15 research outputs found
The effect of epidermal growth factor and IGF-I infusion on hepatic and renal expression of the IGF-system in adult female rats
Systemic administration of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in neonatal rats
results in reduced body weight gain and decreased circulating levels of
IGF-I, suggesting its involvement in EGF-induced growth retardation. We
investigated the effect of EGF and/or IGF-I administration for 7 days on
circulating IGF-I and IGFBP levels and hepatic and renal IGF-system mRNA
expression profiles in adult female rats. EGF administration (30
microg/rat/day) did not influence body weight, liver or kidney weight. In
contrast, IGF-I (400 microg/rat/day) and EGF/IGF-I administration
increased both body weight and kidney weight. Also, serum IGF-I and the 30
kDa IGFBPs (IGFBP-1 and -2) were significantly increased in these groups.
Serum IGFBP-3 levels increased in the IGF-I group along with increased
hepatic IGFBP-1 and -3 mRNA levels. In contrast, in the EGF administration
group serum IGFBP-3 levels were significantly decreased; however, the mRNA
levels remained unchanged. In the EGF/IGF-I administration group, serum
IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels were significantly lowered when compared with the
IGF-I administration group. This was in contrast to the effect on kidney
weight increase that was identical for the IGF-I and EGF/IGF-I groups. The
decrease in serum IGFBP-3 was not reflected at the hepatic IGFBP-3 mRNA
level. IGFBP-3 expression might be regulated at a post-transcriptional
level although EGF induced IGFBP-3 proteolysis could not be demonstrated
in vitro. We conclude that EGF administration reduced serum IGFBP-3
whereas IGF-I administration increased the level of IGFBP-3 and IGF-I and
resulted in an increased body and kidney weight in adult female rats
Genetic variants for head size share genes and pathways with cancer
The size of the human head is highly heritable, but genetic drivers of its variation within the general population remain unmapped. We perform a genome-wide association study on head size (N = 80,890) and identify 67 genetic loci, of which 50 are novel. Neuroimaging studies show that 17 variants affect specific brain areas, but most have widespread effects. Gene set enrichment is observed for various cancers and the p53, Wnt, and ErbB signaling pathways. Genes harboring lead variants are enriched for macrocephaly syndrome genes (37-fold) and high-fidelity cancer genes (9-fold), which is not seen for human height variants. Head size variants are also near genes preferentially expressed in intermediate progenitor cells, neural cells linked to evolutionary brain expansion. Our results indicate that genes regulating early brain and cranial growth incline to neoplasia later in life, irrespective of height. This warrants investigation of clinical implications of the link between head size and cancer.</p
Assessing associations between the AURKAHMMR-TPX2-TUBG1 functional module and breast cancer risk in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers
While interplay between BRCA1 and AURKA-RHAMM-TPX2-TUBG1 regulates mammary epithelial polarization, common genetic variation in HMMR (gene product RHAMM) may be associated with risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers. Following on these observations, we further assessed the link between the AURKA-HMMR-TPX2-TUBG1 functional module and risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers. Forty-one single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 15,252 BRCA1 and 8,211 BRCA2 mutation carriers and subsequently analyzed using a retrospective likelihood appr
Genome-Wide Association Study in BRCA1 Mutation Carriers Identifies Novel Loci Associated with Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk
BRCA1-associated breast and ovarian cancer risks can be modified by common genetic variants. To identify further cancer risk-modifying loci, we performed a multi-stage GWAS of 11,705 BRCA1 carriers (of whom 5,920 were diagnosed with breast and 1,839 were diagnosed with ovarian cancer), with a further replication in an additional sample of 2,646 BRCA1 carriers. We identified a novel breast cancer risk modifier locus at 1q32 for BRCA1 carriers (rs2290854, P = 2.7Ă10-8, HR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.09-1.20). In addition, we identified two novel ovarian cancer risk modifier loci: 17q21.31 (rs17631303, P = 1.4Ă10-8, HR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.17-1.38) and 4q32.3 (rs4691139, P = 3.4Ă10-8, HR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.17-1.38). The 4q32.3 locus was not associated with ovarian cancer risk in the general population or BRCA2 carriers, suggesting a BRCA1-specific associat
The Influence of Number and Timing of Pregnancies on Breast Cancer Risk for Women With BRCA1 or BRCA2 Mutations
Background: Full-term pregnancy (FTP) is associated with a reduced breast cancer (BC) risk over time, but women are at
increased BC risk in the immediate years following an FTP. No large prospective studies, however, have examined whether
the number and timing of pregnancies are associated with BC risk for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.
Methods: Using weighted and time-varying Cox proportional hazards models, we investigated whether reproductive events
are associated with BC risk for mutation carriers using a retrospective cohort (5707 BRCA1 and 3525 BRCA2 mutation carriers)
and a prospective cohort (2276 BRCA1 and 1610 BRCA2 mutation carriers), separately for each cohort and the combined prospective and retrospective cohort.
Results: For BRCA1 mutation carriers, there was no overall association with parity compared with nulliparity (combined
hazard ratio [HRc] Œ 0.99, 95% confidence interval [CI] Œ 0.83 to 1.18). Relative to being uniparous, an increased number of FTPs was associated with decreased BC risk (HRcŒ 0.79, 95% CI Œ 0.69 to 0.91; HRcŒ 0.70, 95% CI Œ 0.59 to 0.82; HRcŒ 0.50, 95%
CI Œ 0.40 to 0.63, for 2, 3, and 4 FTPs, respectively, Ptrend < .0001) and increasing duration of breastfeeding was associated
with decreased BC risk (combined cohort Ptrend Œ .0003). Relative to being nulliparous, uniparous BRCA1 mutation carriers
were at increased BC risk in the prospective analysis (prospective hazard ration [HRp] Œ 1.69, 95% CI Œ 1.09 to 2.62). For BRCA2
mutation carriers, being parous was associated with a 30% increase in BC risk (HRc Œ 1.33, 95% CI Œ 1.05 to 1.69), and there
was no apparent decrease in risk associated with multiparity except for having at least 4 FTPs vs. 1 FTP (HRcŒ 0.72, 95%
CI Œ 0.54 to 0.98).
Conclusions: These findings suggest differential associations with parity between BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers with
higher risk for uniparous BRCA1 carriers and parous BRCA2 carriers
A case-only study to identify genetic modifiers of breast cancer risk for BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers
Breast cancer (BC) risk for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers varies by genetic and familial factors. About 50 common variants have been shown to modify BC risk for mutation carriers. All but three, were identified in general population studies. Other mutation carrier-specific susceptibility variants may exist but studies of mutation carriers have so far been underpowered. We conduct a novel case-only genome-wide association study comparing genotype frequencies between 60,212 general population BC cases and 13,007 cases with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. We identify robust novel associations for 2 variants with BC for BRCA1 and 3 for BRCA2 mutation carriers, P < 10â8, at 5 loci, which are not associated with risk in the general population. They include rs60882887 at 11p11.2 where MADD, SP11 and EIF1, genes previously implicated in BC biology, are predicted as potential targets. These findings will contribute towards customising BC polygenic risk scores for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers
The psychological impact of IVF failure after two or more cycles of IVF with a mild versus standard treatment strategy
Background: Failure of IVF treatment after a number of cycles can be devastating for couples. Although mild IVF strategies reduce the psychological burden of treatment, failure may cause feelings of regret that a more aggressive approach, including the transfer of two embryos, was not employed. In this study, the impact of treatment failure after two or more cycles on stress was studied, following treatment with a mild versus a standard treatment strategy. Methods: Randomized controlled two-centre trial (ISRCTN35766970). Women were randomized to undergo mild ovarian stimulation (including GnRH antagonist co-treatment) and single embryo transfer (n = 197) or standard GnRH agonist long-protocol ovarian stimulation with double embryo transfer (n = 194). Participants completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale prior to commencing treatment and 1 week after the outcome of their final treatment cycle was known. Data from women who underwent two or more IVF cycles were subject to analysis (n = 253). Results: Women who experienced treatment failure after standard IVF treatment presented more symptoms of depression 1 week after treatment termination compared with women who had undergone mild IVF: adjusted mean (±95% confidence interval) = 10.2 (±2.3) versus 5.4 (±1.8), respectively, P = 0.01. Conclusions: Failure of IVF treatment after a mild treatment strategy may result in fewer short-term symptoms of depression as compared to failure after a standard treatment strategy. These findings may further encourage the application of mild IVF treatment strategies in clinical practice
The development of an online decision aid to support persons having a genetic predisposition to cancer and their partners during reproductive decision-making: a usability and pilot study
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The development of an online decision aid to support persons having a genetic predisposition to cancer and their partners during reproductive decision-making : a usability and pilot study
An online decision aid to support persons having a genetic predisposition to cancer and their partners during reproductive decision-making was developed. A two-phase usability test was conducted among 12 couples (N = 22; 2 persons participated without their partner) at risk for hereditary cancer and 15 health care providers. Couples and health care providers expressed similar suggestions for improvements, and evaluated the modified decision aid as acceptable, easy to use, and comprehensible. The final decision aid was pilot tested (N = 16) with paired sample t tests comparing main outcomes (decisional conflict, knowledge, realistic expectations regarding the reproductive options and decision self-efficacy) before (T0), immediately (T1) and 2 weeks after (T2) use of the decision aid. Pilot testing indicated decreased decisional conflict scores, increased knowledge, and improved realistic expectations regarding the reproductive options, at T1 and T2. No effect was found for couplesâ decision self-efficacy. The positive findings during usability testing were thus reflected in the pilot study. The decision aid will be further evaluated in a nationwide pretestâposttest study to facilitate implementation in the onco-genetic counselling setting. Ultimately, it is expected that the decision aid will enable end-users to make an informed decision