Transcriptome-wide association study of breast cancer risk by estrogen-receptor status

Previous transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) have identified breast cancer risk genes by integrating data from expression quantitative loci and genome-wide association studies (GWAS), but analyses of breast cancer subtype-specific associations have been limited. In this study, we conducted a TWAS using gene expression data from GTEx and summary statistics from the hitherto largest GWAS meta-analysis conducted for breast cancer overall, and by estrogen receptor subtypes (ER+ and ER-). We further compared associations with ER+ and ER- subtypes, using a case-only TWAS approach. We also conducted multigene conditional analyses in regions with multiple TWAS associations. Two genes, STXBP4 and HIST2H2BA, were specifically associated with ER+ but not with ER- breast cancer. We further identified 30 TWAS-significant genes associated with overall breast cancer risk, including four that were not identified in previous studies. Conditional analyses identified single independent breast-cancer gene in three of six regions harboring multiple TWAS-significant genes. Our study provides new information on breast cancer genetics and biology, particularly about genomic differences between ER+ and ER- breast cancer.Peer reviewe

A new biological recovery approach for PHA using mealworm, Tenebrio molitor

Bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are expensive partly due to the recovery and purification processes. Thus, many studies have been carried out in order to minimize the cost. Here we report on the use of mealworm, which is the larva of mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor) to recover PHA granules from Cupriavidus necator. Mealworms were shown to readily consume the freeze-dried C. necator cells and excrete the PHA granules in the form of whitish feces. Further purification using water, detergent and heat resulted in almost 100% pure PHA granules. Comparison with chloroform extraction showed no signs of reduction in the molecular weight and dispersion of the PHA molecules. Scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering measurements revealed that the biologically recovered PHA granules retained their native spherical morphology. The PHA granules were subjected to a battery of tests to determine their purity and properties in comparison to the chloroform extracted PHA. This study has demonstrated the possibility of using mealworms as a biological agent to partially purify the PHA granules

Biological recovery and properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) from Cupriavidus necator H16

In the present study, we observed that laboratory rats readily consumed lyophilized cells of Cupriavidus necator H16 cultivated using palm oil containing 39 wt% poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] as sole diet source. The test animals excreted whitish fecal pellets containing 82–97 wt% P(3HB). The remaining impurities could be easily removed by washing the pellets with water and/or low concentrations of detergent, which resulted in P(3HB) granules of a high purity. The molecular masses and thermal properties of P(3HB) obtained by this method were almost similar to P(3HB) extracted from bacterial cells using chloroform. The method reported here is simple and eliminates the need for solvents and strong chemicals, thus resulting in P(3HB) production that is more ecofriendly

Normal histological appearance of liver sections from control (A1-2) and bacterial cells diet fed (B1-2) animals for 28 days (Magnification 100×, haematoxylin and eosin stain).

<p>Normal histological appearance of liver sections from control (A1-2) and bacterial cells diet fed (B1-2) animals for 28 days (Magnification 100×, haematoxylin and eosin stain).</p

The appearance of the faeces of the (A) Control animals and (B) Test animals fed with lyophilized cells of <i>C. necator</i> H16 containing 39 wt% PHB.

<p>The appearance of the faeces of the (A) Control animals and (B) Test animals fed with lyophilized cells of <i>C. necator</i> H16 containing 39 wt% PHB.</p