315 research outputs found
Signal specificity amongst STAT1- and STAT3- inducing cytokines in the context of Th17 differentiation
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references.The adaptive immune response is very important for our survival in that it gives us the capability of detecting a wide variety of foreign material, allows for the elimination of pathogens, and provides memory to protect against future attacks by the same pathogen. Key mediators of the adaptive immune response are CD4+ T cells, which depending on the cytokine milieu, and the activating conditions during antigen recognition, can differentiate into different effector T cells. One particular type of effector T cell, Th 17, is highly inflammatory and has been implicated in various autoimmune diseases, such as Multiple Sclerosis. Three chapters within this thesis investigate the conditions which lead to Th17 differentiation and the mechanisms involved in their regulation. Th 17 cells can be obtained in vitro by culturing naive CD4+ T cells with IL-6 and TGF-p under activating conditions. IL-6 was thought to primarily activate the transcription factor STAT3, which has been shown to be necessary for ThI7 differentiation. Numerous cytokines activate STAT3, but IL-6 is the most potent inducer of TH17 cells, so we sought to find out what is special about IL-6's induction of STAT3. In the first of these three chapters, we propose a simple genetic network which is capable of translating IL-6's high amplitude, transient STAT3 signal into a pro-inflammatory response and IL-10's low amplitude, sustained STAT3 signal into an antiinflammatory response. This network is able to predict that IL-6 and IL-10 would induce an indistinguishable anti-inflammatory response in SOCS3-/- cells where IL-6's STAT3 signal is sustained. In the second of these chapters, we continue our research into the origin of signal specificity in cytokine signaling by systematically characterizing the activation of STAT1 and STAT3 by IL-6, IL-10, IL-21, IL- 27, and different combinations of cytokines in CD4+ T cells. In this analysis we find that the ratio of STAT3 to STAT1 activated is the important quantity in determining whether or not a cytokine will be an inducer of TH17 differentiation (IL-6, IL-21) or an inhibitor (IL-27). We show that in the absence of STAT1, that IL-6 and IL-27 are both potent inducers of TH17 differentiation since they have similar STAT3 activation profiles. In the third of these chapters, we develop a simple algorithm for clustering gene activation profiles for intermediate numbers of genes measured (10-50) and use it to analyze a 96- hour time course of gene activation during Th 17 differentiation for a number of genes of interest. In order for T cells to differentiate into effector cells, they must first recognize antigen which is presented on the surface of an antigen presenting cell by a membrane-bound extracellular complex called MHC. The MHC have a groove which peptide fragments (antigen) are bound in. Without peptide loaded in the pocket, the MHC are quite unstable so they are synthesized with a generic peptide fragment loaded. A protein, DM, is responsible for stabilizing the MHC while the generic peptide is ejected and the peptide fragment of interested is loaded. Two chapters within this thesis investigate the role of DM in peptide loading / unloading and attempt to characterize the interaction of DM with MHC.by Kevin D. Fowler.Ph.D
Comment on “Effects of Arsenite during Fetal Development on Energy Metabolism and Susceptibility to Diet-Induced Fatty Liver Diseases in Male Mice” and “Mechanisms Underlying Latent Disease Risk Associated with Early-Life Arsenic Exposure: Current Trends and Scientific Gaps”
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Leveraging existing data sets to generate new insights into Alzheimer’s disease biology in specific patient subsets
To generate new insights into the biology of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), we developed methods to combine and reuse a wide variety of existing data sets in new ways. We first identified genes consistently associated with AD in each of four separate expression studies, and confirmed this result using a fifth study. We next developed algorithms to search hundreds of thousands of Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data sets, identifying a link between an AD-associated gene (NEUROD6) and gender. We therefore stratified patients by gender along with APOE4 status, and analyzed multiple SNP data sets to identify variants associated with AD. SNPs in either the region of NEUROD6 or SNAP25 were significantly associated with AD, in APOE4+ females and APOE4+ males, respectively. We developed algorithms to search Connectivity Map (CMAP) data for medicines that modulate AD-associated genes, identifying hypotheses that warrant further investigation for treating specific AD patient subsets. In contrast to other methods, this approach focused on integrating multiple gene expression datasets across platforms in order to achieve a robust intersection of disease-affected genes, and then leveraging these results in combination with genetic studies in order to prioritize potential genes for targeted therapy
The KRESCENT Program (2005-2015) : an evaluation of the state of Kidney Research Training in Canada
Background: The Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and National Training (KRESCENT) Program was launched
in 2005 to enhance kidney research capacity in Canada and foster knowledge translation across the 4 themes of health
research.
Objective: To evaluate the impact of KRESCENT on its major objectives and on the careers of trainees after its first 10
years.
Methods: An online survey of trainees (n = 53) who had completed or were enrolled in KRESCENT was conducted in
2015. Information was also obtained from curriculum vitae (CVs). A bibliometric analysis assessed scientific productivity,
collaboration, and impact in comparison with unsuccessful applicants to KRESCENT over the same period. The analysis
included a comparison of Canadian with international kidney research metrics from 2000 to 2014.
Results: Thirty-nine KRESCENT trainees completed the survey (74%), and 44 trainees (83%) submitted CVs. KRESCENT
trainees had a high success rate at obtaining grant funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; 79%),
and 76% of Post-Doctoral Fellows received academic appointments at the Assistant Professor level within 8 months of
completing training. The majority of trainees reported that KRESCENT had contributed significantly to their success in
securing CIHR funding (90%), and to the creation of knowledge (93%) and development of new methodologies (50%).
Bibliometric analysis revealed a small but steady decline in total international kidney research output from 2000 to 2014, as
a percentage of all health research, although overall impact of kidney research in Canada increased from 2000-2005 to 2009-
2014 compared with other countries. KRESCENT trainees demonstrated increased productivity, multiauthored papers,
impact, and international collaborations after their training, compared with nonfunded applicants.
Conclusions: The KRESCENT Program has fostered kidney research career development and contributed to increased
capacity, productivity, and collaboration. To further enhance knowledge creation and translation in kidney research in
Canada, programs such as KRESCENT should be sustained via long-term funding partnerships.Mise en contexte: Le programme KRESCENT (Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and National Training) a été
lancé en 2005 pour augmenter la capacité de la recherche sur les maladies du rein à travers le Canada, et pour encourager
la transmission des connaissances au sein des quatre axes de recherche en santé.
Objectifs de l’étude: Cette étude avait pour but d’évaluer les répercussions du programme KRESCENT sur ses principaux
objectifs ainsi que des retombées sur la carrière des stagiaires participants, dix ans après sa création.
Méthodologie: Un sondage en ligne a été mené en 2015 auprès des stagiaires (n = 53) ayant été admis ou ayant complété
le programme KRESCENT. Des renseignements ont également été obtenus par la consultation de curriculum vitae (CV).
Une analyse bibliométrique a évalué la productivité scientifique et la collaboration des participants ainsi que les répercussions
de leur participation à KRESCENT sur leur carrière. Les données de cette analyse ont été comparées à celles des candidats
n’ayant pas été retenus au cours de la même période. L’analyse comprenait également une comparaison des données
canadiennes avec celles obtenues en recherche sur les maladies du rein ailleurs dans le monde
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Temperature and Gravitational Lensing Power Spectrum Measurements from Three Seasons of Data
We present the temperature power spectra of the cosmic microwave background
(CMB) derived from the three seasons of data from the Atacama Cosmology
Telescope (ACT) at 148 GHz and 218 GHz, as well as the cross-frequency spectrum
between the two channels. We detect and correct for contamination due to the
Galactic cirrus in our equatorial maps. We present the results of a number of
tests for possible systematic error and conclude that any effects are not
significant compared to the statistical errors we quote. Where they overlap, we
cross-correlate the ACT and the South Pole Telescope (SPT) maps and show they
are consistent. The measurements of higher-order peaks in the CMB power
spectrum provide an additional test of the Lambda CDM cosmological model, and
help constrain extensions beyond the standard model. The small angular scale
power spectrum also provides constraining power on the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich
effects and extragalactic foregrounds. We also present a measurement of the CMB
gravitational lensing convergence power spectrum at 4.6-sigma detection
significance.Comment: 21 pages; 20 figures, Submitted to JCAP, some typos correcte
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: A Measurement of the Thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Using the Skewness of the CMB Temperature Distribution
We present a detection of the unnormalized skewness induced by the
thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) effect in filtered Atacama Cosmology Telescope
(ACT) 148 GHz cosmic microwave background temperature maps. Contamination due
to infrared and radio sources is minimized by template subtraction of resolved
sources and by constructing a mask using outlying values in the 218 GHz
(tSZ-null) ACT maps. We measure = -31 +- 6 \mu K^3 (measurement error
only) or +- 14 \mu K^3 (including cosmic variance error) in the filtered ACT
data, a 5-sigma detection. We show that the skewness is a sensitive probe of
sigma_8, and use analytic calculations and tSZ simulations to obtain
cosmological constraints from this measurement. From this signal alone we infer
a value of sigma_8= 0.79 +0.03 -0.03 (68 % C.L.) +0.06 -0.06 (95 % C.L.). Our
results demonstrate that measurements of non-Gaussianity can be a useful method
for characterizing the tSZ effect and extracting the underlying cosmological
information.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Replaced with version accepted by Phys. Rev. D,
with improvements to the likelihood function and the IR source treatment;
only minor changes in the result
Total knee replacement after high tibial osteotomy: Time-to-event analysis and predictors
© 2021 Joule Inc. or its licensors. BACKGROUND: An important aim of high tibial osteotomy (HTO) is to prevent or delay the need for total knee replacement (TKR). We sought to estimate the frequency and timing of conversion from HTO to TKR and the factors associated with it. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee who underwent medial opening wedge HTO from 2002 to 2014 and analyzed the cumulative incidence of TKR in July 2019. The presence or absence of TKR on the HTO limb was identified from the orthopedic surgery reports and knee radiographs contained in the electronic medical records for each patient at London Health Sciences Centre. We used cumulative incidence curves to evaluate the primary outcome of time to TKR. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis to assess potential preoperative predictors including radiographic disease severity, malalignment, correction size, pain, sex, age, body mass index (BMI) and year of surgery. RESULTS: Among 556 patients who underwent 643 HTO procedures, the cumulative incidence of TKR was 5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3%–7%) at 5 years and 21% (95% CI 17%–26%) at 10 years. With the Cox proportional hazards multivariable model, the following preoperative factors were significantly associated with an increased rate of conversion: radiographic OA severity (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.96, 95% CI 1.12–3.45), pain (adjusted HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.75–0.96)], female sex (adjusted HR 1.67, 95% CI 1.08–2.58), age (adjusted HR 1.50 per 10 yr, 95% CI 1.17–1.93) and BMI (adjusted HR 1.31 per 5 kng/m2, 95% CI 1.12–1.53). INTERPRETATION: We found that 79% of knees did not undergo TKR within 10 years after undergoing medial opening wedge HTO. The strongest predictor of conversion to TKR is greater radiographic disease at the time of HTO
Detection of the Power Spectrum of Cosmic Microwave Background Lensing by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope
We report the first detection of the gravitational lensing of the cosmic
microwave background through a measurement of the four-point correlation
function in the temperature maps made by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. We
verify our detection by calculating the levels of potential contaminants and
performing a number of null tests. The resulting convergence power spectrum at
2-degree angular scales measures the amplitude of matter density fluctuations
on comoving length scales of around 100 Mpc at redshifts around 0.5 to 3. The
measured amplitude of the signal agrees with Lambda Cold Dark Matter cosmology
predictions. Since the amplitude of the convergence power spectrum scales as
the square of the amplitude of the density fluctuations, the 4-sigma detection
of the lensing signal measures the amplitude of density fluctuations to 12%.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, replaced title and author list with version
accepted by Physical Review Letters. Likelihood code can be downloaded from
http://bccp.lbl.gov/~sudeep/ACTLensLike.htm
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