opsonizing antisera shared the ability to block binding of both C4BP and IgA, suggesting that the two regions in M22 play important roles also under immune conditions, as targets for protective antibodies. These data indicate that M22 and similar M proteins confer resistance to phagocytosis through ability to bind two components of the human immune system

The X-ray structure of human calbindin-D28K: an improved model

Calbindin-D28K is a widely expressed calcium-buffering cytoplasmic protein that is involved in many physiological processes. It has been shown to interact with other proteins, suggesting a role as a calcium sensor. Many of the targets of calbindin-D28K are of therapeutic interest: for example, inositol monophosphatase, the putative target of lithium therapy in bipolar disorder. Presented here is the first crystal structure of human calbindin-D28K. There are significant deviations in the tertiary structure when compared with the NMR structure of rat calbindin-D28K (PDB entry 2g9b), despite 98% sequence identity. Smallangle X-ray scattering (SAXS) indicates that the crystal structure better predicts the properties of calbindin-D28K in solution compared with the NMR structure. Here, the first direct visualization of the calcium-binding properties of calbindinD28K is presented. Four of the six EF-hands that make up the secondary structure of the protein contain a calcium-binding site. Two distinct conformations of the N-terminal EF-hand calcium-binding site were identified using long-wavelength calcium single-wavelength anomalous dispersion (SAD). This flexible region has previously been recognized as a protein–protein interaction interface. SAXS data collected in both the presence and absence of calcium indicate that there are no large structural differences in the globular structure of calbindin-D28K between the calcium-loaded and unloaded proteins

Impact on allergic immune response after treatment with vitamin A

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vitamin A may have some influence on the immune system, but the role in allergy modulation is still unclear.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To clarify whether high levels of retinoic acid (RA) affects allergic response <it>in vivo</it>, we used a murine experimental model of airway allergic disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Ovalbumin (OVA)-immunization/OVA-challenge (OVA/OVA) and house dust mite (HDM)-immunization/HDM-challenge (HDM/HDM) experimental murine models of allergic airway disease, using C57Bl.10/Q groups of mice (n = 10) treated subcutaneously with different concentrations of all-trans RA (0, 50, 500 and 2,500 ug) every 2-days were used to assess the allergic immune response.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Levels of total and specific-IgE in sera were increased in all groups of RA treated OVA/OVA and HDM/HDM mice. Percentage and total amount of recruited eosinophil in airways by bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were significantly enhanced in groups treated with 50, 500 and 2,500 ug of RA compared to non-treated mice. However, the group of mice treated with 2,500 ug had less eosinophil recruitment than the other two groups (50 and 500 ug). In parallel, levels of IL-5 and total IgE in BALF were also significantly diminished in the group treated with 2,500 ug compared to the other 2 groups (50 and 500 ug). Finally, total lung resistance was decreased in group treated with 2,500 ug compared to non-treated mice.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that retinoic acid directly enhances allergic response <it>in vivo</it>, but in higher doses may produce of immune suppression.</p

Correlation between glomerular filtration rate and urinary N acetyl-beta-D glucosaminidase in children with persistent proteinuria in chronic glomerular disease

PurposeUrinary excretion of N acetyl-beta-D glucosaminidase (NAG) and β2-microglobulin (β2-M) was increased in the presence of proximal tubular damage. Based on these urinary materials, we investigated the ability of expecting renal function in chronic glomerular diseases. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between glomerular filtration rate (GFR) urinary NAG, and urinary β2-M.MethodsWe evaluated 52 children with chronic kidney disease at the Chung-Ang University Hospital between January 2003 and August 2009. We investigated the 24-hour urinalysis and hematologic values in all 52 patients. Serum creatinine, creatinine clearance (Ccr), serum cystatin C, urinary β2-M and urinary NAG were measured.ResultsOut of 52 patients, there were 13 children with minimal change in disease, 3 children with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, 17 children with immunoglobulin A nephropathy, 15 children with Henoch-Schönlein purpua nephritis, 3 children with poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis, and 1 child with thin glomerular basement membrane disease. In these patients, there were significant correlation between the Ccr and urinary NAG (r=-0.817; P<0.01), and between the GFR (as determined by Schwartz method) and urinary NAG (r=-0.821; P<0.01). In addition, there was a significant correlation between the GFR (as determined by Bokencamp method) and urinary NAG (r=-0.858; P<0.01).ConclusionIn our study, there was a significant correlation between the GFR and urinary NAG, but there was no correlation between the GFR and urinary β2-M, suggesting that the GFR can be predicted by urinary NAG in patients with chronic glomerular disease

Proteomic analysis of breast tumors confirms the mRNA intrinsic molecular subtypes using different classifiers: a large-scale analysis of fresh frozen tissue samples

Background: Breast cancer is a complex and heterogeneous disease that is usually characterized by histological parameters such as tumor size, cellular arrangements/rearrangments, necrosis, nuclear grade and the mitotic index, leading to a set of around twenty subtypes. Together with clinical markers such as hormone receptor status, this classification has considerable prognostic value but there is a large variation in patient response to therapy. Gene expression profiling has provided molecular profiles characteristic of distinct subtypes of breast cancer that reflect the divergent cellular origins and degree of progression.Methods: Here we present a large-scale proteomic and transcriptomic profiling study of 477 sporadic and hereditary breast cancer tumors with matching mRNA expression analysis. Unsupervised hierarchal clustering was performed and selected proteins from large-scale tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis were transferred into a highly multiplexed targeted selected reaction monitoring assay to classify tumors using a hierarchal cluster and support vector machine with leave one out cross-validation.Results: The subgroups formed upon unsupervised clustering agree very well with groups found at transcriptional level; however, the classifiers (genes or their respective protein products) differ almost entirely between the two datasets. In-depth analysis shows clear differences in pathways unique to each type, which may lie behind their different clinical outcomes. Targeted mass spectrometry analysis and supervised clustering correlate very well with subgroups determined by RNA classification and show convincing agreement with clinical parameters.Conclusions: This work demonstrates the merits of protein expression profiling for breast cancer stratification. These findings have important implications for the use of genomics and expression analysis for the prediction of protein expression, such as receptor status and drug target expression. The highly multiplexed MS assay is easily implemented in standard clinical chemistry practice, allowing rapid and cheap characterization of tumor tissue suitable for directing the choice of treatment

Rapid and facile purification of apolipoprotein A-I from human plasma using thermoresponsive nanoparticles

Nanoparticles can be used to purify proteins from plasma. We report here the purification of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) with high specificity from human plasma using copolymeric nanoparticles. We present an optimized protocol using 50:50 NiPAM:BAM copolymer nanoparticles with thermo-responsive properties as an affinity resin. Repeated pelleting and washing of nanoparticle-captured apoA-I is achieved through temperature cycling. The protein is then eluted using urea followed by an ion exchange step for protein concentration and depletion of nanoparticle

Protein GB1 Folding and Assembly from Structural Elements

Folding of the Protein G B1 domain (PGB1) shifts with increasing salt concentration from a cooperative assembly of inherently unstructured subdomains to an assembly of partly pre-folded structures. The salt-dependence of pre-folding contributes to the stability minimum observed at physiological salt conditions. Our conclusions are based on a study in which the reconstitution of PGB1 from two fragments was studied as a function of salt concentrations and temperature using circular dichroism spectroscopy. Salt was found to induce an increase in β-hairpin structure for the C-terminal fragment (residues 41 – 56), whereas no major salt effect on structure was observed for the isolated N-terminal fragment (residues 1 – 41). In line with the increasing evidence on the interrelation between fragment complementation and stability of the corresponding intact protein, we also find that salt effects on reconstitution can be predicted from salt dependence of the stability of the intact protein. Our data show that our variant (which has the mutations T2Q, N8D, N37D and reconstitutes in a manner similar to the wild type) displays the lowest equilibrium association constant around physiological salt concentration, with higher affinity observed both at lower and higher salt concentration. This corroborates the salt effects on the stability towards denaturation of the intact protein, for which the stability at physiological salt is lower compared to both lower and higher salt concentrations. Hence we conclude that reconstitution reports on molecular factors that govern the native states of proteins

Transient binding of an activator BH3 domain to the Bak BH3-binding groove initiates Bak oligomerization

Interaction between the hydrophobic Bak BH3-binding groove and the BH3 domain of activator proteins is a key step in initiating Bak oligomerization and activation

IgG and fibrinogen driven nanoparticle aggregation

A thorough understanding of how proteins induce nanoparticle (NP) aggregation is crucial when designing in vitro and in vivo assays and interpreting experimental results. This knowledge is also crucial when developing nano-applications and formulation for drug delivery systems. In this study, we found that extraction of immunoglobulin G (IgG) from cow serum results in lower polystyrene NPs aggregation. Moreover, addition of isolated IgG or fibrinogen to fetal cow serum enhanced this aggregation, thus demonstrating that these factors are major drivers of NP aggregation in serum. Counter-intuitively, NP aggregation was inversely dependent on protein concentration; i.e., low protein concentrations induced large aggregates, whereas high protein concentrations induced small aggregates. Protein-induced NP aggregation and aggregate size were monitored by absorbance at 400 nm and dynamic light scattering, respectively. Here, we propose a mechanism behind the protein concentration dependent aggregation; this mechanism involves the effects of multiple protein interactions on the NP surface, surface area limitations, aggregation kinetics, and the influence of other serum proteins.We thank Professor Sara Linse for scientific discussions and advice and Professor Patrik Brundin for enabling access to the light microscope. The project received financial support from Nanometer structure consortium at Lund University (nmC@LU), Lars Hierta Foundation, and the research school FLAK of Lund University