Rigorous Impact Evaluation: Evidence generation and take-up in German Development Cooperation

This report presents the findings of a BMZ-funded research project on rigorous impact evaluation (RIE) in German development cooperation (GDC). The research project examined the status quo of RIE, relevant barriers and potential measures to increase both the initiation of RIEs and the take-up of (rigorous) evidence

Drosophila melanogaster cellular repressor of E1A-stimulated genes is a lysosomal protein essential for fly development

AbstractMammalian cellular repressor of E1A-stimulated genes is a lysosomal glycoprotein implicated in cellular growth and differentiation. The genome of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster encodes a putative orthologue (dCREG), suggesting evolutionarily conserved physiological functions of this protein. In D. melanogaster S2 cells, dCREG was found to localize in lysosomes. Further studies revealed that intracellular dCREG is subject of proteolytic maturation. Processing and turnover could be substantially reduced by RNAi-mediated silencing of cathepsin L. In contrast to mammalian cells, lysosomal delivery of dCREG does not depend on its carbohydrate moiety. Furthermore, depletion of the putative D. melanogaster lysosomal sorting receptor lysosomal enzyme receptor protein did not compromise cellular retention of dCREG. We also investigated the developmental consequences of dCREG ablation in whole D. melanogaster flies. Ubiquitous depletion of dCREG proved lethal at the late pupal stage once a knock-down efficiency of >95% was achieved. These results demonstrate that dCREG is essential for proper completion of fly development

Drosophila melanogaster cellular repressor of E1A-stimulated genes is a lysosomal protein essential for fly development

AbstractMammalian cellular repressor of E1A-stimulated genes is a lysosomal glycoprotein implicated in cellular growth and differentiation. The genome of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster encodes a putative orthologue (dCREG), suggesting evolutionarily conserved physiological functions of this protein. In D. melanogaster S2 cells, dCREG was found to localize in lysosomes. Further studies revealed that intracellular dCREG is subject of proteolytic maturation. Processing and turnover could be substantially reduced by RNAi-mediated silencing of cathepsin L. In contrast to mammalian cells, lysosomal delivery of dCREG does not depend on its carbohydrate moiety. Furthermore, depletion of the putative D. melanogaster lysosomal sorting receptor lysosomal enzyme receptor protein did not compromise cellular retention of dCREG. We also investigated the developmental consequences of dCREG ablation in whole D. melanogaster flies. Ubiquitous depletion of dCREG proved lethal at the late pupal stage once a knock-down efficiency of >95% was achieved. These results demonstrate that dCREG is essential for proper completion of fly development

Socializing Evidence

Conference at the House of World Cultures [Haus der Kulturen der Welt], accompanying the exhibition Investigative Commons. The rise of counterfactual politics on- and off-line, presents societies with a dilemma. One option is to buttress the institutional basis of factual authority by supporting the existing judiciary, media, universities and cultural venues. Another approach, presented here, is more risky: to seize the contemporary moment of institutional crisis as an opportunity for a radical transformation of the way facts are produced and disseminated. This approach responds to the current skepticism towards institutional pronouncements with a vital form of collective truth-production; one that is both diffused and diverse, based on establishing an expanded community of practice that incorporates aesthetic and scientific sensibilities. Organized by one such community of practice, the Investigative Commons, this event brings together investigators, lawyers, activists, artists, architects and academics. They will discuss the ways in which new investigative practices have the potential to challenge different forums for the presentations of facts and articulation of claims: the mainstream media brought into crisis by the growth of ‘open source’ and 'citizen’ journalism; museums, which have been turned into sites of political contestation; and the courts where new kind of evidence, citizen-produced and crowd-verified, challenges traditional legal process

Investigative Commons

Exhibition at the House of World Cultures [Haus der Kulturen der Welt], Berlin, Germany. This exhibition showcases a new model for collaborative truth-production and investigative aesthetics, bringing together open source investigation, “counter-forensics” and strategic human rights litigation, Combining the knowledge of survivors of violence and dispossession with methods from journalism, law, activism and arts, it presents casework that confronts urgent contemporary issues: racist policing and border regimes, cyber-surveillance, environmental violence, the ongoing violence of colonialism and the complicity of institutions in them

Toll-like receptor 4 in experimental kidney transplantation: early mediator of endogenous danger signals

The role of toll-like receptors (TLRs) has been described in the pathogenesis of renal ischemia/reperfusion injury, but data on the expression and function of TLR4 during renal allograft damage are still scarce. We analyzed the expression of TLR4 in an experimental rat model 6 and 28 days after allogeneic kidney transplantation in comparison to control rats and rats after syngeneic transplantation. On day 6, a significant induction in TLR4 expression - restricted to the glomerular compartment - was found in acute rejecting allografts only. TLR4 expression strongly correlated with renal function, and TLR4 induction was accompanied by a significant increase in CC chemokine expression within the graft as well as in urinary CC chemokine excretion. TLR4 induction may be caused by an influx of macrophages as well as TLR4-expressing intrinsic renal cells. Fibrinogen deposition in renal allografts correlated with renal TLR4 expression and may act as a potent stimulator of chemokine release via TLR4 activation. This study provides, for the first time, data about the precise intrarenal localization and TLR4 induction after experimental kidney transplantation. It supports the hypothesis that local TLR4 activation by endogenous ligands may be one pathological link from unspecific primary allograft damage to subsequent chemokine release, infiltration and activation of immune cells leading to deterioration of renal function and induction of renal fibrosis. Copyright (c) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Analysis of Contractile Function of Permeabilized Human Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Multicellular Heart Tissue

Background: Many forms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) show an increased myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity. This observation has been mainly made in HCM mouse models, myofilament systems, and cardiomyocytes. Studies of multicellular tissues from patients with different HCM-associated gene mutations are scarce. We investigated Ca2+ sensitivity in multicellular cardiac muscle strips of HCM patients. We furthermore evaluated the use of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCg), a Ca2+ desensitizer.Methods: After strip isolation from cardiac tissues with single (MYBPC3, MYH7) or double heterozygous mutations (MYBPC3/FLNC, MYH7/LAMP2, MYBPC3/MYH7) and permeabilization, we performed contractility measurements ±EGCg. We furthermore evaluated gene expression with a customized heart failure gene panel using the NanoString technology.Results: Fmax tended to be higher in HCM than in non-failing (NF) control strips and in single than in double heterozygous strips. Ca2+ sensitivity was higher by trend in most HCM vs. NF strips and by trend in tissues with double vs. single heterozygous mutations. EGCg desensitized myofilaments to Ca2+ in most of the strips and tended to induce a more pronounced shift in strips with truncating than missense or single than double heterozygous mutations. Gene expression analysis revealed lower ATP2A2, PPP1R1A, and FHL2 and higher NPPA, NPPB, COL1A1, CTGF, and POSTN marker levels in HCM than in NF tissues. NPPA, NPPB, ACTA1, CTGF, COL1A1, and POSTN levels were higher in tissues with missense than truncating mutations.Conclusion: We report an increased myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity in native multicellular cardiac HCM strips, which by trend was more pronounced in samples with double heterozygous mutations. EGCg could have differential effects depending on the underlying genetic status (single vs. double heterozygous) and type (missense vs. truncating)

S100A4 as a Target of the E3-Ligase Asb2β and Its Effect on Engineered Heart Tissue

Background: S100A4 has recently emerged as an important player in cardiac disease, affecting phenotype development in animal models of myocardial infarction and pathological cardiac hypertrophy, albeit it is unclear whether S100A4 exerts a detrimental or beneficial function. The goal of the current study was to analyze S100A4 expression in models of cardiac pathology, investigate its degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), and furthermore examine the functional effects of S100A4 levels in a 3D model of engineered heart tissue (EHT).Methods and Results: S100A4 mRNA and protein levels were analyzed in different models of cardiac pathology via quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot, showing a higher S100A4 steady-state protein concentration in hearts of Mybpc3-knock-in (KI) hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) mice. COS-7 cells co-transfected with plasmids encoding mutant (MUT) Asb2β lacking the E3 ligase activity in combination with V5-tagged S100A4 plasmid presented higher S100A4-V5 protein steady-state concentrations than cells co-transfected with the Asb2β wild type (WT) plasmid. This effect was blunted by treatment with the specific proteasome inhibitor epoxomicin. Adeno-associated virus serotype 6 (AAV6)-mediated S100A4 overexpression in a 3D model of EHT did not affect contractile parameters. Immunofluorescence analysis showed a cytosolic and partly nuclear expression pattern of S100A4. Gene expression analysis in EHTs overexpressing S100A4-V5 showed markedly lower steady-state concentrations of genes involved in cardiac fibrosis and pathological cardiac hypertrophy.Conclusion: We showed that S100A4 protein level is higher in cardiac tissue of Mybpc3-KI HCM mice probably as a result of a lower degradation by the E3 ligase Asb2β. While an overexpression of S100A4 did not alter contractile parameters in EHTs, downstream gene expression analysis points toward modulation of signaling cascades involved in fibrosis and hypertrophy

Toxicity modelling of Plk1-targeted therapies in genetically engineered mice and cultured primary mammalian cells

High attrition rates of novel anti-cancer drugs highlight the need for improved models to predict toxicity. Although polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) inhibitors are attractive candidates for drug development, the role of Plk1 in primary cells remains widely unexplored. Therefore, we evaluated the utility of an RNA interference-based model to assess responses to an inducible knockdown (iKD) of Plk1 in adult mice. Here we show that Plk1 silencing can be achieved in several organs, although adverse events are rare. We compared responses in Plk1-iKD mice with those in primary cells kept under controlled culture conditions. In contrast to the addiction of many cancer cell lines to the non-oncogene Plk1, the primary cells' proliferation, spindle assembly and apoptosis exhibit only a low dependency on Plk1. Responses to Plk1-depletion, both in cultured primary cells and in our iKD-mouse model, correspond well and thus provide the basis for using validated iKD mice in predicting responses to therapeutic interventions