Effect of preterm birth on growth and cardiovascular disease risk at school age

Background.Low birth weight is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in later life. However, whether premature birth is also a risk factor for CVD has not been fully determined. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between gestational age and risk factors for CVD at school age. Methods. Using medical checkup data of school children, the relationship between gestational age and height, weight, body mass index, blood pressure, and lipid profiles at ages 9 and 12 years were investigated in children born preterm and admitted to neonatal intensive care unit at birth (n=182; 115 boys and 67 girls). These data were also compared between preterm small for gestational age (SGA) children and preterm appropriate for gestational age (AGA) children.Results.Gestational age was positively associated with height, and inversely associated with systolic blood pressure at school age. Preterm SGA children were significantly shorter and lighter at 9 and 12 years of age compared with preterm AGA children. However, there were no significant differences in any CVD risk factors between the groups.Conclusions.In preterm infants, a shorter duration of gestation is associated with higher systolic blood pressure at school age

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

Association of alcohol consumption with prevalence of fatty liver after adjustment for dietary patterns: Cross-sectional analysis of Japanese middle-aged adults.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Moderate alcohol intake is associated with reduced prevalence or incidence of fatty liver. However, whether or not the association is independent of dietary patterns remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the cross-sectional association of alcohol intake with fatty liver after accounting for dietary patterns and obesity. METHODS: We assessed 4579 adults aged 30-79 years who participated in routine clinical examinations in St. Luke's International Hospital, Japan (January to March, 2015). We assessed their habitual diet using diet-history questionnaire, estimated alcohol intake, and derived dietary pattern variables using factor analysis. Fatty liver was ascertained using ultrasonography. Linear and U-shaped associations of alcohol intake with fatty liver were evaluated using Poisson regression, and a post hoc analysis was conducted after detecting potential outliers for alcohol intake and excluding them using sex-specific statistics (median plus 2 × interquartile range). RESULTS: Fatty liver was ascertained in 1120 participants (24.5%). Whereas no significant association of alcohol intake with fatty liver was observed when potential outliers of alcohol intake were included (p = 0.25), a significant U-shaped association was observed after excluding the outliers with and without adjustment for dietary patterns (p = 0.003 and 0.02, respectively). The lowest prevalence was estimated when alcohol consumption was approximately 7% of energy, with a prevalence ratio of 0.72 (95% confidence interval = 0.59-0.86) compared to non-drinkers. The association became imprecise and attenuated toward the null after further adjustment for body mass index (p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol intake showed a U-shaped association with fatty liver prevalence. This association was independent of underlying dietary patterns, while it was sensitive to excessive alcohol intake and obesity status, providing clinical implications for the prevention of fatty liver.This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (grant numbers 14J11939 and 23240104). JSPS had no role in the design, analysis, or writing of this article

Association of alcohol consumption with prevalence of fatty liver after adjustment for dietary patterns: Cross-sectional analysis of Japanese middle-aged adults.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Moderate alcohol intake is associated with reduced prevalence or incidence of fatty liver. However, whether or not the association is independent of dietary patterns remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the cross-sectional association of alcohol intake with fatty liver after accounting for dietary patterns and obesity. METHODS: We assessed 4579 adults aged 30-79 years who participated in routine clinical examinations in St. Luke's International Hospital, Japan (January to March, 2015). We assessed their habitual diet using diet-history questionnaire, estimated alcohol intake, and derived dietary pattern variables using factor analysis. Fatty liver was ascertained using ultrasonography. Linear and U-shaped associations of alcohol intake with fatty liver were evaluated using Poisson regression, and a post hoc analysis was conducted after detecting potential outliers for alcohol intake and excluding them using sex-specific statistics (median plus 2 × interquartile range). RESULTS: Fatty liver was ascertained in 1120 participants (24.5%). Whereas no significant association of alcohol intake with fatty liver was observed when potential outliers of alcohol intake were included (p = 0.25), a significant U-shaped association was observed after excluding the outliers with and without adjustment for dietary patterns (p = 0.003 and 0.02, respectively). The lowest prevalence was estimated when alcohol consumption was approximately 7% of energy, with a prevalence ratio of 0.72 (95% confidence interval = 0.59-0.86) compared to non-drinkers. The association became imprecise and attenuated toward the null after further adjustment for body mass index (p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol intake showed a U-shaped association with fatty liver prevalence. This association was independent of underlying dietary patterns, while it was sensitive to excessive alcohol intake and obesity status, providing clinical implications for the prevention of fatty liver.This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (grant numbers 14J11939 and 23240104). JSPS had no role in the design, analysis, or writing of this article

A New Methodology for the Evaluation of Ecological Characteristic of the Camel : A case Study of Climate Change and Breeding of Camel

Kazakhstan dry steppe is one of important pasture lands of breeding of dromedary camels. In this study, we analysis the behavior patterns and habitat use of dromedary camels based on satellite (GPS) tracking data and to clear the relationship between an increase in the camel farm and climate change. The herdsman’s (or Owners) is decision the pastureland use by year-to-year rainfall. They are also known how to control the different grazing lands by the dry season and the rainy season in the same year. Camel’s behavioral pattern was different in the dry season and the rainy season. The result shows, the average value of the moving speed in the pastures of spring (rainy season) is 2.81 ± 1.64 km / h, and the average value of the grazing speed is 0.324 ± 0.241 km / h in same season. In addition, the average value of the moving speed in the pastures of the summer (dry season) is 4.85 ± 0.1278 km / h, and the average value of the grazing speed is 1.027 ± 0.128 km / h in dry season. More of the moving speed and deviation value of grazing speed Both the dry season, the variation is large, it can be seen that the movement speed is also nearly twice of the rainy season. However, 50% core area (MCP, Minimum Convex Polygon) of home range of grazing area in has been shown to be more of the rainy season, because we finding that in dry season the main food resources of camel is tree leaves and tree branches or shrubs. Recently, lot of studies shows indicated that continuous herbivory pressure has a positive effect on plant performance and biodiversity, known as “grazing optimization.” In this study, we established three sites of the different pasturage pressure and investigated relationship between pasturage pressure and the Simpson\u27s Index of Diversity (D-value) based on field observations (measurements), GPS tracking and stocking of camels. We analytically examined a hypothesis of grazing optimization in which herbivory improves the photosynthetic ability of individual plants. We examined plant performance under various herbivory pressures and considered the evolution of plant phenology in response to a given herbivory pressure