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| 2. |
- Liu, Kui, et al.
(författare)
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Kallikrein genes are associated with lupus and glomerular basement membrane-specific antibody-induced nephritis in mice and humans
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Investigation. - 0021-9738 .- 1558-8238. ; 119:4, s. 911-923
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Immune-mediated nephritis contributes to disease in systemic lupus erythematosus, Goodpasture syndrome (caused by antibodies specific for glomerular basement membrane [anti-GBM antibodies]), and spontaneous lupus nephritis. Inbred mouse strains differ in susceptibility to anti-GBM antibody-induced and spontaneous lupus nephritis. This study sought to clarify the genetic and molecular factors that maybe responsible for enhanced immune-mediated renal disease in these models. When the kidneys of 3 mouse strains sensitive to anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis were compared with those of 2 control strains using microarray analysis, one-fifth of the underexpressed genes belonged to the kallikrein gene family,which encodes serine esterases. Mouse strains that upregulated renal and urinary kallikreins exhibited less evidence of disease. Antagonizing the kallikrein pathway augmented disease, while agonists dampened the severity of anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis. In addition, nephritis-sensitive mouse strains had kallikrein haplotypes that were distinct from those of control strains, including several regulatory polymorphisms,some of which were associated with functional consequences. Indeed, increased susceptibility to anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis and spontaneous lupus nephritis was achieved by breeding mice with a genetic interval harboring the kallikrein genes onto a disease-resistant background. Finally, both human SLE and spontaneous lupus nephritis were found to be associated with kallikrein genes, particularly KLK1 and the KLK3 promoter, when DNA SNPs from independent cohorts of SLE patients and controls were compared. Collectively, these studies suggest that kallikreins are protective disease-associated genes in anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis and lupus.
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| 3. |
- Knaapila, Matti, et al.
(författare)
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An effect of side chain length on the solution structure of poly(9,9-dialkylfluorene)s in toluene
- 2008
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Ingår i: Polymer. - : Elsevier BV. - 0032-3861. ; 49:8, s. 2033-2038
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effect of side chain length of pi-conjugated poly(9,9-dialkylfluorene)s has been studied in semi-dilute (10 mg/mL) toluene solutions using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and H-1 and H-2 NMR spectroscopies. Under these conditions, SANS data indicate that poly(9,9-dinonylfluorene) and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) are dissolved down to the molecule level and appear as elongated one-dimensional chains (length >20-30 nm). In contrast, the shorter side chain polymers exhibit a self-association so that poly(9,9-diheptylfluorene) forms thin sheet-like (similar to 1 nm) and poly(9,9-dihexylfluorene) thin (similar to 1 nm) and thick sheet-like (>6 nm) aggregates. H-1 NMR data, together with the density functional theory (DFT) calculations, however, show that this occurs without changes in the conformation of the polymer backbone.
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| 4. |
- Bunce, R. G. H., et al.
(författare)
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A standardized procedure for surveillance and monitoring European habitats and provision of spatial data
- 2008
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Ingår i: Landscape Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0921-2973 .- 1572-9761. ; 23, s. 11-25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Both science and policy require a practical, transmissible, and reproducible procedure for surveillance and monitoring of European habitats, which can produce statistics integrated at the landscape level. Over the last 30 years, landscape ecology has developed rapidly, and many studies now require spatial data on habitats. Without rigorous rules, changes from baseline records cannot be separated reliably from background noise. A procedure is described that satisfies these requirements and can provide consistent data for Europe, to support a range of policy initiatives and scientific projects. The methodology is based on classical plant life forms, used in biogeography since the nineteenth century, and on their statistical correlation with the primary environmental gradient. Further categories can therefore be identified for other continents to assist large scale comparisons and modelling. The model has been validated statistically and the recording procedure tested in the field throughout Europe. A total of 130 General Habitat Categories (GHCs) is defined. These are enhanced by recording environmental, site and management qualifiers to enable flexible database interrogation. The same categories are applied to areal, linear and point features to assist recording and subsequent interpretation at the landscape level. The distribution and change of landscape ecological parameters, such as connectivity and fragmentation, can then be derived and their significance interpreted.
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| 5. |
- Price, Alkes L., et al.
(författare)
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Discerning the ancestry of European Americans in genetic association studies
- 2008
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Ingår i: PLoS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7404. ; 4:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- European Americans are often treated as a homogeneous group, but in fact form a structured population due to historical immigration of diverse source populations. Discerning the ancestry of European Americans genotyped in association studies is important in order to prevent false-positive or false-negative associations due to population stratification and to identify genetic variants whose contribution to disease risk differs across European ancestries. Here, we investigate empirical patterns of population structure in European Americans, analyzing 4,198 samples from four genome-wide association studies to show that components roughly corresponding to northwest European, southeast European, and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry are the main sources of European American population structure. Building on this insight, we constructed a panel of 300 validated markers that are highly informative for distinguishing these ancestries. We demonstrate that this panel of markers can be used to correct for stratification in association studies that do not generate dense genotype data.
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| 6. |
- Baroni, Mpma, et al.
(författare)
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Modeling and gradient pattern analysis of irregular SFM structures of porous silicon
- 2006
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Ingår i: Microelectronics Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 0026-2692. ; 37:4, s. 290-294
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Technological applications in opto-electronic devices have increased the interest in characterizing porous silicon structure patterns. Due to its physical properties, solutions from KPZ 2D are adopted to simulate the structure of porous material interface whose spatial characteristics are equivalent to those found in porous silicon samples. The analysis of the simulated and real scanning Force Microscopy (SFM) surfaces was done using the Gradient Pattern Analysis (GPA). We found that the KPZ 2D model presented asymmetry levels compatible with the irregular surfaces observed by means of SFM images of pi-Si.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Charles, Nicolas, et al.
(författare)
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Lyn Kinase Controls Basophil GATA-3 Transcription Factor Expression and Induction of Th2 Cell Differentiation
- 2009
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Ingår i: Immunity. - : Elsevier BV. - 1074-7613 .- 1097-4180. ; 30:4, s. 533-543
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- T helper 1 (Th1)-Th2 cell balance is key to host defense and its dysregulation has pathophysiological consequences. Basophils are important in Th2 cell differentiation. However, the factors controlling the onset and extent of basophil-mediated Th2 cell differentiation are unknown. Here, we demonstrate that Lyn kinase dampened basophil expression of the transcription factor GATA-3 and the initiation and extent of Th2 cell differentiation. Lyn-deficient mice had a marked basophilia, a constitutive Th2 cell skewing that was exacerbated upon in vivo challenge of basophils, produced antibodies to a normally inert antigen, and failed to appropriately respond to a Th1 cell-inducing pathogen. The Th2 cell skewing was dependent on basophils, immunoglobulin E, and interleukin-4, but was independent of mast cells. Our findings demonstrate that basophil-expressed Lyn kinase exerts regulatory control on Th2 cell differentiation and function.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Katouli, M., et al.
(författare)
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Host species-specific translocation of Escherichia coli
- 2009
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Ingår i: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0934-9723 .- 1435-4373. ; 28:9, s. 1095-1103
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of this paper is to investigate the rate of translocation of Escherichia coli strains in different experimental/animal models. Four proficient translocating E. coli strains isolated from mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) and/or the blood of rats (strains KIC-1 and KIC-2), from a fatal case of pancreatitis (HMLN-1) and from pigs (PC-1 isolated in this study) were tested for their ability to translocate across two host species and the Caco-2 cell line as a model of the human gut epithelium. HMLN-1 was found in the MLNs of all 15 pigs tested. This strain, however, did not translocate in any rats and only colonised the caecum of four rats in small numbers. HMLN-1 and PC-1 were the dominant translocating strains in Caco-2 cells compared to KIC-1 and KIC-2, which were found to translocate at a lower rate in pigs and in Caco-2 cells. The rate of translocation of PC-1 in rats was also very low compared to KIC-1 and KIC-2. We suggest that, in studies aiming to investigate the mechanism of translocation of E. coli strains isolated from humans, rats may not be an appropriate animal model and that the Caco-2 cells or pigs are more suitable in vitro and in vivo models, respectively.
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