Propensity for diabetes and correlation of its predisposing factors in Ota, Nigeria.

Body Mass Index (BMI) and Random Blood Glucose (RBG) are considered important predisposing factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults. This study assessed the propensity to become diabetic based on the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI), Random Blood Glucose (RBG), gender and age in a community in South west Nigeria. The study included a convenient sample size of 140 healthy adult individuals who met the inclusion criteria. Anthropometric indices including height and weight were measured and Blood samples analyzed for random blood glucose. A significant positive correlation was observed (r = +0.32) between BMI and RBG in females while there was no correlation in the males (r = -0.05). The males were found to be less likely to be diabetic than the females. The relationship between age and RBG was significantly positive in both males and females. The study confirms the hypothesis that a positive correlation exist between BMI and RBG but only in women. This suggests that other causes including sex could predispose to diabetes and reiterates the diabetogenic effect of adiposity

Propensity for Diabetes and Correlation of its Predisposing Factors in Ota, Nigeria.

Body Mass Index (BME) and Random Blood Glucose (RBG) are considered important predisposing factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults. This study assessed the propensity to become diabetic based on the relationship between Body Mass Index (BME), Random Blood Glucose (RBG), gender and age in a community in South west Nigeria. The study included a convenient sample size of 140 healthy adult individuals who met the inclusion criteria. Anthropometric indices including height and weight were measured and Blood samples analyzed for random blood glucose. A significant positive correlation was observed (r = +0.32) between BME and RBG in females while there was no correlation in the males (r = -0.05). The males were found to be less likely to be diabetic than the females. The relationship between age and RBG was significantly positive in both males and females. The study confirms the hypothesis that a positive correlation exist between BME and RBG but only in women. This suggests that other causes including sex could predispose to diabetes and reiterates the diabetogenic effect of adiposity

Detection of changes in gene regulatory patterns, elicited by perturbations of the Hsp90 molecular chaperone complex, by visualizing multiple experiments with an animation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To make sense out of gene expression profiles, such analyses must be pushed beyond the mere listing of affected genes. For example, if a group of genes persistently display similar changes in expression levels under particular experimental conditions, and the proteins encoded by these genes interact and function in the same cellular compartments, this could be taken as very strong indicators for co-regulated protein complexes. One of the key requirements is having appropriate tools to detect such regulatory patterns.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have analyzed the global adaptations in gene expression patterns in the budding yeast when the Hsp90 molecular chaperone complex is perturbed either pharmacologically or genetically. We integrated these results with publicly accessible expression, protein-protein interaction and intracellular localization data. But most importantly, all experimental conditions were simultaneously and dynamically visualized with an animation. This critically facilitated the detection of patterns of gene expression changes that suggested underlying regulatory networks that a standard analysis by pairwise comparison and clustering could not have revealed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of the animation-assisted detection of changes in gene regulatory patterns make predictions about the potential roles of Hsp90 and its co-chaperone p23 in regulating whole sets of genes. The simultaneous dynamic visualization of microarray experiments, represented in networks built by integrating one's own experimental with publicly accessible data, represents a powerful discovery tool that allows the generation of new interpretations and hypotheses.</p

Identification of Stage-Specific Breast Markers using Quantitative Proteomics

YesMatched healthy and diseased tissues from breast cancer patients were analyzed by quantitative proteomics. By comparing proteomic profiles of fibroadenoma (benign tumors, three patients), DCIS (noninvasive cancer, three patients), and invasive ductal carcinoma (four patients), we identified protein alterations that correlated with breast cancer progression. Three 8-plex iTRAQ experiments generated an average of 826 protein identifications, of which 402 were common. After excluding those originating from blood, 59 proteins were significantly changed in tumor compared with normal tissues, with the majority associated with invasive carcinomas. Bioinformatics analysis identified relationships between proteins in this subset including roles in redox regulation, lipid transport, protein folding, and proteasomal degradation, with a substantial number increased in expression due to Myc oncogene activation. Three target proteins, cofilin-1 and p23 (increased in invasive carcinoma) and membrane copper amine oxidase 3 (decreased in invasive carcinoma), were subjected to further validation. All three were observed in phenotype-specific breast cancer cell lines, normal (nontransformed) breast cell lines, and primary breast epithelial cells by Western blotting, but only cofilin-1 and p23 were detected by multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry analysis. All three proteins were detected by both analytical approaches in matched tissue biopsies emulating the response observed with proteomics analysis. Tissue microarray analysis (361 patients) indicated cofilin-1 staining positively correlating with tumor grade and p23 staining with ER positive status; both therefore merit further investigation as potential biomarkers.Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation, Yorkshire Cancer Researc

Hsp90 Nuclear Accumulation in Quiescence Is Linked to Chaperone Function and Spore Development in Yeast

The protein chaperone Hsp90 and its co-chaperone Sba1/p23 are found to accumulate in the nucleus of haploid yeast cells as glucose is exhausted and in sporulating diploids. Novel and existing Hsp90 mutants exhibit defects in nuclear translocation and spore development, linking these two phenomena

Characterization of plant p23-like proteins for their co-chaperone activities

The small acidic protein p23 is best described as a co-chaperone of Hsp90, an essential molecular chaperone in eukaryotes. p23 binds to the ATP-bound form of Hsp90 and stabilizes the Hsp90–client protein complex by slowing down ATP turnover. The stabilizing activity of p23 was first characterized in studies of steroid receptor–Hsp90 complexes. Earlier studies of the Hsp90 chaperone complex in plants suggested that a p23-like stabilizing activity was absent in plant cell lysates. Here, we show that p23-like proteins are present in plants and are capable of binding Hsp90, but unlike human p23 and yeast ortholog Sba1, the plant p23-like proteins do not stabilize the steroid receptor–Hsp90 complexes formed in wheat germ lysate. Furthermore, these proteins do not inhibit the ATPase activity of plant Hsp90. While transcripts of Arabidopsis thaliana p23-1 and Atp23-2 were detected under normal growing conditions, those of the closely related Brassica napus p23-1 were present only after moderate heat stress. These observations suggest that p23-like proteins in plants are conserved in their binding to Hsp90 but have evolved mechanisms of action different from their yeast and animal counterparts