214 research outputs found

    Smoking Status, Snus Use, and Variation at the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 Locus in Relation to Obesity: The GLACIER Study

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    A genetic variant within the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 region (rs1051730), previously associated with smoking quantity, was recently shown to interact with smoking on obesity predisposition. We attempted to replicate this finding in the Gene-Lifestyle Interactions and Complex Traits Involved in Elevated Disease Risk (GLACIER) Study, a prospective cohort study of adults from northern Sweden (n = 16,426). We also investigated whether a similar interaction is apparent between rs1051730 and snus, a type of moist oral tobacco, to determine whether this interaction is driven by factors that cigarettes and snus have in common, such as nicotine. Main effects of smoking, snus, and the rs1051730 variant and pairwise interaction terms (smoking x rs1051730 and snus x rs1051730) were tested in relation to body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight (kg)/height (m)(2)) through the use of multivariate linear models adjusted for age and sex. Smoking status and BMI were inversely related (beta = -0.46 kg/m(2), standard error (SE) = 0.08; P 0.05); the T allele was associated with lower BMI in the overall cohort (beta = -0.10 kg/m(2), SE = 0.05; P = 0.03) and with smoking quantity in those in whom this was measured (n = 5,304) (beta = 0.08, SE = 0.01; P < 0.0001). Neither smoking status (P-interaction = 0.29) nor snus use (P-interaction = 0.89) modified the association between the rs1051730 variant and BMI

    Genetic Predisposition to Long-Term Nondiabetic Deteriorations in Glucose Homeostasis: Ten-Year Follow-Up of the GLACIER Study

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    Objective: To assess whether recently discovered genetic loci associated with hyperglycemia also predict long-term changes in glycemic traits. Research Design and Methods: Sixteen fasting glucose-raising loci were genotyped in middle-aged adults from the Gene x Lifestyle interactions And Complex traits Involved in Elevated disease Risk (GLACIER) Study, a population-based prospective cohort study from northern Sweden. Genotypes were tested for association with baseline fasting and 2-h postchallenge glycemia (N = 16,330), and for changes in these glycemic traits during a 10-year follow-up period (N = 4,059). Results: Cross-sectional directionally consistent replication with fasting glucose concentrations was achieved for 12 of 16 variants; 10 variants were also associated with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and 7 were independently associated with 2-h postchallenge glucose concentrations. In prospective analyses, the effect alleles at four loci (GCK rs4607517, ADRA2A rs10885122, DGKB-TMEM195 rs2191349, and G6PC2 rs560887) were nominally associated with worsening fasting glucose concentrations during 10-years of follow-up. MTNR1B rs10830963, which was predictive of elevated fasting glucose concentrations in cross-sectional analyses, was associated with a protective effect on postchallenge glucose concentrations during follow-up; however, this was only when baseline fasting and 2-h glucoses were adjusted for. An additive effect of multiple risk alleles on glycemic traits was observed: a weighted genetic risk score (80th vs. 20th centiles) was associated with a 0.16 mmol/l (P = 2.4 × 106^{−6}) greater elevation in fasting glucose and a 64% (95% CI: 33–201%) higher risk of developing IFG during 10 years of follow-up. Conclusions: Our findings imply that genetic profiling might facilitate the early detection of persons who are genetically susceptible to deteriorating glucose control; studies of incident type 2 diabetes and discrete cardiovascular end points will help establish whether the magnitude of these changes is clinically relevant

    γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) signalling in human pancreatic islets is altered in type 2 diabetes

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    AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a signalling molecule in the interstitial space in pancreatic islets. We examined the expression and function of the GABA signalling system components in human pancreatic islets from normoglycaemic and type 2 diabetic individuals. METHODS: Expression of GABA signalling system components was studied by microarray, quantitative PCR analysis, immunohistochemistry and patch-clamp experiments on cells in intact islets. Hormone release was measured from intact islets. RESULTS: The GABA signalling system was compromised in islets from type 2 diabetic individuals, where the expression of the genes encoding the α1, α2, β2 and β3 GABA(A) channel subunits was downregulated. GABA originating within the islets evoked tonic currents in the cells. The currents were enhanced by pentobarbital and inhibited by the GABA(A) receptor antagonist, SR95531. The effects of SR95531 on hormone release revealed that activation of GABA(A) channels (GABA(A) receptors) decreased both insulin and glucagon secretion. The GABA(B) receptor antagonist, CPG55845, increased insulin release in islets (16.7 mmol/l glucose) from normoglycaemic and type 2 diabetic individuals. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Interstitial GABA activates GABA(A) channels and GABA(B) receptors and effectively modulates hormone release in islets from type 2 diabetic and normoglycaemic individuals

    Gene × Physical Activity Interactions in Obesity: Combined Analysis of 111,421 Individuals of European Ancestry

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    Numerous obesity loci have been identified using genome-wide association studies. A UK study indicated that physical activity may attenuate the cumulative effect of 12 of these loci, but replication studies are lacking. Therefore, we tested whether the aggregate effect of these loci is diminished in adults of European ancestry reporting high levels of physical activity. Twelve obesity-susceptibility loci were genotyped or imputed in 111,421 participants. A genetic risk score (GRS) was calculated by summing the BMI-associated alleles of each genetic variant. Physical activity was assessed using self-administered questionnaires. Multiplicative interactions between the GRS and physical activity on BMI were tested in linear and logistic regression models in each cohort, with adjustment for age, age2, sex, study center (for multicenter studies), and the marginal terms for physical activity and the GRS. These results were combined using meta-analysis weighted by cohort sample size. The meta-analysis yielded a statistically significant GRS × physical activity interaction effect estimate (Pinteraction = 0.015). However, a statistically significant interaction effect was only apparent in North American cohorts (n = 39,810, Pinteraction = 0.014 vs. n = 71,611, Pinteraction = 0.275 for Europeans). In secondary analyses, both the FTO rs1121980 (Pinteraction = 0.003) and the SEC16B rs10913469 (Pinteraction = 0.025) variants showed evidence of SNP × physical activity interactions. This meta-analysis of 111,421 individuals provides further support for an interaction between physical activity and a GRS in obesity disposition, although these findings hinge on the inclusion of cohorts from North America, indicating that these results are either population-specific or non-causal

    Circulating concentrations of vitamin D in relation to pancreatic cancer risk in European populations

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    Evidence from in vivo, in vitro and ecological studies are suggestive of a protective effect of vitamin D against pancreatic cancer (PC). However, this has not been confirmed by analytical epidemiological studies. We aimed to examine the association between pre-diagnostic circulating vitamin D concentrations and PC incidence in European populations. We conducted a pooled nested case-control study within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) and the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study's second survey (HUNT2) cohorts. In total, 738 primary incident PC cases (EPIC n = 626; HUNT2 n = 112; median follow-up = 6.9 years) were matched to 738 controls. Vitamin D [25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 combined] concentrations were determined using isotope-dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Conditional logistic regression models with adjustments for body mass index and smoking habits were used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Compared with a reference category of >50 to 75 nmol/L vitamin D, the IRRs (95% CIs) were 0.71 (0.42-1.20); 0.94 (0.72-1.22); 1.12 (0.82-1.53) and 1.26 (0.79-2.01) for clinically pre-defined categories of ≤25; >25 to 50; >75 to 100; and >100 nmol/L vitamin D, respectively (p for trend = 0.09). Corresponding analyses by quintiles of season-standardized vitamin D concentrations also did not reveal associations with PC risk (p for trend = 0.23). Although these findings among participants from the largest combination of European cohort studies to date show increasing effect estimates of PC risk with increasing pre-diagnostic concentrations of vitamin D, they are not statistically significant

    The Adult Human Brain Harbors Multipotent Perivascular Mesenchymal Stem Cells

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    Blood vessels and adjacent cells form perivascular stem cell niches in adult tissues. In this perivascular niche, a stem cell with mesenchymal characteristics was recently identified in some adult somatic tissues. These cells are pericytes that line the microvasculature, express mesenchymal markers and differentiate into mesodermal lineages but might even have the capacity to generate tissue-specific cell types. Here, we isolated, purified and characterized a previously unrecognized progenitor population from two different regions in the adult human brain, the ventricular wall and the neocortex. We show that these cells co-express markers for mesenchymal stem cells and pericytes in vivo and in vitro, but do not express glial, neuronal progenitor, hematopoietic, endothelial or microglial markers in their native state. Furthermore, we demonstrate at a clonal level that these progenitors have true multilineage potential towards both, the mesodermal and neuroectodermal phenotype. They can be epigenetically induced in vitro into adipocytes, chondroblasts and osteoblasts but also into glial cells and immature neurons. This progenitor population exhibits long-term proliferation, karyotype stability and retention of phenotype and multipotency following extensive propagation. Thus, we provide evidence that the vascular niche in the adult human brain harbors a novel progenitor with multilineage capacity that appears to represent mesenchymal stem cells and is different from any previously described human neural stem cell. Future studies will elucidate whether these cells may play a role for disease or may represent a reservoir that can be exploited in efforts to repair the diseased human brain
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