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| 2. |
- Bignert, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Comments Concerning the National Swedish Contaminant Monitoring Programme in Marine Biota, 2015
- 2015
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The environmental toxicants examined in this report can be classified into five groups – heavy metals, chlorinated compounds, brominated flame retardants, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and perfluorinated compounds. Each of these contaminants have been examined from various sites for up to six different fish species, in blue mussels, and in guillemot eggs, for varying lengths of time. The following summary examines overall trends, spatial and temporal, for the five groups.Condition and Fat ContentCondition and fat content in different species tended to follow the same pattern at the same sites, with a few exceptions. Most of the fish species generally displayed a decreasing trend in both condition and fat content at most sites examined. Exceptions to this were increases in condition factor seen in cod liver at Fladen, perch muscle at Kvädöfjärden, and for herring at Ängskärsklubb in spring. Also, an increase in fat content was seen during the most recent ten years for herring at Ängskärsklubb in spring. There were also some sites where no log linear trends were seen.Heavy MetalsDue to a change in methods for metal analysis (not mercury) in 2004, values between 2003 and 2007 should be interpreted with care. From 2009 metals are analyzed at ACES, Stockholm University.Generally, higher mercury concentrations are found in the Bothnian Bay, but also from one station in the Northern parts of Baltic Proper, compared to other parts of the Swedish coastline. The time series show varying concentrations over the study period. The longer time series in guillemot egg and spring-caught herring from the southern Bothnian Sea and southern Baltic Proper show significant decreases of mercury. On the other hand, increasing concentrations are seen in e.g., cod muscle, but the concentrations are fairly low compared to measured concentrations in perch from fresh water and coastal sites. In most cases, the mercury concentrations are above the EQSbiota of 20 ng/g wet weight.Lead is generally decreasing over the study period (in time series of sufficient length), supposedly due to the elimination of lead in gasoline. The highest concentrations are seen in the southern part of the Baltic Sea. Elevated lead concentrations between 2003 and 2007 (e.g. Harufjärden) should be viewed with caution (see above regarding change in analysis methods). Lead concentrations are below the suggested target level at all stations.Cadmium concentrations show varying non-linear trends over the monitored period. It is worth noting that despite several measures taken to reduce discharges of cadmium, generally the most recent concentrations are similar to concentrations measured 30 yearsago in the longer time series. Cadmium concentrations in herring and perch are all below the suggested target level of 160 μg/kg wet weight.The reported nickel concentrations show no consistent decreasing trends. Some series begin with two elevated values that exert a strong leverage effect on the regression line and may give a false impression of decreasing trends. Chromium generally shows decreasing concentrations, possibly explained by a shift in analytical method. The essential trace metals, copper and zinc, show no consistent trends during the monitored period.Generally higher concentrations of arsenic and silver are found along the west coast compared to other parts of the Sweadish coast line. However for silver a few stations in the Bothnian Sea and Bothnian Bay show comparable concentrations to the west coast stations.Chlorinated CompoundsGenerally, a decreasing concentrations were observed for all compounds (DDT’s, PCB’s, HCH’s, HCB) in all species examined, with a few exceptions, such as no change in TCDD-equivalents being seen in herring muscle (except at Änskärsklubb where very high concentrations at the beginning of the sampling period were seen and also at the west coast station Fladen). The longer time-series in guillemot also show a marked decrease in TCDD-equivalents from the start in the late 1960s until about 1985 from where no change occurred for many years, however, during the most recent ten years a decrease in the concentration is seen. Concentrations of DDE and CB-118 are for some species and sites still above their respective target levels.The chlorinated compounds generally show higher concentrations in the Bothnian Sea and/or Baltic Proper when compared to the Bothnian Bay and the Swedish west coast.Brominated Flame RetardantsElevated levels of HBCDD are seen in sites from the Baltic Proper, while the investigated PBDEs show higher concentrations in the Bothnian Bay. In addition, lower concentrations of all investigated PBDEs and HBCDD are seen on the Swedish west coast compared to the east coast. Temporally, significant increases in BDE-47, -99 and -100 have been seen in guillemot eggs since the late 1960s until the early 1990s, where concentrations then began to show decreases. Also, the concentration of HBCDD in guillemot eggs shows a decrease during the most recent ten years. For fish and blue mussels, BDE-47, -99, and -153 decreased at some sites and showed no trend at other sites. The concentration of HBCDD in fish and blue mussels showed inconsistent trends. The concentration of HBCDD is below the EQSbiota of 167 μg/kg wet weight for all fish species from all areas, while the concentration of BDE-47 alone is above the EQSbiota for sumPBDE of 0.0085 ng/g wet weight.PAHsOnly blue mussels have been examined for spatial differences in PAH concentrations. Concentration of ΣPAH was found to be higher from Kvädöfjärden in the Baltic Proper compared to stations at the West coast, but individual PAHs showed varying spatial patterns. Over time, acenaphthalene was rarely found above the detection limit. Significant decreasing trends were observed for ΣPAH, chrysene, fluoranthene and pyrene at Fjällbacka; for naphthalene at Kvädöfjärden; and for pyrene at Fladen.All time series where concentrations of various PAHs were compared with the target value based on OSPAR Ecological Assessment Criteria, or EC Environmental Quality Standards were below the target value.PFASsPFHxS and PFOS show a similar spatial pattern, but PFOS concentrations were approximately 25 times higher than PFHxS levels. The distribution of PFOS is quite homogenous along the Swedish coast but with somewhat higher concentrations in the Baltic Proper. PFOS concentrations in guillemot eggs are about 100-200 times higher than in herring liver. An overall increasing concentration of PFOS in guillemot eggs has been observed throughout the whole time period, however, during the most recent ten years, a change of direction is detected. The longer herring time series from Harufjärden, Landsort, and Utlängan show increasing concentrations for PFOS and most carboxylates. For FOSA, on the other hand, decreasing concentrations are seen during the most recent ten years.Organotin compoundsThe majority of the analysed tinorganic compounds showed concentrations below LOQ. However TBT and DPhT showed concentrations above LOQ at all stations with highest reported concentrations in fish from Örefjärden in the northern part of Bothnian Sea.
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| 3. |
- Dimberg, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Genomic Profiling of Stage II Colorectal Cancer Identifies Candidate Genes Associated with Recurrence-Free Survival, Tumor Location, and Differentiation Grade.
- 2020
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Ingår i: Oncology. - : S. Karger. - 0030-2414 .- 1423-0232. ; 98:8, s. 575-582
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Identification of high-risk stage II colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, potential candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy, is challenging. Current clinical guidelines rely mainly on histopathological markers with relatively weak prognostic value. This motivates further search for prognostic markers.METHODS: This explorative study aimed to identify potential candidate gene mutations to facilitate differentiation between subgroups of patients with CRC stage II. Panel-based massive parallel sequencing was used to genetically characterize tumor tissues from 85 patients radically operated for CRC stage II, of which 12 developed recurrent cancer during follow-up. Genetic data was compared between patients with or without cancer recurrence, between tumors located in colon and in rectum, and for association with tumor differentiation grade.RESULTS: Genetic variation in ATM, C11ORF65 was associated with recurrence-free survival. Previous reports regarding the association between BRAF mutation and a higher age at diagnosis, and tumor location in colon were confirmed. APC, BRAF, or KRAS mutation was associated with tumor differentiation grade. Multiple correspondence analyses revealed no obvious clustering of patients with the studied clinical characteristics, indicating that the genetic signatures observed here were unique for each individual.CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, we have demonstrated the utility of panel-based massive parallel sequencing to explore the pathogenesis of CRC stage II. We have identified promising candidate gene mutations associated with cancer recurrence, tumor location, and differentiation grade in patients with CRC stage II, which merit further investigation.
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| 5. |
- Haglund, Sofie, et al.
(författare)
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Combination treatment with 6-mercaptopurine and allopurinol in HepG2 and HEK293 cells - Effects on gene expression levels and thiopurine metabolism
- 2017
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE. - 1932-6203. ; 12:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Combination treatment with low-dose thiopurine and allopurinol (AP) has successfully been used in patients with inflammatory bowel disease with a so called skewed thiopurine metabolite profile. In red blood cells in vivo, it reduces the concentration of methylated metabolites and increases the concentration of the phosphorylated ones, which is associated with improved therapeutic efficacy. This study aimed to investigate the largely unknown mechanism of AP on thiopurine metabolism in cells with an active thiopurine metabolic pathway using HepG2 and HEK293 cells. Cells were treated with 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) and AP or its metabolite oxypurinol. The expression of genes known to be associated with thiopurine metabolism, and the concentration of thiopurine metabolites were analyzed. Gene expression levels were only affected by AP in the presence of 6MP. The addition of AP to 6MP affected the expression of in total 19 genes in the two cell lines. In both cell lines the expression of the transporter SLC29A2 was reduced by the combined treatment. Six regulated genes in HepG2 cells and 8 regulated genes in HEK293 cells were connected to networks with 18 and 35 genes, respectively, present at known susceptibility loci for inflammatory bowel disease, when analyzed using a protein-protein interaction database. The genes identified as regulated as well as the disease associated interacting genes represent new candidates for further investigation in the context of combination therapy with thiopurines and AP. However, no differences in absolute metabolite concentrations were observed between 6MP+AP or 6MP +oxypurinol vs. 6MP alone in either of the two cell lines. In conclusion; the effect of AP on=gene expression levels requires the presence of 6MP, at least in vitro. Previously described AP-effects on metabolite concentrations observed in red blood cells in vivo could not be reproduced in our cell lines in vitro. APs effects in relation to thiopurine metabolism are complex. The network-identified susceptibility genes represented biological processes mainly associated with purine nucleotide biosynthetic processes, lymphocyte proliferation, NF-KB activation, JAK-STAT signaling, and apoptotic signaling at oxidative stress.
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| 6. |
- Haglund, Sofie, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
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CXCL13 in laboratory diagnosis of Lyme neuroborreliosis-the performance of the recomBead and ReaScan CXCL13 assays in human cerebrospinal fluid samples
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. - : Springer. - 0934-9723 .- 1435-4373. ; 41:1, s. 175-179
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The chemokine CXCL13 is used as complement to serology in the diagnostics of Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB). We evaluated and compared the semi-quantitative, cassette-based ReaScan CXCL13 assay with the quantitative recomBead CXCL13 assay using a collection of 209 cerebrospinal fluid samples. The categorical agreement between results interpreted as negative, grey zone, and positive by the two methods was 87%. The diagnostic sensitivity was higher using the recomBead assay, whereas specificity was higher using ReaScan. Few manual steps, and a short turn-around time with no batching of samples makes the ReaScan CXCL13 assay an attractive complement to serology in the diagnostics of LNB.
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| 7. |
- Haglund, Sofie, et al.
(författare)
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Differences in Whole-Blood Transcriptional Profiles in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients Responding to Vedolizumab Compared with Non-Responders
- 2023
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Ingår i: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. - : MDPI. - 1661-6596 .- 1422-0067. ; 24:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Vedolizumab is efficacious in the treatment of Crohns disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). However, a significant proportion of patients present with a non-response. To investigate whether differences in the clinical response to vedolizumab is reflected in changes in gene expression levels in whole blood, samples were collected at baseline before treatment, and at follow-up after 10-12 weeks. Whole genome transcriptional profiles were established by RNA sequencing. Before treatment, no differentially expressed genes were noted between responders (n = 9, UC 4, CD 5) and non-responders (n = 11, UC 3, CD 8). At follow-up, compared with baseline, responders displayed 201 differentially expressed genes, and 51 upregulated (e.g., translation initiation, mitochondrial translation, and peroxisomal membrane protein import) and 221 downregulated (e.g., Toll-like receptor activating cascades, and phagocytosis related) pathways. Twenty-two of the upregulated pathways in responders were instead downregulated in non-responders. The results correspond with a dampening of inflammatory activity in responders. Although considered a gut-specific drug, our study shows a considerable gene regulation in the blood of patients responding to vedolizumab. It also suggests that whole blood is not optimal for identifying predictive pre-treatment biomarkers based on individual genes. However, treatment outcomes may depend on several interacting genes, and our results indicate a possible potential of pathway analysis in predicting response to treatment, which merits further investigation.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Haglund, Sofie, et al.
(författare)
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Gene Expression and Thiopurine Metabolite Profiling in Inflammatory Bowel Disease : Novel Clues to Drug Targets and Disease Mechanisms?
- 2013
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 8:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and AimsThiopurines are effective to induce and maintain remission in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The methyl thioinosine monophosphate (meTIMP)/6-thioguanine nucleotide (6-TGN) concentration ratio has been associated with drug efficacy. Here we explored the molecular basis of differences in metabolite profiles and in relation to disease activity.MethodsTranscriptional profiles in blood samples from an exploratory IBD-patient cohort (n = 21) with a normal thiopurine S-methyltransferase phenotype and meTIMP/6-TGN ratios >20, 10.0–14.0 and ≤4, respectively, were assessed by hybridization to microarrays. Results were further evaluated with RT qPCR in an expanded patient cohort (n = 54). Additionally, 30 purine/thiopurine related genes were analysed separately.ResultsAmong 17 genes identified by microarray-screening, there were none with a known relationship to pathways of purines/thiopurines. For nine of them a correlation between expression level and the concentration of meTIMP, 6-TGN and/or the meTIMP/6-TGN ratio was confirmed in the expanded cohort. Nine of the purine/thiopurine related genes were identified in the expanded cohort to correlate with meTIMP, 6-TGN and/or the meTIMP/6-TGN ratio. However, only small differences in gene expression levels were noticed over the three different metabolite profiles. The expression levels of four genes identified by microarray screening (PLCB2, HVCN1, CTSS, and DEF8) and one purine/thiopurine related gene (NME6) correlated significantly with the clinical activity of Crohn’s disease. Additionally, 16 of the genes from the expanded patient cohort interacted in networks with candidate IBD susceptibility genes.ConclusionsSeventeen of the 18 genes which correlated with thiopurine metabolite levels also correlated with disease activity or participated in networks with candidate IBD susceptibility genes involved in processes such as purine metabolism, cytokine signaling, and functioning of invariant natural killer T cells, T cells and B cells. Therefore, we conclude that the identified genes to a large extent are related to drug targets and disease mechanisms of IBD.
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| 10. |
- Haglund, Sofie, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
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IMPDH activity in thiopurine-treated patients with inflammatory bowel disease - Relation to TPMT activity and metabolite concentrations
- 2008
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Ingår i: British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. - : Wiley. - 0306-5251 .- 1365-2125. ; 65:1, s. 69-77
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS: Azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine are steroid-sparing drugs used in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The polymorphic enzyme thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) is of importance for thiopurine metabolism and occurrence of adverse events. The role of other thiopurine-metabolizing enzymes is less well known. This study investigated the role of inosine-5′- monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), which is a key enzyme in the de novo synthesis of guanine nucleotides and also strategically positioned in the metabolic pathway of thiopurines. METHODS: IMPDH was measured in 100 healthy blood donors. IMPDH, TPMT and metabolite concentrations were studied in 50 patients with IBD on stable thiopurine therapy. IMPDH activity was measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. TPMT activity, 6-methylthioinosine 5′-monophosphate (meTIMP) and 6-thioguanine nucleotide (6-TGN) concentrations were measured in red blod cells, which is the current practice in clinical monitoring of thiopurines. Enzyme activities were related to metabolite concentrations and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: A wide range of IMPDH activity was observed both in healthy blood donors (median 13.1, range 4.7-24.2 nmol mg-1 protein h-1) and IBD patients (median 14.0, range 7.0-21.7). There was a negative correlation between IMPDH activity and dose-normalized meTIMP concentrations (rs = -0.31, P = 0.03), but no evident correlation to 6-TGN concentration or the meTIMP/6-TGN ratio. There were no significant correlations between TPMT activity and metabolite concentrations. CONCLUSION: Even though the meTIMP concentrations correlated inversely to the IMPDH activity, the role of IMPDH in balancing the formation of methylated and phosphorylated metabolites was not evident. Taken together, the results give cause to question established opinions about thiopurine metabolism. © 2007 The Authors.
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