| 1. |
- Albet-Torres, Nuria, et al.
(författare)
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Long-Term Storage of Surface-Adsorbed Protein Machines
- 2011
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Ingår i: Langmuir. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0743-7463 .- 1520-5827. ; 27:11, s. 7108-7112
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effective and simple long-term storage of complex functional proteins is critical in achieving commercially viable biosensors. This issue is particularly challenging in recently proposed types of nanobiosensors, where molecular-motor-driven transportation substitutes microfluidics and forms the basis for novel detection schemes. Importantly, therefore, we here describe that delicate heavy meromyosin (HMM)-based nanodevices (HMM motor fragments adsorbed to silanized surfaces and actin bound to HMM) fully maintain their function when stored at -20 degrees C for more than a month. The mechanisms for the excellent preservation of acto-HMM motor function upon repeated freeze thaw cycles are discussed. The results are important to the future commercial implementation of motor-based nanodevices and are of more general value to the long-term storage of any protein-based bionanodevice.
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| 2. |
- Albet-Torres, Nuria, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular motors on lipid bilayers and silicon dioxide: different driving forces for adsorption
- 2010
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Ingår i: Soft Matter. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1744-6848 .- 1744-683X. ; 6:14, s. 3211-3219
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding how different types of interactions govern adsorption of the myosin motor fragment heavy meromyosin (HMM) onto different substrates is important in functional studies of actomyosin and for the development of motor powered lab-on-a-chip applications. In this study, we have combined in vitro motility assays and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) monitoring to investigate the underlying adsorption mechanisms of HMM onto supported lipid bilayers in comparison with pure and silanized SiO2. The QCM-D results, combined with data showing actin transportation by HMM adsorbed onto positively charged supported lipid bilayers, suggest reversible HMM surface adsorption via the negatively charged coiled-coil tail region. In contrast, the QCM-D data for HMM adsorption onto negatively charged lipids support a model according to which HMM adsorbs onto negatively charged surfaces largely via the positively charged actin binding regions. Adsorption studies at low (30-65 mM) and high (185-245 mM) ionic strengths onto piranha cleaned SiO2 surfaces (contact angle
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| 3. |
- Balaz, Martina, et al.
(författare)
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Protein-surface Interactions and Functional Geometry of Surface-adsorbed Myosin Motor Fragments
- 2009
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Ingår i: Biophysical Journal. - : Biophysical Society. - 0006-3495 .- 1542-0086. ; 96:3 Suppl. 1, s. 495A-495A
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Biophysical studies with myosin motor fragments (heavy meromyosin; HMM and subfragment 1; S1) adsorbed to artificial surfaces, are important for elucidation of actomyosin function. In spite of the widespread use of such in vitro motility assays and single molecule studies, little is known about the adsorption geometry and effects of protein-surface interactions on the motor properties. Here, we investigate these factors with focus on HMM using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) spectroscopy based ATPase assays. In the latter, we monitored the turnover of Alexa-fluor647-ATP (Alexa-ATP) by surface adsorbed HMM. Studies were performed with HMM/S1 adsorbed to model hydrophilic (SiO2) or hydrophobic (trimethyl-chlorosilane [TMCS] - derivatized) surfaces. The results suggest that adsorption of HMM is weakened on SiO2 (but not on TMCS) at high (245 mM) compared to low (65 mM) ionic strengths. The changes in ionic strength were also associated with structural changes in the protein layer according to QCM-D studies. Moreover, the TIRF based ATPase assay suggested a larger fraction of HMM molecules with low catalytic activity on SiO2. These and other TIRF and QCM-D results, suggest that HMM preferentially adsorbs to negatively charged hydrophilic surfaces via the actin-binding region. In contrast, the majority of the HMM molecules seem to adsorb via their C-terminal tail on moderately hydrophobic surfaces. In the latter case the catalytic sites appear to be close to, but not immobilized on the surface. The results with HMM were compared to, and found consistent with, QCM-D and TIRF-data obtained with S1 motor fragments.
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| 4. |
- Ballber Torres, Nuria, et al.
(författare)
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Drug combinatorics and side effect estimation on the signed human drug-target network
- 2016
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Ingår i: BMC Systems Biology. - : BIOMED CENTRAL LTD. - 1752-0509. ; 10:74
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The mode of action of a drug on its targets can often be classified as being positive (activator, potentiator, agonist, etc.) or negative (inhibitor, blocker, antagonist, etc.). The signed edges of a drug-target network can be used to investigate the combined mechanisms of action of multiple drugs on the ensemble of common targets. Results: In this paper it is shown that for the signed human drug-target network the majority of drug pairs tend to have synergistic effects on the common targets, i.e., drug pairs tend to have modes of action with the same sign on most of the shared targets, especially for the principal pharmacological targets of a drug. Methods are proposed to compute this synergism, as well as to estimate the influence of the drugs on the side effect of another drug. Conclusions: Enriching a drug-target network with information of functional nature like the sign of the interactions allows to explore in a systematic way a series of network properties of key importance in the context of computational drug combinatorics.
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| 5. |
- Carrera, Caty, et al.
(författare)
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Validation of a clinical-genetics score to predict hemorrhagic transformations after rtPA.
- 2019
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Ingår i: Neurology. - 1526-632X. ; 93:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To validate the Genot-PA score, a clinical-genetic logistic regression score that stratifies the thrombolytic therapy safety, in a new cohort of patients with stroke.We enrolled 1,482 recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA)-treated patients with stroke in Spain and Finland from 2003 to 2016. Cohorts were analyzed on the basis of ethnicity and therapy: Spanish patients treated with IV rtPA within 4.5 hours of onset (cohort A and B) or rtPA in combination with mechanical thrombectomy within 6 hours of onset (cohort C) and Finnish participants treated with IV rtPA within 4.5 hours of onset (cohort D). The Genot-PA score was calculated, and hemorrhagic transformation (HT) and parenchymal hematoma (PH) risks were determined for each score stratum.Genot-PA score was tested in 1,324 (cohort A, n = 726; B, n = 334; C, n = 54; and D, n = 210) patients who had enough information to complete the score. Of these, 213 (16.1%) participants developed HT and 85 (6.4%) developed PH. In cohorts A, B, and D, HT occurrence was predicted by the score (p = 2.02 × 10-6, p = 0.023, p = 0.033); PH prediction was associated in cohorts A through C (p = 0.012, p = 0.034, p = 5.32 × 10-4). Increased frequency of PH events from the lowest to the highest risk group was found (cohort A 4%-15.7%, cohort B 1.5%-18.2%, cohort C 0%-100%). The best odds ratio for PH prediction in the highest-risk group was obtained in cohort A (odds ratio 5.16, 95% confidence interval 1.46-18.08, p = 0.009).The Genot-PA score predicts HT in patients with stroke treated with IV rtPA. Moreover, in an exploratory study, the score was associated with PH risk in mechanical thrombectomy-treated patients.
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| 6. |
- Cruz, Raquel, et al.
(författare)
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Novel genes and sex differences in COVID-19 severity
- 2022
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Ingår i: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press. - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 31:22, s. 3789-3806
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Here, we describe the results of a genome-wide study conducted in 11 939 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive cases with an extensive clinical information that were recruited from 34 hospitals across Spain (SCOURGE consortium). In sex-disaggregated genome-wide association studies for COVID-19 hospitalization, genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10−8) was crossed for variants in 3p21.31 and 21q22.11 loci only among males (P = 1.3 × 10−22 and P = 8.1 × 10−12, respectively), and for variants in 9q21.32 near TLE1 only among females (P = 4.4 × 10−8). In a second phase, results were combined with an independent Spanish cohort (1598 COVID-19 cases and 1068 population controls), revealing in the overall analysis two novel risk loci in 9p13.3 and 19q13.12, with fine-mapping prioritized variants functionally associated with AQP3 (P = 2.7 × 10−8) and ARHGAP33 (P = 1.3 × 10−8), respectively. The meta-analysis of both phases with four European studies stratified by sex from the Host Genetics Initiative (HGI) confirmed the association of the 3p21.31 and 21q22.11 loci predominantly in males and replicated a recently reported variant in 11p13 (ELF5, P = 4.1 × 10−8). Six of the COVID-19 HGI discovered loci were replicated and an HGI-based genetic risk score predicted the severity strata in SCOURGE. We also found more SNP-heritability and larger heritability differences by age (<60 or ≥60 years) among males than among females. Parallel genome-wide screening of inbreeding depression in SCOURGE also showed an effect of homozygosity in COVID-19 hospitalization and severity and this effect was stronger among older males. In summary, new candidate genes for COVID-19 severity and evidence supporting genetic disparities among sexes are provided.
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| 7. |
- Farré-de-Pablo, Júlia, et al.
(författare)
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Orthopyroxenite hosted chromitite veins anomalously enriched in platinum-group minerals from the Havana-Matanzas Ophiolite, Cuba
- 2020
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Ingår i: Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana. - : Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. - 1405-3322 .- 1405-3322. ; 72:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Havana–Matanzas Ophiolite contains one of the few examples of ophiolitic platinum group minerals (PGM)-rich chromitites associated with orthopyroxenites in the mantle section of ophiolitic complexes. The chromitites occur as veins hosted by orthopyroxenite bands within mantle peridotites. The peridotites are mostly harzburgites and their accessory chromite shows high-Al compositions (Cr# [Cr/(Cr+Al), atomic ratio] = 0.39–0.50), which are typical of spinels in abyssal peridotites. Conversely, chromite from the chromitite veins and their host orthopyroxenite are high-Cr (Cr# = 0.72–0.73 and 0.62–0.69, respectively), with lower Mg# [Mg/(Mg+Fe2+), atomic ratio]. This suggests that both the chromitite and the orthopyroxenite formed from melts with boninitic affinity. The abundant PGM inclusions found in the chromitites are mainly Os-rich laurite grains, which is also characteristic of chromitites formed from magmas with boninitic affinity. Therefore, we propose that the chromitite veins and the orthopyroxenite bands probably formed contemporaneously in the fore-arc setting of an intra-oceanic arc during subduction. The chromitite-orthopyroxenite pair of the Havana-Matanzas Ophiolite could form after the reaction of a Si-rich melt with boninitic affinity and mantle harzburgite, with the orthopyroxenite bands preserving fingerprints of the infiltration of boninitic-affinity melts within the mantle. The small volume of forming chromitite could maximize the efficiency for the mechanical collection of the PGM forming in the parental melt of these rocks, resulting in the anomalous enrichment of primary PGM in the chromitites.
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| 8. |
- Ferrando, Carlos, et al.
(författare)
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Individualised perioperative open-lung approach versus standard protective ventilation in abdominal surgery (iPROVE) : a randomised controlled trial
- 2018
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Ingår i: The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. - : ELSEVIER SCI LTD. - 2213-2600 .- 2213-2619. ; 6:3, s. 193-203
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background The effects of individualised perioperative lung-protective ventilation (based on the open-lung approach [OLA]) on postoperative complications is unknown. We aimed to investigate the effects of intraoperative and postoperative ventilatory management in patients scheduled for abdominal surgery, compared with standard protective ventilation. Methods We did this prospective, multicentre, randomised controlled trial in 21 teaching hospitals in Spain. We enrolled patients who were aged 18 years or older, were scheduled to have abdominal surgery with an expected time of longer than 2 h, had intermediate-to-high-risk of developing postoperative pulmonary complications, and who had a body-mass index less than 35 kg/m(2). Patients were randomly assigned (1: 1: 1: 1) online to receive one of four lung-protective ventilation strategies using low tidal volume plus positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP): open-lung approach (OLA)-iCPAP (individualised intraoperative ventilation [individualised PEEP after a lung recruitment manoeuvre] plus individualised postoperative continuous positive airway pressure [CPAP]), OLA-CPAP (intraoperative individualised ventilation plus postoperative CPAP), STD-CPAP (standard intraoperative ventilation plus postoperative CPAP), or STD-O-2 (standard intraoperative ventilation plus standard postoperative oxygen therapy). Patients were masked to treatment allocation. Investigators were not masked in the operating and postoperative rooms; after 24 h, data were given to a second investigator who was masked to allocations. The primary outcome was a composite of pulmonary and systemic complications during the first 7 postoperative days. We did the primary analysis using the modified intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02158923. Findings Between Jan 2, 2015, and May 18, 2016, we enrolled 1012 eligible patients. Data were available for 967 patients, whom we included in the final analysis. Risk of pulmonary and systemic complications did not differ for patients in OLA-iCPAP (110 [46%] of 241, relative risk 0.89 [95% CI 0.74-1.07; p=0.25]), OLA-CPAP (111 [47%] of 238, 0.91 [0.76-1.09; p=0.35]), or STD-CPAP groups (118 [48%] of 244, 0.95 [0.80-1.14; p=0.65]) when compared with patients in the STD-O-2 group (125 [51%] of 244). Intraoperatively, PEEP was increased in 69 (14%) of patients in the standard perioperative ventilation groups because of hypoxaemia, and no patients from either of the OLA groups required rescue manoeuvres. Interpretation In patients who have major abdominal surgery, the different perioperative open lung approaches tested in this study did not reduce the risk of postoperative complications when compared with standard lung-protective mechanical ventilation.
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| 9. |
- Fucho, Raquel, et al.
(författare)
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ASMase regulates autophagy and lysosomal membrane permeabilization and its inhibition prevents early stage non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Hepatology. - : Elsevier. - 0168-8278 .- 1600-0641. ; 61:5, s. 1126-1134
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Aims: Acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase) is activated in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, the contribution of ASMase to NASH is poorly understood and limited to hepatic steatosis and glucose metabolism. Here we examined the role of ASMase in high fat diet (HFD)-induced NASH. Methods: Autophagy, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) were determined in ASMase(-/-) mice fed a HFD. The impact of pharmacological ASMase inhibition on NASH was analyzed in wild type mice fed a HFD. Results: ASMase deficiency determined resistance to hepatic steatosis mediated by a HFD or methionine-choline deficient diet. ASMase(-/-) mice were resistant to HFD-induced hepatic ER stress, but sensitive to tunicamycin-mediated ER stress, indicating selectivity in the resistance of ASMase(-/-) mice to ER stress and steatosis. Autophagic flux, determined in the presence of rapamycin and/or chloroquine, was lower in primary mouse hepatocytes (PMH) from ASMase(-/-) mice and accompanied by increased p62 levels, suggesting autophagic impairment. Moreover, autophagy suppression by chloroquine and brefeldin A caused ER stress in PMH from ASMase(+/+) mice but not in ASMase(-/-) mice. ASMase(-/-) PMH exhibited increased lysosomal cholesterol loading, decreased LMP and apoptosis resistance induced by 0-methylserine dodecylamide hydrochloride or palmitic acid, effects that were reversed by decreasing cholesterol levels by oxysterol 25-hydroxycholesterol. In vivo pharmacological ASMase inhibition by amitriptyline, a widely used tricyclic antidepressant, protected wild type mice against HFD-induced hepatic steatosis, fibrosis, and liver damage, effects indicative of early-stage NASH, Conclusions: These findings underscore a critical role for ASMase in diet-induced NASH and suggest the potential of amitriptyline as a treatment for patients with NASH.
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| 10. |
- González-Domínguez, Álvaro, et al.
(författare)
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QComics: Recommendations and Guidelines for Robust, Easily Implementable and Reportable Quality Control of Metabolomics Data
- 2024
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Ingår i: Analytical Chemistry. - 0003-2700 .- 1520-6882. ; 96:3, s. 1064-1072
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The implementation of quality control strategies is crucial to ensure the reproducibility, accuracy, and meaningfulness of metabolomics data. However, this pivotal step is often overlooked within the metabolomics workflow and frequently relies on the use of nonstandardized and poorly reported protocols. To address current limitations in this respect, we have developed QComics, a robust, easily implementable and reportable method for monitoring and controlling data quality. The protocol operates in various sequential steps aimed to (i) correct for background noise and carryover, (ii) detect signal drifts and “out-of-control” observations, (iii) deal with missing data, (iv) remove outliers, (v) monitor quality markers to identify samples affected by improper collection, preprocessing, or storage, and (vi) assess overall data quality in terms of precision and accuracy. Notably, this tool considers important issues often neglected along quality control, such as the need of separately handling missing values and truly absent data to avoid losing relevant biological information, as well as the large impact that preanalytical factors may elicit on metabolomics results. Altogether, the guidelines compiled in QComics might contribute to establishing gold standard recommendations and best practices for quality control within the metabolomics community.
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