A középkorú lakosság morbiditásának és mortalitásának összefüggése az MHC centrális régiójában található egyes génvariánsokkal és haplotipusokkal = Relationship between the morbidity and mortality of the middle-age people with some gene variants and haplotypes in the central region of MHC

A projekt keretében -korábbi adataink utánvizsgálat céljából - a középkorú lakosság morbiditásának és mortalitásának összefüggéseit tanulmányoztuk az MHC centrális régiójában található egyes génvariánsokkal és haplotipusokkal. Fontosabb új eredményeink: 1. Új módszert dolgoztunk ki a C4A és C4B gének kópiaszámának meghatározására 2. A C4B*Q0 (a C4B gén alacsony kópia száma) és a fokozott cardiovascularis morbiditás és mortalitás között kapcsolatot sikerült megerősítenünk az új genotipizálási módszer segítségével, 3. Elsőként sikerült feltérképezni az ősi kiterjesztett MHC haplotípusok előfordulását a magyar populációban és bizonyítottuk, hogy a leggyakoribb, 8.1 j. ősi haplotípus hordozóinak colorectalis carcinoma kockázata lényegesen nagyobb, mint a nem-hordozóké. 4. A C4B*Q0 genotípus és a fokozott cardiovascularis morbiditás és mortalitás között összefüggés egyik lehetséges magyarázata az, hogy a 21-hidroxiláz enzimet kódoló CYP-21 gén funkcionális rendellenessége és a C4A/C4B génszán közötti összefüggés áll fenn. Közel 100 egyén CYP-21 génjének szekvenálása segítségével találtunk ilyen összefüggést: a gén 4-es intronjában taláható két SNP ritka allélje csak a C4B*Q0 hordozókban fordult elő. Projektünk célkitűzéseit sikerült teljesíteni, a kapott eredményeinket 15, rangos nemzetközi folyóiratokban megjelent közleményben publikáltuk. | In order to reexamine our previous findings we studied the possible relationship between the cardiovascular morbidity/mortality of the middle-aged people and some alleles and haplotypes encoded in the central MHC region. Main results of the project: 1. A new method was worked out for direct counting of the copy number of the C4A and C4B genes. 2. Using this new method we have supported by new findings the strong association between the low copy number of the C4B genes (C4B*Q0) and the high rate of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. 3. We were the first to map the occurrence of the ancestral extended MHC haplotypes in the Hungarian population and found that the carriers of the so-called 8.1 ancestral haplotype have an increased risk to develop colorectal cancer. 4. One of the possible explanation of the strong correlation between the C4B*Q0 genotype and the increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality could be an association of the functional abnormalities of the CYP-21 gene (that encodes the 21-hydroxylase enzyme) and the C4A/C4B gene counts. We have examined this possibility by sequencing the CYP-21 gene in almost 100 subjects and found that the rare alleles of two SNPs in intron 4 of the gene occurs only in the C4B*Q0 carriers. Aims of the project were satisfied, the results were published in 15 papers in high-ranked international journals

A világ természetvédelmének története 1981 és 1985 között (védett területek alapítása)

Az előző elemzett időszak (1976–1980) óta 6174 védett terület alapítása történt a világon. A cikkben közölt adatok az IUCN kategóriarendszerébe sorolt védett területekre vonatkoznak. A jelenleg vizsgált időszakban az alapított területek 44,6%-a a IV. IUCN kategóriába tartozik. Az IUCN adatbázisa szerint a legtöbb területet 1981 és 1985 között Ukrajna alapította (1235 területet). 1980-ig az idő előrehaladtával nem csak a védett területek, de a nemzeti kategóriák száma is nőtt. Az eddigiektől eltérően a nemzeti kategóriák száma csökkent, 131 létezett 1981 és 1985 között. A területnagyságok az átlagtól eltérően alakulnak, többségük (51,49%) a 0 és 99 ha közötti méretű, bár az összes védett terület kiterjedésének ez 0,082%-a. Magyarországról 8 védett természeti terület került fel az IUCN listájára. Ekkor alakult az Aggteleki Nemzeti Park, ezen kívül 3 tájvédelmi körzet és 4 természetvédelmi terület is. Megállapíthatjuk, hogy az előző öt évhez képest 1981 és 1985 között ismét növekedett az alapított védett területek száma: 4871-ről 6174-re. Ebben az időszakban a természetvédelem történelmi eseményei közül kiemelkedik az ausztriai Hohe Tauern Nemzeti Park megalakulása a magashegyi élőhelyek, az indiai Sundarbans Nemzeti Park a bengáli tigrisek, a bahamai Lucayan Nemzeti Park a legmélyebb víz alatti barlangrendszer, a kongói Kahuzi-Biega Mountains Nemzeti Park a hegyi gorillák, a horvát Krka Nemzeti Park a víztani értékek, a mexikói Palenque Nemzeti Park a maják egyik legnagyobb városának és környékének védelme miatt

Evidence, detailed characterization and clinical context of complement activation in acute multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare, life-threatening complication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. MIS-C develops with high fever, marked inflammation and shock-like picture several weeks after exposure to, or mild infection with SARS-CoV-2. Deep immune profiling identified activated macrophages, neutrophils, B-plasmablasts and CD8 + T cells as key determinants of pathogenesis together with multiple inflammatory markers. The disease rapidly responds to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment with clear changes of immune features. Here we present the results of a comprehensive analysis of the complement system in the context of MIS-C activity and describe characteristic changes during IVIG treatment. We show that activation markers of the classical, alternative and terminal pathways are highly elevated, that the activation is largely independent of anti-SARS-CoV-2 humoral immune response, but is strongly associated with markers of macrophage activation. Decrease of complement activation is closely associated with rapid improvement of MIS-C after IVIG treatment

Evaluation of a Partial Genome Screening of Two Asthma Susceptibility Regions Using Bayesian Network Based Bayesian Multilevel Analysis of Relevance

Genetic studies indicate high number of potential factors related to asthma. Based on earlier linkage analyses we selected the 11q13 and 14q22 asthma susceptibility regions, for which we designed a partial genome screening study using 145 SNPs in 1201 individuals (436 asthmatic children and 765 controls). The results were evaluated with traditional frequentist methods and we applied a new statistical method, called Bayesian network based Bayesian multilevel analysis of relevance (BN-BMLA). This method uses Bayesian network representation to provide detailed characterization of the relevance of factors, such as joint significance, the type of dependency, and multi-target aspects. We estimated posteriors for these relations within the Bayesian statistical framework, in order to estimate the posteriors whether a variable is directly relevant or its association is only mediated. With frequentist methods one SNP (rs3751464 in the FRMD6 gene) provided evidence for an association with asthma (OR = 1.43(1.2–1.8); p = 3×10−4). The possible role of the FRMD6 gene in asthma was also confirmed in an animal model and human asthmatics. In the BN-BMLA analysis altogether 5 SNPs in 4 genes were found relevant in connection with asthma phenotype: PRPF19 on chromosome 11, and FRMD6, PTGER2 and PTGDR on chromosome 14. In a subsequent step a partial dataset containing rhinitis and further clinical parameters was used, which allowed the analysis of relevance of SNPs for asthma and multiple targets. These analyses suggested that SNPs in the AHNAK and MS4A2 genes were indirectly associated with asthma. This paper indicates that BN-BMLA explores the relevant factors more comprehensively than traditional statistical methods and extends the scope of strong relevance based methods to include partial relevance, global characterization of relevance and multi-target relevance

Complement lectin pathway activation is associated with COVID-19 disease severity, independent of MBL2 genotype subgroups

IntroductionWhile complement is a contributor to disease severity in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections, all three complement pathways might be activated by the virus. Lectin pathway activation occurs through different pattern recognition molecules, including mannan binding lectin (MBL), a protein shown to interact with SARS-CoV-2 proteins. However, the exact role of lectin pathway activation and its key pattern recognition molecule MBL in COVID-19 is still not fully understood.MethodsWe therefore investigated activation of the lectin pathway in two independent cohorts of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, while also analysing MBL protein levels and potential effects of the six major single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) found in the MBL2 gene on COVID-19 severity and outcome.ResultsWe show that the lectin pathway is activated in acute COVID-19, indicated by the correlation between complement activation product levels of the MASP-1/C1-INH complex (p=0.0011) and C4d (p<0.0001) and COVID-19 severity. Despite this, genetic variations in MBL2 are not associated with susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection or disease outcomes such as mortality and the development of Long COVID.ConclusionIn conclusion, activation of the MBL-LP only plays a minor role in COVID-19 pathogenesis, since no clinically meaningful, consistent associations with disease outcomes were noted

Class switch towards spike protein-specific IgG4 antibodies after SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination depends on prior infection history

Abstract Vaccinations against SARS-CoV-2 reduce the risk of developing serious COVID-19 disease. Monitoring spike-specific IgG subclass levels after vaccinations may provide additional information on SARS-CoV-2 specific humoral immune response. Here, we examined the presence and levels of spike-specific IgG antibody subclasses in health-care coworkers vaccinated with vector- (Sputnik, AstraZeneca) or mRNA-based (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna) vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and in unvaccinated COVID-19 patients. We found that vector-based vaccines elicited lower total spike-specific IgG levels than mRNA vaccines. The pattern of spike-specific IgG subclasses in individuals infected before mRNA vaccinations resembled that of vector-vaccinated subjects or unvaccinated COVID-19 patients. However, the pattern of mRNA-vaccinated individuals without SARS-CoV-2 preinfection showed a markedly different pattern. In addition to IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses presented in all groups, a switch towards distal IgG subclasses (spike-specific IgG4 and IgG2) appeared almost exclusively in individuals who received only mRNA vaccines or were infected after mRNA vaccinations. In these subjects, the magnitude of the spike-specific IgG4 response was comparable to that of the spike-specific IgG1 response. These data suggest that the priming of the immune system either by natural SARS-CoV-2 infection or by vector- or mRNA-based vaccinations has an important impact on the characteristics of the developed specific humoral immunity

ABCC1 polymorphisms in anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Anthracyclines are potent cytostatic drugs the correct dosage of which is critical to aviod possible cardiac side effects. ABCC1 (MRP1) is expressed in the heart and takes part in the detoxification and protection of the cells from toxic effects of xenobiotics, including anthracyclines. Our objective was to search for associations between left ventricular function and single nucleotide polymorphisms of the ABCC1 gene in children who received anthracycline chemotherapy. We analyzed data of 235 pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Patients were followed up by echocardiography (median follow up 6.3 years). Nine polymorphisms in the ABCC1 gene were genotyped. The ABCC1 rs3743527TT genotype and rs3743527TT-rs246221TC/TT genotype combination were found to be associated with lower left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS) after chemotherapy. Our results suggest that genetic variants in the ABCC1 gene could influence anthracycline induced left ventricular dysfunction

To Alfred Deakin

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldPreviously we reported on strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) between the mono-S-C4B-RCCX module (mono-S) and the TNF2 allele (both known constituents of the 8.1 ancestral haplotype (8.1 AH)) in two Caucasian populations. The gene for the receptor of advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE) is encoded between the RCCX module and the HLA class II genes in the central MHC region. In order to assess the relationship between the promoter polymorphisms of the RAGE gene and the 8.1 AH, we performed a family study in eight informative families affected with type 1 diabetes mellitus; haplotypes of a RAGE promoter SNP (-429T>C) with the HLA-DQ2, -DR-3(17) and TNF2 alleles, as well as the mono-S genotype were determined. A similar analysis was performed in 82 unrelated patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, and in unrelated healthy individuals of three different Caucasian populations (Hungarians, Ohioian females, Icelandics). In the diabetic patients clinical correlations were also investigated. Out of the 32 paternal and maternal chromosome 6 from the eight families, 15 different MHC haplotypes were found. Haplotypes containing at least three of the known constituents of the 8.1 AH (HLA-DQ2, -DR17, mono-S, TNF2) were always linked to the RAGE -429C allele. The RAGE -429C allele exhibited highly significant (p<0.0001) LD coefficients to known constituents of the 8.1 AH both in healthy persons and patients with type 1 diabetes. In the group of patients with diabetes we found significantly (p=0.013) higher maximal hemoglobinA1C concentration in the carriers of the RAGE -429C allele, this trait, however was not linked to the 8.1 AH. Our present findings indicate that the RAGE -429C allele can be considered as a candidate member of the 8.1 AH. The results also reveal a spectrum of recombinant MHC haplotypes in addition to the conserved ancestral haplotypes

Complement lectin pathway activation is associated with COVID-19 disease severity, independent of MBL2 genotype subgroups

Peer reviewed: TrueIntroductionWhile complement is a contributor to disease severity in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections, all three complement pathways might be activated by the virus. Lectin pathway activation occurs through different pattern recognition molecules, including mannan binding lectin (MBL), a protein shown to interact with SARS-CoV-2 proteins. However, the exact role of lectin pathway activation and its key pattern recognition molecule MBL in COVID-19 is still not fully understood.MethodsWe therefore investigated activation of the lectin pathway in two independent cohorts of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, while also analysing MBL protein levels and potential effects of the six major single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) found in the MBL2 gene on COVID-19 severity and outcome.ResultsWe show that the lectin pathway is activated in acute COVID-19, indicated by the correlation between complement activation product levels of the MASP-1/C1-INH complex (p=0.0011) and C4d (p&amp;lt;0.0001) and COVID-19 severity. Despite this, genetic variations in MBL2 are not associated with susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection or disease outcomes such as mortality and the development of Long COVID.ConclusionIn conclusion, activation of the MBL-LP only plays a minor role in COVID-19 pathogenesis, since no clinically meaningful, consistent associations with disease outcomes were noted.</jats:sec

Some characteristics of the study subjects belonging to the CLI dataset.

<p>Some characteristics of the study subjects belonging to the CLI dataset.</p