Differences in carotid arterial morphology and composition between individuals with and without obstructive coronary artery disease: A cardiovascular magnetic resonance study

Objective: We sought to determine differences with cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in the morphology and composition of the carotid arteries between individuals with angiographically-defined obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD, = 50% stenosis, cases) and those with angiographically normal coronaries (no lumen irregularities, controls). Methods and results: 191 participants (50.3% female; 50.8% CAD cases) were imaged with a multi-sequence, carotid CMR protocol at 1.5T. For each segment of the carotid, lumen area, wall area, total vessel area (lumen area + wall area), mean wall thickness and the presence or absence of calcification and lipid-rich necrotic core were recorded bilaterally. In male CAD cases compared to male controls, the distal bulb had a significantly smaller lumen area (60.0 [plus or minus] 3.1 vs. 79.7 [plus or minus] 3.2 mm[super]2, p less than 0.001) and total vessel area (99.6 [plus or minus] 4.0 vs. 119.8 [plus or minus] 4.1 mm[super]2; p less than 0.001), and larger mean wall thickness (1.25 [plus or minus] 0.03 vs. 1.11 [plus or minus] 0.03 mm; p = 0.002). Similarly, the internal carotid had a smaller lumen area (37.5 [plus or minus] 1.8 vs. 44.6 [plus or minus] 1.8 mm[super]2; p = 0.006) and smaller total vessel area (64.0 [plus or minus] 2.3 vs. 70.9 [plus or minus] 2.4 mm[super]2; p = 0.04). These metrics were not significantly different between female groups in the distal bulb and internal carotid or for either gender in the common carotid. Male CAD cases had an increased prevalence of lipid-rich necrotic core (49.0% vs. 19.6%; p = 0.003), while calcification was more prevalent in both male (46.9% vs. 17.4%; p = 0.002) and female (33.3% vs. 14.6%; p = 0.031) CAD cases compared to controls. Conclusion: Males with obstructive CAD compared to male controls had carotid bulbs and internal carotid arteries with smaller total vessel and lumen areas, and an increased prevalence of lipid-rich necrotic core. Carotid calcification was related to CAD status in both males and females. Carotid CMR identifies distinct morphological and compositional differences in the carotid arteries between individuals with and without angiographically-defined obstructive CAD.Carotid Atherosclerosis (MRI) Progression Study (CAMPS, HL076378) and Cardiovascular Research Training Program (T-32, HL07838); and the General Clinical Research Center at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine (M01 RR-07122)

Serum Metabolomics Reveals Higher Levels of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Lepromatous Leprosy: Potential Markers for Susceptibility and Pathogenesis

Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. M. leprae infects the skin and nerves, leading to disfigurement and nerve damage, with the severity of the disease varying widely. We believe there are multiple factors (genetic, bacterial, nutritional and environmental), which may explain the differences in clinical manifestations of the disease. We studied the metabolites in the serum of infected patients to search for specific molecules that may contribute to variations in the severity of disease seen in leprosy. We found that there were variations in levels of certain lipids in the patients with different bacterial loads. In particular, we found that three polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) involved in the inhibition of inflammation were more abundant in the serum of patients with higher bacterial loads. However, we do not know whether these PUFAs originated from the host or the bacteria. The variations in the metabolite profile that we observed provide a foundation for future research into the explanations of how leprosy causes disease

Quantitative and Qualitative Stem Rust Resistance Factors in Barley Are Associated with Transcriptional Suppression of Defense Regulons

Stem rust (Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici; Pgt) is a devastating fungal disease of wheat and barley. Pgt race TTKSK (isolate Ug99) is a serious threat to these Triticeae grain crops because resistance is rare. In barley, the complex Rpg-TTKSK locus on chromosome 5H is presently the only known source of qualitative resistance to this aggressive Pgt race. Segregation for resistance observed on seedlings of the Q21861 × SM89010 (QSM) doubled-haploid (DH) population was found to be predominantly qualitative, with little of the remaining variance explained by loci other than Rpg-TTKSK. In contrast, analysis of adult QSM DH plants infected by field inoculum of Pgt race TTKSK in Njoro, Kenya, revealed several additional quantitative trait loci that contribute to resistance. To molecularly characterize these loci, Barley1 GeneChips were used to measure the expression of 22,792 genes in the QSM population after inoculation with Pgt race TTKSK or mock-inoculation. Comparison of expression Quantitative Trait Loci (eQTL) between treatments revealed an inoculation-dependent expression polymorphism implicating Actin depolymerizing factor3 (within the Rpg-TTKSK locus) as a candidate susceptibility gene. In parallel, we identified a chromosome 2H trans-eQTL hotspot that co-segregates with an enhancer of Rpg-TTKSK-mediated, adult plant resistance discovered through the Njoro field trials. Our genome-wide eQTL studies demonstrate that transcript accumulation of 25% of barley genes is altered following challenge by Pgt race TTKSK, but that few of these genes are regulated by the qualitative Rpg-TTKSK on chromosome 5H. It is instead the chromosome 2H trans-eQTL hotspot that orchestrates the largest inoculation-specific responses, where enhanced resistance is associated with transcriptional suppression of hundreds of genes scattered throughout the genome. Hence, the present study associates the early suppression of genes expressed in this host–pathogen interaction with enhancement of R-gene mediated resistance

Recent advances of metabolomics in plant biotechnology

Biotechnology, including genetic modification, is a very important approach to regulate the production of particular metabolites in plants to improve their adaptation to environmental stress, to improve food quality, and to increase crop yield. Unfortunately, these approaches do not necessarily lead to the expected results due to the highly complex mechanisms underlying metabolic regulation in plants. In this context, metabolomics plays a key role in plant molecular biotechnology, where plant cells are modified by the expression of engineered genes, because we can obtain information on the metabolic status of cells via a snapshot of their metabolome. Although metabolome analysis could be used to evaluate the effect of foreign genes and understand the metabolic state of cells, there is no single analytical method for metabolomics because of the wide range of chemicals synthesized in plants. Here, we describe the basic analytical advancements in plant metabolomics and bioinformatics and the application of metabolomics to the biological study of plants