Alterations in Salivary Proteome following Single Twenty-Minute Session of Yogic Breathing

Yogic breathing (YB) has been suggested to reduce stress and blood pressure and increase cognitive processes. However, alterations after YB at the molecular level are not well established. Twenty healthy volunteers were randomized into two groups (N=10 per group): YB or attention controls (AC). The YB group performed two YB exercises, each for ten minutes, for a total of twenty minutes in a single session. AC group read a text of their choice for 20 minutes. Saliva was collected at baseline and at 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes. Using Mass Spectrometry (MS), we initially found that 22 proteins were differentially expressed and then validated deleted in malignant brain tumor-1 (DMBT1) and Ig lambda-2 chain C region (IGLC2) using Western Blotting. DMBT1 was elevated in 7 of YB group by 10-fold and 11-fold at 10 and 15 minutes, respectively, whereas it was undetectable in the time-matched AC group (P<0.05). There was a significant interaction between groups and time assessed by two-way ANOVA (P<0.001). IGLC2 also showed a significant increase in YB group as measured by Western Blotting. These data are the first to demonstrate the feasibility of stimulating and detecting salivary protein biomarkers in response to an acute Yoga exercise. This trial is registered with ClincalTrials.gov NCT02108769

Serum profiling by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry as a diagnostic tool for domoic acid toxicosis in California sea lions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are currently no reliable markers of acute domoic acid toxicosis (DAT) for California sea lions. We investigated whether patterns of serum peptides could diagnose acute DAT. Serum peptides were analyzed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry from 107 sea lions (acute DAT n = 34; non-DAT n = 73). Artificial neural networks (ANN) were trained using MALDI-TOF data. Individual peaks and neural networks were qualified using an independent test set (n = 20).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No single peak was a good classifier of acute DAT, and ANN models were the best predictors of acute DAT. Performance measures for a single median ANN were: sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 60%; positive predictive value, 71%; negative predictive value, 100%. When 101 ANNs were combined and allowed to vote for the outcome, the performance measures were: sensitivity, 30%; specificity, 100%; positive predictive value, 100%; negative predictive value, 59%.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest that MALDI-TOF peptide profiling and neural networks can perform either as a highly sensitive (100% negative predictive value) or a highly specific (100% positive predictive value) diagnostic tool for acute DAT. This also suggests that machine learning directed by populations of predictive models offer the ability to modulate the predictive effort into a specific type of error.</p

Premature atherosclerosis is associated with hypovitaminosis d and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor non-use in lupus patients

The ultimate goal is to identify and target modifiable risk factors that will reduce major cardiovascular events in African American lupus patients. As a first step toward achieving this goal, this study was designed to explore risk factor models of preclinical atherosclerosis in a predominantly African American group of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using variables historically associated with endothelial function in nonlupus populations. Fifty-one subjects with SLE but without a history of clinical cardiovascular events were enrolled. At entry, a Framingham risk factor history and medication list were recorded. Sera and plasma samples were analyzed for lipids, lupus activity markers and total 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25 OH)D) levels. Carotid ultrasound measurements were performed to determine total plaque area (TPA) in both carotids. Cases had TPA values above age-matched controls from a vascular prevention clinic population. Logistic regression and machine learning analyses were performed to create predictive models. 25(OH)D levels were significantly lower, and SLE disease duration was significantly higher in cases. 25(OH)D levels inversely correlated with age-adjusted TPA. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor nonuse associated with case status. Logistic regression models containing ACE inhibitor use, 25(OH)D levels and low-density lipoprotein levels had a diagnostic accuracy of 84% for predicting accelerated atherosclerosis. Similar results were obtained with machine learning models, but hydroxychlo-roquine use associated with controls in these models. This is the first study to demonstrate an association between atherosclerotic burden and 25(OH)D insufficiency or ACE inhibitor nonuse in lupus patients. These findings provide strong rationale for the study of ACE inhibitors and vitamin D replenishment as preventive therapies in this high-risk population. © Copyright 2012 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation

Evolutionary genomics of a cold-adapted diatom: Fragilariopsis cylindrus

The Southern Ocean houses a diverse and productive community of organisms1, 2. Unicellular eukaryotic diatoms are the main primary producers in this environment, where photosynthesis is limited by low concentrations of dissolved iron and large seasonal fluctuations in light, temperature and the extent of sea ice3, 4, 5, 6, 7. How diatoms have adapted to this extreme environment is largely unknown. Here we present insights into the genome evolution of a cold-adapted diatom from the Southern Ocean, Fragilariopsis cylindrus8, 9, based on a comparison with temperate diatoms. We find that approximately 24.7 per cent of the diploid F. cylindrus genome consists of genetic loci with alleles that are highly divergent (15.1 megabases of the total genome size of 61.1 megabases). These divergent alleles were differentially expressed across environmental conditions, including darkness, low iron, freezing, elevated temperature and increased CO2. Alleles with the largest ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous nucleotide substitutions also show the most pronounced condition-dependent expression, suggesting a correlation between diversifying selection and allelic differentiation. Divergent alleles may be involved in adaptation to environmental fluctuations in the Southern Ocean

Ice-binding proteins from sea ice diatoms (Bacillariophyceae)

Sea ice diatoms thrive under conditions of low temperature and high salinity, and as a result are responsible for a significant fraction of polar photosynthesis. Their success may be owing in part to secretion of macromolecules that have previously been shown to interfere with the growth of ice and to have the ability to act as cryoprotectants. Here we show that one of these molecules, produced by the sea ice diatom Navicula glaciei Vanheurk, is a ~25 kDa ice-binding protein (IBP). A cDNA obtained from another sea ice diatom, Fragilariopsis cylindrus Grunow, was found to encode a protein that closely matched the partially sequenced N. glaciei IBP, and enabled the amplification and sequencing of an N. glaciei IBP cDNA. Similar proteins are not present in the genome of the mesophilic diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana. Both proteins closely resemble antifreeze proteins from psychrophilic snow molds, and as a group represent a new class of IBPs that is distinct from other IBPs found in fish, insects and plants, and bacteria. The diatom IBPs also have striking similarities to three prokaryotic hypothetical proteins. Relatives of both snow molds and two of the prokaryotes have been found in sea ice, raising the possibility of a fungal or bacterial origin of diatom IBPs