Maternal stress or sleep during pregnancy are not reflected on telomere length of newborns

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Maternal stress or sleep during pregnancy are not reflected on telomere length of newborns

Telomeres play an important role in maintaining chromosomal integrity.With each cell division, telomeres are shortened and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) has therefore been considered a marker for biological age. LTL is associated with various lifetime stressors and health‑related outcomes. Transgenerationaleffects have been implicated in newborns, with maternal stress, depression,and anxiety predicting shorter telomere length at birth, possibly reflecting the intrauterine growth environment. Previous studies, with relatively small sample sizes, have reported an effect of maternal stress, BMI, and depression during pregnancy on the LTL of newborns. Here, we attempted to replicate previous findings on prenatal stress and newborn LTL in a sample of 1405 infants using aqPCR‑based method.In addition, previous research has been expanded by studying the relationship between maternal sleep quality and LTL. Maternal prenatal stress, anxiety, depression, BMI, and self‑reported sleep quality were evaluated with self‑reported questionnaires.Despite sufficient power to detect similar or even considerably smaller effects than those previously reported in the literature,we were unable to replicate the previous correlation between maternal stress, anxiety, depression,or sleep with LTL. We discuss several possible reasons for the discrepancies between our findings and those previously described.Peer reviewe

Do Rural Second Homes Shape Commensal Microbiota of Urban Dwellers? : A Pilot Study among Urban Elderly in Finland

According to the hygiene and biodiversity hypotheses, increased hygiene levels and reduced contact with biodiversity can partially explain the high prevalence of immune-mediated diseases in developed countries. A disturbed commensal microbiota, especially in the gut, has been linked to multiple immune-mediated diseases. Previous studies imply that gut microbiota composition is associated with the everyday living environment and can be modified by increasing direct physical exposure to biodiverse materials. In this pilot study, the effects of rural-second-home tourism were investigated on the gut microbiota for the first time. Rural-second-home tourism, a popular form of outdoor recreation in Northern Europe, North America, and Russia, has the potential to alter the human microbiota by increasing exposure to nature and environmental microbes. The hypotheses were that the use of rural second homes is associated with differences in the gut microbiota and that the microbiota related to health benefits are more diverse or common among the rural-second-home users. Based on 16S rRNA Illumina MiSeq sequencing of stool samples from 10 urban elderly having access and 15 lacking access to a rural second home, the first hypothesis was supported: the use of rural second homes was found to be associated with lower gut microbiota diversity and RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway levels. The second hypothesis was not supported: health-related microbiota were not more diverse or common among the second-home users. The current study encourages further research on the possible health outcomes or causes of the observed microbiological differences. Activities and diet during second-home visits, standard of equipment, surrounding environment, and length of the visits are all postulated to play a role in determining the effects of rural-second-home tourism on the gut microbiota

Enhanced influenza A H1N1 T cell epitope recognition and cross-reactivity to protein-O-mannosyltransferase 1 in Pandemrix-associated narcolepsy type 1

Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is a chronic neurological disorder having a strong association with HLA-DQB1*0602, thereby suggesting an immunological origin. Increased risk of NT1 has been reported among children or adolescents vaccinated with AS03 adjuvant-supplemented pandemic H1N1 influenza A vaccine, Pandemrix. Here we show that pediatric Pandemrix-associated NT1 patients have enhanced T-cell immunity against the viral epitopes, neuraminidase 175-189 (NA175-189) and nucleoprotein 214-228 (NP214-228), but also respond to a NA175-189-mimic, brain self-epitope, protein-O-mannosyltransferase 1 (POMT1675-689). A pathogenic role of influenza virus-specific T-cells and T-cell cross-reactivity in NT1 are supported by the up-regulation of IFN-γ, perforin 1 and granzyme B, and by the converging selection of T-cell receptor TRAV10/TRAJ17 and TRAV10/TRAJ24 clonotypes, in response to stimulation either with peptide NA175-189 or POMT1675-689. Moreover, anti-POMT1 serum autoantibodies are increased in Pandemrix-vaccinated children or adolescents. These results thus identify POMT1 as a potential autoantigen recognized by T- and B-cells in NT1. </p

Extracapsular hip fractures—aspects of intramedullary and extramedullary fixation

Abstract The purposes of the present research were (1) to analyse and characterize the hip fractures treated at Oulu University Hospital during a one-year period using the special forms of the Standardized Audit of Hip Fractures in Europe (SAHFE) and to evaluate their value for quality control, (2) to compare gamma nail (GN) and dynamic hip screw (DHS) fixation for the treatment of trochanteric hip fractures, focusing especially on the functional aspects, (3) to compare the short-term outcome of gamma nail (GN) and dynamic hip screw (DHS) fixation for the treatment of subtrochanteric hip fractures, and (4) to examine the rate and reliability of the classification of basicervical hip fractures and the outcome of the operative methods used for their treatment. Oulu University Hospital joined the Swedish Hip Fracture Project (Rikshöft), aimed at developing the quality control of hip fracture treatment, in 1989, and this later evolved into a project called the Standardized Audit of Hip Fractures in Europe (SAHFE), funded by the European Commission. Registration of hip fractures on the SAHFE forms was common practise in Oulu from 1st September 1997 until the end of December 2003. SAHFE data collection forms were used in all four studies belonging to this thesis. There were 238 hip fracture patients during the one-year period of registration at Oulu University Hospital. The intracapsular / extracapsular fracture rate (60/40) and the female/male rate (80/20) seemed to be similar to those reported in the recent Finnish Health Care Register data. The most frequent method for treating cervical fractures was Austin-Moore hemiarthroplasty (68%) and that for trochanteric and subtrochanteric fractures GN fixation (86%). The SAHFE forms proved to be easy to use and practicable for evaluating the quality of hip fracture treatment. In a matched-pair study the short-term outcomes of the treatment of trochanteric fractures (after 4 months) were slightly better in the DHS group than in the GN group with respect to walking ability and mortality. The difference in mortality was at least partly due to the higher number of complications requiring re-operations associated with GN fixation. In the treatment of subtrochanteric hip fractures, there were four intraoperative complications (9.3%) in the GN group but none in the DHS group. On the other hand, postoperative complications were more common in the DHS group (20% vs. 2%). It is significant that all these complications in the DHS group occurred in Seinsheimer type IIIA fractures. It is concluded that, despite the perioperative problems associated with gamma nailing, this technique may be preferable to DHS fixation for specific fracture types with medial cortical comminutation, such as Seinsheimer type IIIA. Altogether 108 of the 1624 hip fractures were initially classified by the surgeons as basicervical fractures, but after a careful second look only 30 fulfilled all the criteria. The definitive rate of basicervical fractures was thus 1.8%. Treatment of basicervical fractures as trochanteric fractures proved superior to their treatment as cervical fractures, resulting in lower re-operation rates. In conclusions; this thesis suggests that SAHFE forms are very useful for evaluating the quality of hip fracture treatment. Both GN fixation and DHS fixation are effective methods for the treatment of trochanteric hip fractures in elderly patients; in less comminuted fractures, the DHS method is the preferred method of treatment whereas GN fixation is alternative treatment for more comminuted fractures. GN fixation is preferable for the subtrochanteric fratures. Basicervical fractures shoud be regarded clinically as extracapsular fractures and managed in a similar manner to trochanteric fractures

Enhanced influenza A H1N1 T cell epitope recognition and cross-reactivity to protein-O-mannosyltransferase 1 in Pandemrix-associated narcolepsy type 1

Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is a chronic neurological disorder having a strong association with HLA-DQB1*0602, thereby suggesting an immunological origin. Increased risk of NT1 has been reported among children or adolescents vaccinated with AS03 adjuvant-supplemented pandemic H1N1 influenza A vaccine, Pandemrix. Here we show that pediatric Pandemrix-associated NT1 patients have enhanced T-cell immunity against the viral epitopes, neuraminidase 175-189 (NA(175-189)) and nucleoprotein 214-228 (NP214-228), but also respond to a NA(175-189)-mimic, brain self-epitope, protein-O-mannosyltransferase 1 (POMT1(675-689)). A pathogenic role of influenza virus-specific T-cells and T-cell cross-reactivity in NT1 are supported by the up-regulation of IFN-gamma, perforin 1 and granzyme B, and by the converging selection of T-cell receptor TRAV10/TRAJ17 and TRAV10/TRAJ24 clonotypes, in response to stimulation either with peptide NA(175-189) or POMT1(675-689). Moreover, anti-POMT1 serum autoantibodies are increased in Pandemrix-vaccinated children or adolescents. These results thus identify POMT1 as a potential autoantigen recognized by T- and B-cells in NT1. Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is a severe sleep disorder with strong association to the HLA type DQB1*0602 and increased incidence among children vaccinated with the Influenza A vaccine Pandemrix. Here the authors show that these children develop T and B cell autoimmunity against protein-O-mannosyltransferase 1 via cross-reactivity.Peer reviewe