Mesenchymal stem cells are short-lived and do not migrate beyond the lungs after intravenous infusion

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are under investigation as a therapy for a variety of disorders. Although animal models show long term regenerative and immunomodulatory effects of MSC, the fate of MSC after infusion remains to be elucidated. In the present study the localization and viability of MSC was examined by isolation and re-culture of intravenously infused MSC. C57BL/6 MSC (500,000) constitutively expressing DsRed-fluorescent protein and radioactively labeled with Cr-51 were infused via the tail vein in wild-type C57BL/6 mice. After 5 min, 1, 24, or 72 h, mice were sacrificed and blood, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, and bone marrow removed. One hour after MSC infusion the majority of Cr-51 was found in the lungs, whereas after 24 h Cr-51 was mainly found in the liver. Tissue cultures demonstrated that viable donor MSC were present in the lungs up to 24 h after infusion, after which they disappeared. No viable MSC were found in the other organs examined at any time. The induction of ischemia-reperfusion injury in the liver did not trigger the migration of viable MSC to the liver. These results demonstrate that MSC are short-lived after i.v. infusion and that viable MSC do not pass the lungs. Cell debris may be transported to the liver. Long term immunomodulatory and regenerative effects of infused MSC must therefore be mediated via other cell types

Исследование характеристик плазмы ВЧ-магнетронного разряда при распылении мишени на основе гидроксиапатита

In this study characteristics of RF-magnetron discharge as temperature of electrons, plasma density and electrons speed were investigated by a Langmuir double probe. The goal was to find out the dependence between different deposition modes and RF-magnetron plasma parameters

Sex differences in urine metabolites related with risk of diabetes using NMR spectroscopy: Results of the study of health in pomerania.

Recently research provides evidence that blood metabolite profiles predicted type 2 diabetes. We aimed to assess the relation of urine metabolites measured via nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with incident type 2 diabetes in a sample of 1353 men and 1356 women. Within 5 years, 87 men and 50 women developed diabetes. Five and 16 urine metabolites were associated with incident diabetes in men and women, respectively. Only three of these metabolites (glucose, lactate and glycine) were found in both sexes. In women, e.g. acetate, carnitine, N,N-dimethylglycine, trigonelline, 3-hydroxyisovalerate, alanine, formate, glycolate, trimethylamine N-oxide and tau-methylhistidine were positively related with diabetes. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that compared with a standard model, a model additionally adjusted for urine glucose, trigonelline and trimethylamine N-oxide levels showed a better discrimination between incident diabetes cases and non-cases in women (AUC = 0.874 and 0.903, p = 0.019). In men, valine and 4-hydroxyphenylacetate were found as markers of diabetes. However, ROC analysis did not reveal any improvement in discrimination based on urine metabolites. In conclusion, we confirmed the potential of metabolomics to assess the risk of type 2 diabetes and detected pronounced sex differences. Moreover, we demonstrated the practicability of spot urine samples as potential non-invasive diabetes screening approach

Myocardial gene expression profiles and cardiodepressant autoantibodies predict response of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy to immunoadsorption therapy

Item does not contain fulltextAIMS: Immunoadsorption with subsequent immunoglobulin G substitution (IA/IgG) represents a novel therapeutic approach in the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) which leads to the improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). However, response to this therapeutic intervention shows wide inter-individual variability. In this pilot study, we tested the value of clinical, biochemical, and molecular parameters for the prediction of the response of patients with DCM to IA/IgG. METHODS AND RESULTS: Forty DCM patients underwent endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) before IA/IgG. In eight patients with normal LVEF (controls), EMBs were obtained for clinical reasons. Clinical parameters, negative inotropic activity (NIA) of antibodies on isolated rat cardiomyocytes, and gene expression profiles of EMBs were analysed. Dilated cardiomyopathy patients displaying improvement of LVEF (>/=20 relative and >/=5% absolute) 6 months after IA/IgG were considered responders. Compared with non-responders (n = 16), responders (n = 24) displayed shorter disease duration (P = 0.006), smaller LV internal diameter in diastole (P = 0.019), and stronger NIA of antibodies. Antibodies obtained from controls were devoid of NIA. Myocardial gene expression patterns were different in responders and non-responders for genes of oxidative phosphorylation, mitochondrial dysfunction, hypertrophy, and ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. The integration of scores of NIA and expression levels of four genes allowed robust discrimination of responders from non-responders at baseline (BL) [sensitivity of 100% (95% CI 85.8-100%); specificity up to 100% (95% CI 79.4-100%); cut-off value: -0.28] and was superior to scores derived from antibodies, gene expression, or clinical parameters only. CONCLUSION: Combined assessment of NIA of antibodies and gene expression patterns of DCM patients at BL predicts response to IA/IgG therapy and may enable appropriate selection of patients who benefit from this therapeutic intervention

Characterization of the human myocardial proteome in inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy by label-free quantitative shotgun proteomics of heart biopsies

Item does not contain fulltextDilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is characterized by contractile dysfunction leading to heart failure. The molecular changes in the human heart associated with this disease have so far mostly been addressed at the gene expression level and only a few studies have analyzed global changes in the myocardial proteome. Therefore, our objective was to investigate the changes in the proteome in patients suffering from inflammatory DCM (iDCM) and chronic viral infection by a comprehensive quantitative approach. Comparative proteomic profiling of endomyocardial biopsies (EMB) from 10 patients with iDCM (left ventricular ejection fraction <40%, symptoms of heart failure) as well as 7 controls with normal left ventricular function and histology was performed by label-free proteome analysis (LC-MS/MS). Mass spectrometric data were analyzed with the Rosetta Elucidator software package. The analysis covered a total of 485 proteins. Among the 174 proteins displaying at least a 1.3-fold change in intensity (p < 0.05), major changes were observed for mitochondrial and cytoskeletal proteins, but also metabolic pathways were affected in iDCM compared to controls. In iDCM patients, we observed decreased levels of mitochondrial proteins involved in oxidative phosphorylation and tricarboxylic acid cycle. Furthermore, deregulation of proteins of carbohydrate metabolism, the actin cytoskeleton, and extracellular matrix remodeling was observed. Proteomic observations were confirmed by gene expression data and immunohistochemistry (e.g. collagen I and VI). This study demonstrates that label-free, mass spectrometry-centered approaches can identify disease dependent alterations in the proteome from small tissue samples such as endomyocardial biopsies. Thus, this technique might allow better disease characterization and may be a valuable tool in potential clinical proteomic studies

Fcgamma-receptor IIa polymorphism and the role of immunoadsorption in cardiac dysfunction in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Item does not contain fulltextIn patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), cardiac autoantibodies are able to bind with their Fab fragment to epitopes on cardiomyocytes, but thereafter they crosslink through their Fc fragment to cardiac Fc(gamma)-receptor IIa. Polymorphic variability of the Fc(gamma)-receptor IIa is associated with modified affinity of immunoglobin G (IgG) binding and may influence therapeutic effects. In this study, 103 consecutive DCM patients were treated with immunoadsorption (IA) therapy with subsequent IgG substitution (IA/IgG). Echocardiography was performed at baseline and again at 3 and 6 months after IA/IgG. Fc(gamma)-receptor IIa polymorphism R/H131 was genotyped using a nested sequence-specific primer polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Patients with the Fc(gamma)-receptor IIa genotype R/R131 showed significantly greater improvement in left ventricular (LV) function than patients with the R/H131 or H/H131 genotypes did. Irrespective of the Fc(gamma)-receptor polymorphism, patients with shorter disease duration and a more impaired LV function responded with a greater increase in LV ejection fraction (LVEF). Therefore, the Fc(gamma)-receptor polymorphism influences the efficacy of immunomodulatory therapy involving IA/IgG.1 april 201

Identification of genetic loci associated with <em>Helicobacter pylori</em> serologic status.

Importance Helicobacter pylori is a major cause of gastritis and gastroduodenal ulcer disease and can cause cancer. H pylori prevalence is as high as 90% in some developing countries but 10% of a given population is never colonized, regardless of exposure. Genetic factors are hypothesized to confer H pylori susceptibility. Objective To identify genetic loci associated with H pylori seroprevalence in 2 independent population-based cohorts and to determine their putative pathophysiological role by whole-blood RNA gene expression profiling. Design, Setting, and Participants Two independent genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and a subsequent meta-analysis were conducted for anti-H pylori IgG serology in the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) (recruitment, 1997-2001 [n=3830]) as well as the Rotterdam Study (RS-I) (recruitment, 1990-1993) and RS-II (recruitment, 2000-2001 [n=7108]) populations. Whole-blood RNA gene expression profiles were analyzed in RS-III (recruitment, 2006-2008 [n=762]) and SHIP-TREND (recruitment, 2008-2012 [n=991]), and fecal H pylori antigen in SHIP-TREND (n=961). Main Outcomes and Measures H pylori seroprevalence. Results Of 10 938 participants, 6160 (56.3%) were seropositive for H pylori. GWASs identified the toll-like receptor (TLR) locus (4p14; top-ranked single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs10004195; P=1.4 x 10(-18); odds ratio, 0.70 [95% CI, 0.65 to 0.76]) and the FCGR2A locus (1q23.3; top-ranked SNP, rs368433; P=2.1 x 10(-8); odds ratio, 0.73 [95% CI, 0.65 to 0.81]) as associated with H pylori seroprevalence. Among the 3 TLR genes at 4p14, only TLR1 was differentially expressed per copy number of the minor rs10004195-A allele (beta =-0.23 [95% CI, -0.34 to -0.11]; P=2.1 x 10(-4)). Individuals with high fecal H pylori antigen titers (optical density &gt;1) also exhibited the highest 25% of TLR1 expression levels (P=.01 by chi(2) test). Furthermore, TLR1 exhibited an Asn248Ser substitution in the extracellular domain strongly linked to the rs10004195 SNP. Conclusions and Relevance GWAS meta-analysis identified an association between TLR1 and H pylori seroprevalence, a finding that requires replication in non-white populations. If confirmed, genetic variations in TLR1 may help explain some of the observed variation in individual risk for H pylori infection

Targeting autophagy as a novel strategy for facilitating the therapeutic action of potentiators on ΔF508 cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator

Channel activators (potentiators) of cystic fibrosis (CF) transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), can be used for the treatment of the small subset of CF patients that carry plasma membrane-resident CFTR mutants. However, approximately 90% of CF patients carry the misfolded ΔF508-CFTR and are poorly responsive to potentiators, because ΔF508-CFTR is intrinsically unstable at the plasma membrane (PM) even if rescued by pharmacological correctors. We have demonstrated that human and mouse CF airways are autophagy deficient due to functional sequestration of BEC N1 and that the tissue transglutaminase-2 inhibitor, cystamine, or antioxidants restore BEC N1-dependent autophagy and reduce SQSTM1/p62 levels, thus favoring ΔF508-CFTR trafficking to the epithelial surface. Here, we investigated whether these treatments could facilitate the beneficial action of potentiators on ΔF508-CFTR homozygous airways. Cystamine or the superoxide dismutase (SO D)/catalase-mimetic EUK-134 stabilized ΔF508-CFTR at the plasma membrane of airway epithelial cells and sustained the expression of CFTR at the epithelial surface well beyond drug withdrawal, overexpressing BECN1 and depleting SQSTM1. This facilitates the beneficial action of potentiators in controlling inflammation in ex vivo ΔF508-CFTR homozygous human nasal biopsies and in vivo in mouse ΔF508-CFTR lungs. Direct depletion of Sqstm1 by shRNAs in vivo in ΔF508-CFTR mice synergized with potentiators in sustaining surface CFTR expression and suppressing inflammation. Cystamine pre-treatment restored ΔF508-CFTR response to the CFTR potentiators genistein, Vrx-532 or Vrx-770 in freshly isolated brushed nasal epithelial cells from ΔF508-CFTR homozygous patients. These findings delineate a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of CF patients with the ΔF508-CFTR mutation in which patients are first treated with cystamine and subsequently pulsed with CFTR potentiators