Atrial fibrillation genetic risk differentiates cardioembolic stroke from other stroke subtypes

AbstractObjectiveWe sought to assess whether genetic risk factors for atrial fibrillation can explain cardioembolic stroke risk.MethodsWe evaluated genetic correlations between a prior genetic study of AF and AF in the presence of cardioembolic stroke using genome-wide genotypes from the Stroke Genetics Network (N = 3,190 AF cases, 3,000 cardioembolic stroke cases, and 28,026 referents). We tested whether a previously-validated AF polygenic risk score (PRS) associated with cardioembolic and other stroke subtypes after accounting for AF clinical risk factors.ResultsWe observed strong correlation between previously reported genetic risk for AF, AF in the presence of stroke, and cardioembolic stroke (Pearson’s r=0.77 and 0.76, respectively, across SNPs with p &lt; 4.4 × 10−4 in the prior AF meta-analysis). An AF PRS, adjusted for clinical AF risk factors, was associated with cardioembolic stroke (odds ratio (OR) per standard deviation (sd) = 1.40, p = 1.45×10−48), explaining ∼20% of the heritable component of cardioembolic stroke risk. The AF PRS was also associated with stroke of undetermined cause (OR per sd = 1.07, p = 0.004), but no other primary stroke subtypes (all p &gt; 0.1).ConclusionsGenetic risk for AF is associated with cardioembolic stroke, independent of clinical risk factors. Studies are warranted to determine whether AF genetic risk can serve as a biomarker for strokes caused by AF.</jats:sec

Effectiveness of Antenatal Clinics to Deliver Intermittent Preventive Treatment and Insecticide Treated Nets for the Control of Malaria in Pregnancy in Mali: A Household Survey

Background WHO recommends intermittent-preventive-treatment (IPTp) with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) and insecticide-treated-nets (ITNs) to prevent malaria in pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa, however uptake remains unacceptably low. We evaluated the effectiveness of antenatal clinics (ANC) to deliver two doses of IPTp and ITNs to pregnant women in Segou district, Mali. Methods We used household data to assess the systems effectiveness of ANC to deliver IPTp and ITNs to pregnant women and used logistic regression to identify predictors of ANC attendance, receipt of IPTp and ITN use during pregnancy, and the impact on community effectiveness. Results Of 81% of recently pregnant women who made at least one ANC visit, 59% of these attended during the eligible gestational age for IPTp. Of these, 82% reported receiving one dose of SP and 91% attended ANC again, of whom 66% received a second dose, resulting in a cumulative effectiveness for 2-dose IPTp of 29%, most of whom used an ITN (90%). Cumulative effectiveness of 2-dose SP by directly observed therapy (DOT) was very low (6%). ITN use was 92%, and ANC was the main source (81%). Reported and ANC-card data showed some doses of SP are given to women in their first trimester. Women were less likely to receive two doses by DOT if they were married (OR 0.10; CI 0.03, 0.40), or lived <5 km from the health facility (OR 0.34; CI 0.14, 0.83). A high household person-LLIN ratio predicted low ITN use in pregnant women (OR 0.16; CI 0.04, 0.55). Conclusion Our findings suggest poor adherence by health workers to provision of IPTp by eligible gestational age and DOT, contributing to low effectiveness of this strategy in this setting. ITN delivery and use among women was substantially higher. Efforts to improve health worker adherence to IPTp guidelines are needed to improve service delivery of IPTp

Human chromosome‐specific aneuploidy is influenced by DNA ‐dependent centromeric features

International audienc

Knockout of the PKN Family of Rho Effector Kinases Reveals a Non-redundant Role for PKN2 in Developmental Mesoderm Expansion

In animals, the protein kinase C (PKC) family has expanded into diversely regulated subgroups, including the Rho family-responsive PKN kinases. Here, we describe knockouts of all three mouse PKN isoforms and reveal that PKN2 loss results in lethality at embryonic day 10 (E10), with associated cardiovascular and morphogenetic defects. The cardiovascular phenotype was not recapitulated by conditional deletion of PKN2 in endothelial cells or the developing heart. In contrast, inducible systemic deletion of PKN2 after E7 provoked collapse of the embryonic mesoderm. Furthermore, mouse embryonic fibroblasts, which arise from the embryonic mesoderm, depend on PKN2 for proliferation and motility. These cellular defects are reflected in vivo as dependence on PKN2 for mesoderm proliferation and neural crest migration. We conclude that failure of the mesoderm to expand in the absence of PKN2 compromises cardiovascular integrity and development, resulting in lethality

Structure of the core of the type III secretion system export apparatus

Export of proteins through type III secretion systems is critical for motility and virulence of many major bacterial pathogens. Three putative integral membrane proteins (FliP, FliQ, FliR) are suggested to form the core of an export gate in the inner membrane, but their structure, assembly and location within the final nanomachine remain unclear. Here, we present the cryoelectron microscopy structure of the Salmonella Typhimurium FliP–FliQ–FliR complex at 4.2 Å. None of the subunits adopt canonical integral membrane protein topologies, and common helix-turn-helix structural elements allow them to form a helical assembly with 5:4:1 stoichiometry. Fitting of the structure into reconstructions of intact secretion systems, combined with cross-linking, localize the export gate as a core component of the periplasmic portion of the machinery. This study thereby identifies the export gate as a key element of the secretion channel and implies that it primes the helical architecture of the components assembling downstream

Mechanism of stapled peptide binding to MDM2: Possible consequences for peptide design

10.1021/ct4009238Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation1041753-1761JCTC

In Vitro Selection of Mutant HDM2 Resistant to Nutlin Inhibition

10.1371/journal.pone.0062564PLoS ONE84