Тяжесть поражения коронарных артерий у больных ишемической болезнью сердца с различными вариантами гена рецептора витамина D и уровнем обеспеченности витамином D

Introduction. Vitamin D deficiency may be an independent predictor of coronary heart disease (CHD) and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis. The results of studies of the association of various polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene with the risk and severity of CHD are contradictory, which necessitates the study of genetic variants of the VDR gene and the characteristics of the clinical course of CHD in the Russian population.The objective was to determine the distribution of genotypes of TaqI, BsmI and ApaI of polymorphic variants of the VDR gene and the level of vitamin D sufficiency in CHD patients with varying severity of CHD, residents of St. Petersburg.Methods and materials. The study included 407 CHD patients and 318 patients without clinical signs of CHD of comparable age (p>0.05). All CHD patients underwent coronary angiography. Typing of the VDR gene variants was performed by polymerase chain reaction and subsequent restriction analysis. Determination of the level of 25(OH)D blood serum was carried out by enzyme immunoassay.Results. Vitamin D deficiency was detected in 82 % of CHD patients, the content of 25(OH)D in blood serum was lower in CHD patients who had 2 or more myocardial infarctions (MI) than in those who had one MI (p=0.03). Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a 3.6-fold increased risk of multivessel disease (p=0.01). The presence of the aa genotype and the a allele (ApaI), the bb genotype and the b allele of the VDR gene (BsmI) is associated with an increased risk of CHD and the severity of atherosclerotic lesions of the coronary arteries.Conclusion. Vitamin D deficiency is typical for CHD patients and is associated with the severity of coronary atherosclerosis. The presence of aa genotype and a allele (ApaI polymorphism), bb genotype and b allele of the VDR gene (BsmI polymorphism) is associated with an increased risk of CHD and the severity of atherosclerotic lesions of the coronary arteries. TaqI polymorphism of the VDR gene is not associated with the risk of CHD.Актуальность. Дефицит витамина D может быть независимым предиктором ишемической болезни сердца (ИБС) и тяжести коронарного атеросклероза. Результаты исследований связи различных полиморфизмов гена рецептора витамина D (VDR) с риском и тяжестью ИБС противоречивы, что обуславливает необходимость изучения генетических вариантов гена VDR и особенностей клинического течения ИБС в российской популяции.Введение. Дефицит витамина D может быть независимым предиктором ишемической болезни сердца (ИБС) и тяжести коронарного атеросклероза. Результаты исследований связи различных полиморфизмов гена рецептора витамина D (VDR) с риском и тяжестью ИБС противоречивы, что обуславливает необходимость изучения генетических вариантов гена VDR и особенностей клинического течения ИБС в российской популяции.Цель – определить распределения генотипов TaqI, BsmI и ApaI полиморфных вариантов гена рецептора витамина D и уровня обеспеченности витамином D у больных ИБС с различной тяжестью поражения коронарных артерий, жителей Санкт-Петербурга.Методы и материалы. В исследование включены 407 больных ИБС и 318 обследованных без клинических признаков ИБС, сопоставимого возраста (р>0,05). Всем больным ИБС была выполнена коронарография. Типирование вариантов гена VDR проводили методом полимеразной цепной реакции и последующего рестрикционного анализа. Определение уровня 25(OH)D сыворотки крови проводили иммуноферментным методом.Результаты. У 82 % больных ИБС выявлен дефицит витамина D, содержание 25(ОН)D сыворотки крови было ниже у больных ИБС, перенесших два и более инфаркта миокарда (ИМ), чем у перенесших один ИМ (р=0,03). Дефицит витамина D ассоциируется с повышением риска многососудистого поражения в 3,6 раза (р=0,01). Наличие aa­генотипа и а-аллеля (АраI), bb-генотипa и b-аллеля гена VDR (BsmI) ассоциируется с повышением риска ИБС и с тяжестью атеросклеротического поражения коронарных артерий.Заключение. Дефицит витамина D характерен для больных ИБС и ассоциируется с тяжестью коронарного атеросклероза. Наличие aa-генотипа и а-аллеля (АраI-полиморфизм), bb-генотипa и b-аллеля гена VDR (BsmI-полиморфизм) ассоциируется с повышением риска ИБС и с тяжестью атеросклеротического поражения коронарных артерий. TaqI-полиморфизм гена VDR не ассоциирован с риском ИБС

SEIS: Insight’s Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure of Mars

By the end of 2018, 42 years after the landing of the two Viking seismometers on Mars, InSight will deploy onto Mars’ surface the SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure) instrument; a six-axes seismometer equipped with both a long-period three-axes Very Broad Band (VBB) instrument and a three-axes short-period (SP) instrument. These six sensors will cover a broad range of the seismic bandwidth, from 0.01 Hz to 50 Hz, with possible extension to longer periods. Data will be transmitted in the form of three continuous VBB components at 2 sample per second (sps), an estimation of the short period energy content from the SP at 1 sps and a continuous compound VBB/SP vertical axis at 10 sps. The continuous streams will be augmented by requested event data with sample rates from 20 to 100 sps. SEIS will improve upon the existing resolution of Viking’s Mars seismic monitoring by a factor of ∼ 2500 at 1 Hz and ∼ 200 000 at 0.1 Hz. An additional major improvement is that, contrary to Viking, the seismometers will be deployed via a robotic arm directly onto Mars’ surface and will be protected against temperature and wind by highly efficient thermal and wind shielding. Based on existing knowledge of Mars, it is reasonable to infer a moment magnitude detection threshold of Mw ∼ 3 at 40◦ epicentral distance and a potential to detect several tens of quakes and about five impacts per year. In this paper, we first describe the science goals of the experiment and the rationale used to define its requirements. We then provide a detailed description of the hardware, from the sensors to the deployment system and associated performance, including transfer functions of the seismic sensors and temperature sensors. We conclude by describing the experiment ground segment, including data processing services, outreach and education networks and provide a description of the format to be used for future data distribution

JPL Global GPS Network

The research described in this viewgraph was carried out by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). JPL currently operates more than 55 permanent, continuously operating GPS ground stations for NASA many in conjunction with international and regional agencies. The data are automatically uploaded from the remote stations, processed, and distributed, with a high degree of reliability

A Study of Gene Expression, Structure, and Contractility of iPSC-Derived Cardiac Myocytes from a Family with Heart Disease due to LMNA Mutation.

Genetic mutations to the Lamin A/C gene (LMNA) can cause heart disease, but the mechanisms making cardiac tissues uniquely vulnerable to the mutations remain largely unknown. Further, patients with LMNA mutations have highly variable presentation of heart disease progression and type. In vitro patient-specific experiments could provide a powerful platform for studying this phenomenon, but the use of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CM) introduces heterogeneity in maturity and function thus complicating the interpretation of the results of any single experiment. We hypothesized that integrating single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) with analysis of the tissue architecture and contractile function would elucidate some of the probable mechanisms. To test this, we investigated five iPSC-CM lines, three controls and two patients with a (c.357-2A>G) mutation. The patient iPSC-CM tissues had significantly weaker stress generation potential than control iPSC-CM tissues demonstrating the viability of our in vitro approach. Through scRNA-seq, differentially expressed genes between control and patient lines were identified. Some of these genes, linked to quantitative structural and functional changes, were cardiac specific, explaining the targeted nature of the disease progression seen in patients. The results of this work demonstrate the utility of combining in vitro tools in exploring heart disease mechanics

Age-associated impairment of T cell immunity is linked to sex-dimorphic elevation of N-glycan branching.

Impaired T cell immunity with aging increases mortality from infectious disease. The branching of Asparagine-linked glycans is a critical negative regulator of T cell immunity. Here we show that branching increases with age in females more than males, in naïve more than memory T cells, and in CD4+ more than CD8+ T cells. Female sex hormones and thymic output of naïve T cells (TN) decrease with age, however neither thymectomy nor ovariectomy altered branching. Interleukin-7 (IL-7) signaling was increased in old female more than male mouse TN cells, and triggered increased branching. N-acetylglucosamine, a rate-limiting metabolite for branching, increased with age in humans and synergized with IL-7 to raise branching. Reversing elevated branching rejuvenated T cell function and reduced severity of Salmonella infection in old female mice. These data suggest sex-dimorphic antagonistic pleiotropy, where IL-7 initially benefits immunity through TN maintenance but inhibits TN function by raising branching synergistically with age-dependent increases in N-acetylglucosamine