| 11. |
- Beckmann, Holger, et al.
(författare)
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Spectral sensitivity in Onychophora (velvet worms) revealed by electroretinograms, phototactic behaviour and opsin gene expression.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Experimental Biology. - : The Company of Biologists. - 1477-9145 .- 0022-0949. ; 218:6, s. 915-922
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Onychophorans typically possess a pair of simple eyes, inherited from the last common ancestor of Panarthropoda (Onychophora + Tardigrada + Arthropoda). These visual organs are thought to be homologous to the arthropod median ocelli, whereas the compound eyes most likely evolved in the arthropod lineage. To gain insights into the ancestral function and evolution of the visual system in panarthropods, we investigated phototactic behaviour, opsin gene expression and the spectral sensitivity of the eyes in two representative species of Onychophora: Euperipatoides rowelli (Peripatopsidae), and Principapillatus hitoyensis (Peripatidae). Our behavioural analyses, in conjunction with previous data, demonstrate that both species exhibit photonegative responses to wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet to green light (370-530 nm), while electroretinograms reveal that the onychophoran eye is maximally sensitive to blue light (peak sensitivity ~480 nm). Template fits to the obtained sensitivities suggest that the onychophoran eye is monochromatic. To clarify on which type of opsin the single visual pigment is based, we localised the corresponding mRNA in the onychophoran eye and brain using in situ hybridization. Our data show that the r-opsin gene (onychopsin) is expressed exclusively in the photoreceptor cells of the eye, whereas the c-opsin mRNA is confined to optic ganglion cells and the brain. Together, our findings suggest that the onychopsin is involved in vision, whereas the c-opsin might have a photoreceptive, non-visual function in onychophorans.
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| 12. |
- Beckmann, Kerri, et al.
(författare)
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Androgen Deprivation Therapies and Changes in Comorbidity : A Comparison of Gonadotropin-releasing Hormone Agonists and Antiandrogen Monotherapy as Primary Therapy in Men with High-risk Prostate Cancer
- 2019
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Ingår i: European Urology. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. - 0302-2838 .- 1873-7560. ; 75:4, s. 676-683
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Some studies suggest that gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists are associated with higher risk of adverse events than antiandrogens (AAs) monotherapy. However, it has been unclear whether this is due to indication bias.Objective: To investigate rates of change in comorbidity for men on GnRH agonists versus AA monotherapy in a population-based register study.Design, setting, and participants: Men with advanced nonmetastatic prostate cancer (PCa) who received primary AA (n = 2078) or GnRH agonists (n = 4878) and age- and area-matched PCa-free men were selected from Prostate Cancer Database Sweden 3.0. Increases in comorbidity were measured using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), from 5 yr before through to 5 yr after starting androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).Outcome measures and statistical methods: Multivariable linear regression was used to determine differences in excess rate of CCI change before and after ADT initiation. Risk of any incremental change in CCI following ADT was assessed using multivariable Cox regression analyses.Results and limitations: Men on GnRH agonists experienced a greater difference in excess rate of CCI change after starting ADT than men on AA monotherapy (5.6% per yr, p < 0.001). Risk of any new CCI change after ADT was greater for GnRH agonists than for AA (hazard ratio, 1.32; 95% confidence interval, 1.20-144).Conclusions: Impact on comorbidity was lower for men on AA monotherapy than for men on GnRH agonists. Our results should be confirmed through randomised trials of effectiveness and adverse effects, comparing AA monotherapy and GnRH agonists in men with advanced nonmetastatic PCa who are unsuitable for curative treatment.Patient summary: Hormone therapies for advanced prostate cancer can increase the risk of other diseases (eg, heart disease, diabetes). This study compared two common forms of hormone therapy and found that the risk of another serious disease was higher for those on gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists than for those on antiandrogen monotherapy.
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| 13. |
- Beckmann, Kerri, et al.
(författare)
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Chronic inflammatory diseases, anti-inflammatory medications and risk of prostate cancer : a population-based case-control study
- 2019
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Ingår i: BMC Cancer. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2407. ; 19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Whether chronic inflammation increases prostate cancer risk remains unclear. This study investigated whether chronic inflammatory diseases (CID) or anti-inflammatory medication use (AIM) were associated with prostate cancer risk.Methods: Fifty-five thousand nine hundred thirty-seven cases (all prostate cancer, 2007–2012) and 279,618 age-matched controls were selected from the Prostate Cancer Database Sweden. CIDs and AIMs was determined from national patient and drug registers. Associations were investigated using conditional logistic regression, including for disease/drug subtypes and exposure length/dose.Results: Men with a history of any CID had slightly increased risk of any prostate cancer diagnosis (OR: 1.08; 95%CI: 1.04–1.12) but not ‘unfavourable’ (high-risk or advanced) prostate cancer. Generally, risk of prostate cancer was highest for shorter exposure times. However, a positive association was observed for asthma > 5 years before prostate cancer diagnosis (OR: 1.21; 95%CI: 1.05–1.40). Risk of prostate cancer was increased with prior use of any AIMs (OR: 1.26; 95%CI: 1.24–1.29). A positive trend with increasing cumulative dose was only observed for inhaled glucocorticoids (p < 0.011).Conclusion: Detection bias most likely explains the elevated risk of prostate cancer with prior history of CIDs or use of AIMs, given the higher risk immediately after first CID event and lack of dose response. However, findings for length of time with asthma and dose of inhaled glucocorticoids suggest that asthma may increase risk of prostate cancer through other pathways.
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| 14. |
- Beckmann, Kerri, et al.
(författare)
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Spironolactone use is associated with lower prostate cancer risk : a population-wide case-control study
- 2020
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Ingår i: Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases. - : NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. - 1365-7852 .- 1476-5608. ; 23:3, s. 527-533
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Spironolactone, a cheap effective diuretic used to manage hypertension and heart failure, also has anti-androgenic effects through its non-selective binding to steroid receptors, and hence may affect prostate cancer (PCa) risk. This study investigated the association between spironolactone use and PCa risk. For comparison, we also examined associations with thiazide diuretics which do not have anti-androgenic properties. Methods A matched case-control study was undertaken using population-wide data from the Prostate Cancer Data Base Sweden (PCBaSe). All PCa cases diagnosed from 2014 to 2016 were matched by birth year and county with PCa-free controls selected from the general population (1:5). Multivariable conditional logistic regression was used to examine associations between spironolactone use (dose and duration) and PCa risk, and similarly for thiazides. Results Three percent of the 31,591 cases and 4% of the 156,802 controls had been prescribed spironolactone. Multivariable analyses indicated reduced risk of PCa among those ever exposed to spironolactone (odds ratio [OR] 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.76-0.89), with a stronger association for current users (OR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.69-0.86) than past users (OR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.79-0.97) and decreasing risk with increasing dose (p-trend < 0.001). No association was observed for thiazide exposure and PCa risk. Biases due to differences in prescribing patterns or frequency of PSA testing may have influenced these findings. Conclusion PCa risk was reduced among men exposed to the diuretic spironolactone. Further investigation of spironolactone's potential chemopreventive effects is warranted.
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| 15. |
- Bidola, Pidassa M., et al.
(författare)
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A high-speed X-ray Radiography Setup for in-situ Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion at PETRA III
- 2023
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Ingår i: Advances in X-Ray/EUV Optics and Components XVIII. - : SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- A high-energy white synchrotron X-ray beam enables penetration of relatively thick and highly absorbing samples. At the P61A White Beam Engineering Materials Science Beamline, operated by Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon at the PETRA III ring of the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), a tailored X-ray radiography system has been developed to perform in-situ X-ray imaging experiments at high temporal resolution, taking advantage of the unprecedented X-ray beam flux delivered by ten successive damping wigglers. The imaging system is equipped with an ultrahigh-speed camera (Phantom v2640) enabling acquisition rates up to 25 kHz at maximal resolution and binned mode. The camera is coupled with optical magnification (5x, 10x) and focusing lenses to enable imaging with a pixel size of 1,35 micrometre. The scintillator screens are housed in a special nitrogen gas cooling environment to withstand the heat load induced by the beam, allowing spatial resolution to be optimized down to few micrometres. We present the current state of the system development, implementation and first results of in situ investigations, especially of the electron beam powder bed fusion (PBF-EB) process, where the details of the mechanism of crack and pore formation during processing of different powder materials, e.g. steels and Ni-based alloys, is not yet known.
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| 16. |
- Canzian, Federico, et al.
(författare)
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Comprehensive analysis of common genetic variation in 61 genes related to steroid hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I metabolism and breast cancer risk in the NCI breast and prostate cancer cohort consortium.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 19:19, s. 3873-84
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is extensive evidence that increases in blood and tissue concentrations of steroid hormones and of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) are associated with breast cancer risk. However, studies of common variation in genes involved in steroid hormone and IGF-I metabolism have yet to provide convincing evidence that such variants predict breast cancer risk. The Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3) is a collaboration of large US and European cohorts. We genotyped 1416 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 37 steroid hormone metabolism genes and 24 IGF-I pathway genes in 6292 cases of breast cancer and 8135 controls, mostly Caucasian, postmenopausal women from the BPC3. We also imputed 3921 additional SNPs in the regions of interest. None of the SNPs tested was significantly associated with breast cancer risk, after correction for multiple comparisons. The results remained null when cases and controls were stratified by age at diagnosis/recruitment, advanced or nonadvanced disease, body mass index, with or without in situ cases; or restricted to Caucasians. Among 770 estrogen receptor-negative cases, an SNP located 3' of growth hormone receptor (GHR) was marginally associated with increased risk after correction for multiple testing (P(trend) = 1.5 × 10(-4)). We found no significant overall associations between breast cancer and common germline variation in 61 genes involved in steroid hormone and IGF-I metabolism in this large, comprehensive study. Although previous studies have shown that variations in these genes can influence endogenous hormone levels, the magnitude of the effect of single SNPs does not appear to be sufficient to alter breast cancer risk.
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| 17. |
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| 18. |
- Hoeft, Birgit, et al.
(författare)
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Polymorphisms in fatty acid metabolism-related genes are associated with colorectal cancer risk
- 2010
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Ingår i: Carcinogenesis. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0143-3334 .- 1460-2180. ; 31:3, s. 466-472
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignant tumor and the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The crucial role of fatty acids for a number of important biological processes suggests a more in-depth analysis of inter-individual differences in fatty acid metabolizing genes as contributing factor to colon carcinogenesis. We examined the association between genetic variability in 43 fatty acid metabolism-related genes and colorectal risk in 1225 CRC cases and 2032 controls participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study. Three hundred and ninety two single-nucleotide polymorphisms were selected using pairwise tagging with an r(2) cutoff of 0.8 and a minor allele frequency of > 5%. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Haplotype analysis was performed using a generalized linear model framework. On the genotype level, hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase 15-(NAD) (HPGD), phospholipase A2 group VI (PLA2G6) and transient receptor potential vanilloid 3 were associated with higher risk for CRC, whereas prostaglandin E receptor 2 (PTGER2) was associated with lower CRC risk. A significant inverse association (P < 0.006) was found for PTGER2 GGG haplotype, whereas HPGD AGGAG and PLA2G3 CT haplotypes were significantly (P < 0.001 and P = 0.003, respectively) associated with higher risk of CRC. Based on these data, we present for the first time the association of HPGD variants with CRC risk. Our results support the key role of prostanoid signaling in colon carcinogenesis and suggest a relevance of genetic variation in fatty acid metabolism-related genes and CRC risk.
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| 19. |
- Huesing, Anika, et al.
(författare)
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Prediction of breast cancer risk by genetic risk factors, overall and by hormone receptor status
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Medical Genetics. - : BMJ. - 0022-2593 .- 1468-6244. ; 49:9, s. 601-608
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective There is increasing interest in adding common genetic variants identified through genome wide association studies (GWAS) to breast cancer risk prediction models. First results from such models showed modest benefits in terms of risk discrimination. Heterogeneity of breast cancer as defined by hormone-receptor status has not been considered in this context. In this study we investigated the predictive capacity of 32 GWAS-detected common variants for breast cancer risk, alone and in combination with classical risk factors, and for tumours with different hormone receptor status. Material and methods Within the Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium, we analysed 6009 invasive breast cancer cases and 7827 matched controls of European ancestry, with data on classical breast cancer risk factors and 32 common gene variants identified through GWAS. Discriminatory ability with respect to breast cancer of specific hormone receptor-status was assessed with the age adjusted and cohort-adjusted concordance statistic (AUROC(a)). Absolute risk scores were calculated with external reference data. Integrated discrimination improvement was used to measure improvements in risk prediction. Results We found a small but steady increase in discriminatory ability with increasing numbers of genetic variants included in the model (difference in AUROC(a) going from 2.7% to 4%). Discriminatory ability for all models varied strongly by hormone receptor status. Discussion and conclusions Adding information on common polymorphisms provides small but statistically significant improvements in the quality of breast cancer risk prediction models. We consistently observed better performance for receptor-positive cases, but the gain in discriminatory quality is not sufficient for clinical application.
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| 20. |
- Locke, Adam E, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 518:7538, s. 197-401
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Obesity is heritable and predisposes to many diseases. To understand the genetic basis of obesity better, here we conduct a genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI), a measure commonly used to define obesity and assess adiposity, in up to 339,224 individuals. This analysis identifies 97 BMI-associated loci (P < 5 × 10(-8)), 56 of which are novel. Five loci demonstrate clear evidence of several independent association signals, and many loci have significant effects on other metabolic phenotypes. The 97 loci account for ∼2.7% of BMI variation, and genome-wide estimates suggest that common variation accounts for >20% of BMI variation. Pathway analyses provide strong support for a role of the central nervous system in obesity susceptibility and implicate new genes and pathways, including those related to synaptic function, glutamate signalling, insulin secretion/action, energy metabolism, lipid biology and adipogenesis.
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