| 1. |
- Tiegs, Scott D., et al.
(författare)
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Global patterns and drivers of ecosystem functioning in rivers and riparian zones
- 2019
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Ingår i: Science Advances. - Washington : American Association of Advancement in Science. - 2375-2548. ; 5:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- River ecosystems receive and process vast quantities of terrestrial organic carbon, the fate of which depends strongly on microbial activity. Variation in and controls of processing rates, however, are poorly characterized at the global scale. In response, we used a peer-sourced research network and a highly standardized carbon processing assay to conduct a global-scale field experiment in greater than 1000 river and riparian sites. We found that Earth's biomes have distinct carbon processing signatures. Slow processing is evident across latitudes, whereas rapid rates are restricted to lower latitudes. Both the mean rate and variability decline with latitude, suggesting temperature constraints toward the poles and greater roles for other environmental drivers (e.g., nutrient loading) toward the equator. These results and data set the stage for unprecedented "next-generation biomonitoring" by establishing baselines to help quantify environmental impacts to the functioning of ecosystems at a global scale.
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| 2. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(författare)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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| 3. |
- Al-Rabadi, Laith Farah, et al.
(författare)
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Serine Protease HTRA1 as a Novel Target Antigen in Primary Membranous Nephropathy
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. - : American Society of Nephrology (ASN). - 1046-6673 .- 1533-3450. ; 32:7, s. 1666-1681
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Identification of target antigens PLA2R, THSD7A, NELL1, or Semaphorin-3B can explain the majority of cases of primary membranous nephropathy (MN). However, target antigens remain unidentified in 15%-20% of patients. Methods A multipronged approach, using traditional and modern technologies, converged on a novel target antigen, and capitalized on the temporal variation in autoantibody titer for biomarker discovery. Immunoblotting of human glomerular proteins followed by differential immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometric analysis was complemented by laser-capture microdissection followed by mass spectrometry, elution of immune complexes from renal biopsy specimen tissue, and autoimmune profiling on a protein fragment microarray. Results These approaches identified serine protease HTRA1 as a novel podocyte antigen in a subset of patients with primary MN. Sera from two patients reacted by immunoblotting with a 51-kD protein within glomerular extract and with recombinant human HTRA1, under reducing and nonreducing conditions. Longitudinal serum samples from these patients seemed to correlate with clinical disease activity. As in PLA2R- and THSD7A- associated MN, anti-HTRA1 antibodies were predominantly IgG4, suggesting a primary etiology. Analysis of sera collected during active disease versus remission on protein fragment microarrays detected significantly higher titers of anti-HTRA1 antibody in active disease. HTRA1 was specifically detected within immune deposits of HTRA1-associated MN in 14 patients identified among three cohorts. Screening of 118 "quadruple-negative" (PLA2R-, THSD7A-, NELL1-, EXT2-negative) patients in a large repository of MN biopsy specimens revealed a prevalence of 4.2%. Conclusions Conventional and more modern techniques converged to identify serine protease HTRA1 as a target antigen in MN.
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| 4. |
- Brownstein, Catherine A., et al.
(författare)
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An international effort towards developing standards for best practices in analysis, interpretation and reporting of clinical genome sequencing results in the CLARITY Challenge
- 2014
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Ingår i: Genome Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1465-6906 .- 1474-760X. ; 15:3, s. R53-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: There is tremendous potential for genome sequencing to improve clinical diagnosis and care once it becomes routinely accessible, but this will require formalizing research methods into clinical best practices in the areas of sequence data generation, analysis, interpretation and reporting. The CLARITY Challenge was designed to spur convergence in methods for diagnosing genetic disease starting from clinical case history and genome sequencing data. DNA samples were obtained from three families with heritable genetic disorders and genomic sequence data were donated by sequencing platform vendors. The challenge was to analyze and interpret these data with the goals of identifying disease-causing variants and reporting the findings in a clinically useful format. Participating contestant groups were solicited broadly, and an independent panel of judges evaluated their performance. Results: A total of 30 international groups were engaged. The entries reveal a general convergence of practices on most elements of the analysis and interpretation process. However, even given this commonality of approach, only two groups identified the consensus candidate variants in all disease cases, demonstrating a need for consistent fine-tuning of the generally accepted methods. There was greater diversity of the final clinical report content and in the patient consenting process, demonstrating that these areas require additional exploration and standardization. Conclusions: The CLARITY Challenge provides a comprehensive assessment of current practices for using genome sequencing to diagnose and report genetic diseases. There is remarkable convergence in bioinformatic techniques, but medical interpretation and reporting are areas that require further development by many groups.
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| 5. |
- Costello, David M., et al.
(författare)
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Global patterns and controls of nutrient immobilization on decomposing cellulose in riverine ecosystems
- 2022
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Ingår i: Global Biogeochemical Cycles. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0886-6236 .- 1944-9224. ; 36:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Microbes play a critical role in plant litter decomposition and influence the fate of carbon in rivers and riparian zones. When decomposing low-nutrient plant litter, microbes acquire nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from the environment (i.e., nutrient immobilization), and this process is potentially sensitive to nutrient loading and changing climate. Nonetheless, environmental controls on immobilization are poorly understood because rates are also influenced by plant litter chemistry, which is coupled to the same environmental factors. Here we used a standardized, low-nutrient organic matter substrate (cotton strips) to quantify nutrient immobilization at 100 paired stream and riparian sites representing 11 biomes worldwide. Immobilization rates varied by three orders of magnitude, were greater in rivers than riparian zones, and were strongly correlated to decomposition rates. In rivers, P immobilization rates were controlled by surface water phosphate concentrations, but N immobilization rates were not related to inorganic N. The N:P of immobilized nutrients was tightly constrained to a molar ratio of 10:1 despite wide variation in surface water N:P. Immobilization rates were temperature-dependent in riparian zones but not related to temperature in rivers. However, in rivers nutrient supply ultimately controlled whether microbes could achieve the maximum expected decomposition rate at a given temperature. Collectively, we demonstrated that exogenous nutrient supply and immobilization are critical control points for decomposition of organic matter.
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| 6. |
- DeFilipp, Zachariah, et al.
(författare)
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Maintenance Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia : A Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research Study
- 2020
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Ingår i: Biology of blood and marrow transplantation. - : Elsevier. - 1083-8791 .- 1523-6536. ; 26:3, s. 472-479
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It remains unknown whether the administration of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting BCR-ABL1 after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is associated with improved outcomes for patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). In this registry study, we analyzed clinical outcomes of 390 adult patients with CML who underwent transplantation between 2007 and 2014 and received maintenance TKI following HCT (n = 89) compared with no TKI maintenance (n = 301), as reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research. All patients received TKI therapy before HCT. The majority of patients had a disease status of first chronic phase at HCT (n = 240; 62%). The study was conducted as a landmark analysis, excluding patients who died, relapsed, had chronic graft-versus-host disease, or were censored before day +100 following HCT. Of the 89 patients who received TKI maintenance, 77 (87%) received a single TKI and the other 12 (13%) received multiple sequential TKIs. The most common TKIs used for maintenance were dasatinib (n = 50), imatinib (n = 27), and nilotinib (n = 27). As measured from day +100, the adjusted estimates for 5-year relapse (maintenance, 35% versus no maintenance, 26%; P = .11), leukemia-free survival (maintenance, 42% versus no maintenance, 44%; P = .65), or overall survival (maintenance, 61% versus no maintenance, 57%; P = .61) did not differ significantly between patients receiving TKI maintenance or no maintenance. These results remained unchanged in multivariate analysis and were not modified by disease status before transplantation. In conclusion, our data from this day +100 landmark analysis do not demonstrate a significant impact of maintenance TKI therapy on clinical outcomes. The optimal approach to TKI administration in the post-transplantation setting in patients with CML remains undetermined.
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| 7. |
- Edwin, Aaron, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Calcium binding by the PKD1 domain regulates interdomain flexibility in Vibrio cholerae metalloprotease PrtV
- 2013
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Ingår i: FEBS Open Bio. - : Elsevier. - 2211-5463. ; 3, s. 263-270
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera, releases several virulence factors including secreted proteases when it infects its host. These factors attack host cell proteins and break down tissue barriers and cellular matrix components such as collagen, laminin, fibronectin, keratin, elastin, and they induce necrotic tissue damage. The secreted protease PrtV constitutes one virulence factors of V. cholerae. It is a metalloprotease belonging to the M6 peptidase family. The protein is expressed as an inactive, multidomain, 102 kDa pre-pro-protein that undergoes several N- and C-terminal modifications after which it is secreted as an intermediate variant of 81 kDa. After secretion from the bacteria, additional proteolytic steps occur to produce the 55 kDa active M6 metalloprotease. The domain arrangement of PrtV is likely to play an important role in these maturation steps, which are known to be regulated by calcium. However, the molecular mechanism by which calcium controls proteolysis is unknown. In this study, we report the atomic resolution crystal structure of the PKD1 domain from V. cholera PrtV (residues 755–838) determined at 1.1 Å. The structure reveals a previously uncharacterized Ca2+-binding site located near linker regions between domains. Conformational changes in the Ca2+-free and Ca2+-bound forms suggest that Ca2+-binding at the PKD1 domain controls domain linker flexibility, and plays an important structural role, providing stability to the PrtV protein.
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| 8. |
- Edwin, Aaron, et al.
(författare)
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Domain isolation, expression, purification and proteolytic activity of the metalloprotease PrtV from Vibrio cholerae
- 2014
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Ingår i: Protein Expression and Purification. - : Elsevier. - 1046-5928 .- 1096-0279. ; 96, s. 39-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The metalloprotease PrtV from Vibrio cholerae serves an important function for the bacteria's ability to invade the mammalian host cell. The protein belongs to the family of M6 proteases, with a characteristic zinc ion in the catalytic active site. PrtV constitutes a 918 amino acids (102kDa) multidomain pre-pro-protein that so far has only been expressed in V. cholerae. Structural studies require high amounts of soluble protein with high purity. Previous attempts for recombinant expression have been hampered by low expression and solubility of protein fragments. Here, we describe results from parallel cloning experiments in Escherichia coli where fusion tagged constructs of PrtV fragments were designed, and protein products tested for expression and solubility. Of more than 100 designed constructs, three produced protein products that expressed well. These include the N-terminal domain (residues 23-103), the PKD1 domain (residues 755-839), and a 25kDa fragment (residues 581-839). The soluble fusion proteins were captured with Ni(2+) affinity chromatography, and subsequently cleaved with tobacco etch virus protease. Purification protocols yielded ∼10-15mg of pure protein from 1L of culture. Proper folding of the shorter domains was confirmed by heteronuclear NMR spectra recorded on (15)N-labeled samples. A modified protocol for the native purification of the secreted 81kDa pro-protein of PrtV is provided. Proteolytic activity measurements suggest that the 37kDa catalytic metalloprotease domain alone is sufficient for activity.
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| 9. |
- Edwin, Aaron, 1983-
(författare)
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Structural and functional studies of the secreted metalloprotease PrtV from Vibrio cholerae
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Cholera, an acute diarrheal diseases caused by the intestinal infection of the pathogenic bacterium Vibrio cholerae, continues to be a global killer in the world today. PrtV, a secreted zinc metalloprotease, is a potent cytotoxic virulence factor of V. cholerae. The 102 kDa full length multi-domain PrtV protein undergoes several N and C terminal modifications before being secreted as a 81 kDa pro-protein. The activation of the pro-protein is calcium dependent. The removal of calcium triggers auto-proteolysis to give a stable active protease with the catalytic zinc binding domain. The aim of the thesis was to study the structure and function of the PrtV protein. The results from paper I, identified the end product of the maturation of PrtV as the stable 37 kDa M6 active domain, and not a 55 kDa complex as reported earlier. Results also showed the this 37 kDa active M6 domain alone was sufficient for catalytic activity. A revised model for the maturation of PrtV was proposed. Individual domains were isolated from the PrtV protein by domain phasing methods. This included the N-terminal domain (residues 23-103), the PKD1 domain (residues 755-839), and a 25 kDa fragment (residues 589-839). The isolated domains were recombinantly over expressed as fusion proteins to increase expression and solubility. The PKD1 domain was purified to homogeneity and crystallized. The structure of the PKD1 domain reported in paper II, was solved by X-ray crystallography at an atomic resolution of 1.1 Å. From the structure, a previously unknown calcium binding site was identified at the N-terminal of the PKD1 domain. The structure also revealed two conformations for the PKD1 domain depending on free or bound calcium. From the structure, a function of the PKD1 domain as a protector of the cleavage site in the linker region between the M6 domain and the PKD1 domain in the presence of calcium was elucidated. A new model for the activation of PrtV was given. In paper III, the structure of the N-terminal domain solved by NMR spectroscopy was reported. The structure revealed two well defined helices but a third predicted helix was found to be unstructured.
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| 10. |
- Edwin, Aaron, et al.
(författare)
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Structure of the N-terminal domain of the metalloprotease PrtV from Vibrio cholerae
- 2015
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Ingår i: Protein Science. - : Wiley. - 0961-8368 .- 1469-896X. ; 24:12, s. 2076-2080
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The metalloprotease PrtV from Vibrio cholerae serves an important function for the ability of bacteria to invade the mammalian host cell. The protein belongs to the family of M6 proteases, with a characteristic zinc ion in the catalytic active site. PrtV constitutes a 918 amino acids (102 kDa) multidomain pre-pro-protein that undergoes several N- and C-terminal modifications to form a catalytically active protease. We report here the NMR structure of the PrtV N- terminal domain (residues 23-103) that contains two short alpha-helices in a coiled coil motif. The helices are held together by a cluster of hydrophobic residues. Approximately 30 residues at the C-terminal end, which were predicted to form a third helical structure, are disordered. These residues are highly conserved within the genus Vibrio, which suggests that they might be functionally important.
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