Perinatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy

Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is an important cause of brain injury in the newborn and can result in long-term devastating consequences. Perinatal hypoxia is a vital cause of long-term neurologic complications varying from mild behavioural deficits to severe seizure, mental retardation, and/or cerebral palsy in the newborn. In the mammalian developing brain, ongoing research into pathophysiological mechanism of neuronal injury and therapeutic strategy after perinatal hypoxia is still limited. With the advent of promising therapy of hypothermia in HIE, this paper reviews the pathophysiology of HIE and the future potential neuroprotective strategies for clinical potential for hypoxia sufferers

Increased COUP-TFII expression in adult hearts induces mitochondrial dysfunction resulting in heart failure

Mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic remodelling are pivotal in the development of cardiomyopathy. Here, we show that myocardial COUP-TFII overexpression causes heart failure in mice, suggesting a causal effect of elevated COUP-TFII levels on development of dilated cardiomyopathy. COUP-TFII represses genes critical for mitochondrial electron transport chain enzyme activity, oxidative stress detoxification and mitochondrial dynamics, resulting in increased levels of reactive oxygen species and lower rates of oxygen consumption in mitochondria. COUP-TFII also suppresses the metabolic regulator PGC-1 network and decreases the expression of key glucose and lipid utilization genes, leading to a reduction in both glucose and oleate oxidation in the hearts. These data suggest that COUP-TFII affects mitochondrial function, impairs metabolic remodelling and has a key role in dilated cardiomyopathy. Last, COUP-TFII haploinsufficiency attenuates the progression of cardiac dilation and improves survival in a calcineurin transgenic mouse model, indicating that COUP-TFII may serve as a therapeutic target for the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy

Advancing Personalized Medicine Through the Application of Whole Exome Sequencing and Big Data Analytics

There is a growing attention toward personalized medicine. This is led by a fundamental shift from the ‘one size fits all’ paradigm for treatment of patients with conditions or predisposition to diseases, to one that embraces novel approaches, such as tailored target therapies, to achieve the best possible outcomes. Driven by these, several national and international genome projects have been initiated to reap the benefits of personalized medicine. Exome and targeted sequencing provide a balance between cost and benefit, in contrast to whole genome sequencing (WGS). Whole exome sequencing (WES) targets approximately 3% of the whole genome, which is the basis for protein-coding genes. Nonetheless, it has the characteristics of big data in large deployment. Herein, the application of WES and its relevance in advancing personalized medicine is reviewed. WES is mapped to Big Data “10 Vs” and the resulting challenges discussed. Application of existing biological databases and bioinformatics tools to address the bottleneck in data processing and analysis are presented, including the need for new generation big data analytics for the multi-omics challenges of personalized medicine. This includes the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the clinical utility landscape of genomic information, and future consideration to create a new frontier toward advancing the field of personalized medicine

Whole-genome sequencing of native sheep provides insights into rapid adaptations to extreme environments

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Inhibited Endogenous H2S Generation and Excessive Autophagy in Hippocampus Contribute to Sleep Deprivation-Induced Cognitive Impairment

Background and Aim: Sleep deprivation (SD) causes deficit of cognition, but the mechanisms remain to be fully established. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) plays an important role in the formation of cognition, while excessive and prolonged autophagy in hippocampus triggers cognitive disorder. In this work, we proposed that disturbances in hippocampal endogenous H2S generation and autophagy might be involved in SD-induced cognitive impairment.Methods: After treatment of adult male wistar rats with 72-h SD, the Y-maze test, object location test (OLT), novel object recognition test (NORT) and the Morris water maze (MWM) test were performed to determine the cognitive function. The autophagosome formation was observed with electron microscope. Generation of endogenous H2S in the hippocampus of rats was detected using unisense H2S microsensor method. The expressions of cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS), 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3-MST), beclin-1, light chain LC3 II/LC3 I, and p62 in the hippocampus were assessed by western blotting.Results: The Y-maze, OLT, NORT, and MWM test demonstrated that SD-exposed rats exhibited cognitive dysfunction. SD triggered the elevation of hippocampal autophagy as evidenced by enhancement of autophagosome, up-regulations of beclin-1 and LC3 II/LC3 I, and down-regulation of p62. Meanwhile, the generation of endogenous H2S and the expressions of CBS and 3-MST (H2S producing enzyme) in the hippocampus of SD-treated rats were reduced.Conclusion: These results suggested that inhibition of endogenous H2S generation and excessiveness of autophagy in hippocampus are involved in SD-induced cognitive impairment

Genome-Wide Gene Expression Analysis Implicates the Immune Response and Lymphangiogenesis in the Pathogenesis of Fetal Chylothorax

Fetal chylothorax (FC) is a rare condition characterized by lymphocyte-rich pleural effusion. Although its pathogenesis remains elusive, it may involve inflammation, since there are increased concentrations of proinflammatory mediators in pleural fluids. Only a few hereditary lymphedema-associated gene loci, e.g. VEGFR3, ITGA9 and PTPN11, were detected in human fetuses with this condition; these cases had a poorer prognosis, due to defective lymphangiogenesis. In the present study, genome-wide gene expression analysis was conducted, comparing pleural and ascitic fluids in three hydropic fetuses, one with and two without the ITGA9 mutation. One fetus (the index case), from a dizygotic pregnancy (the cotwin was unaffected), received antenatal OK-432 pleurodesis and survived beyond the neonatal stage, despite having the ITGA9 mutation. Genes and pathways involved in the immune response were universally up-regulated in fetal pleural fluids compared to those in ascitic fluids. Furthermore, genes involved in the lymphangiogenesis pathway were down-regulated in fetal pleural fluids (compared to ascitic fluid), but following OK-432 pleurodesis, they were up-regulated. Expression of ITGA9 was concordant with overall trends of lymphangiogenesis. In conclusion, we inferred that both the immune response and lymphangiogenesis were implicated in the pathogenesis of fetal chylothorax. Furthermore, genome-wide gene expression microarray analysis may facilitate personalized medicine by selecting the most appropriate treatment, according to the specific circumstances of the patient, for this rare, but heterogeneous disease

RadioMe: Adaptive Radio to Support People with Mild Dementia in Their Own Home

People with dementia and their carers are experiencing a complicated and highly personal health journey. The RadioMe system, an adaptive live radio system enriched with reminder possibilities and agitation detection and intervention with personalised calming music, is being developed to support people with mild dementia in their own home. RadioMe is an ongoing, interdisciplinary project, combining expertise on dementia, music therapy, music computation and human computer interaction

RadioMe: Adaptive Radio with Music Intervention and Reminder System for People with Dementia in Their Own Home

The population of the world is continuously growing older, leading to more people with dementia who need support while living in their own home. Our RadioMe system was designed to adapt a live radio stream with reminders and music intervention for agitation mitigation for people with dementia living in their own home. In this demonstration we present our prototype, with features to record reminders and schedule them to be played during the live radio stream and a music intervention system when agitation is detected