| 1. |
- Birney, Ewan, et al.
(författare)
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Identification and analysis of functional elements in 1% of the human genome by the ENCODE pilot project
- 2007
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 447:7146, s. 799-816
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the generation and analysis of functional data from multiple, diverse experiments performed on a targeted 1% of the human genome as part of the pilot phase of the ENCODE Project. These data have been further integrated and augmented by a number of evolutionary and computational analyses. Together, our results advance the collective knowledge about human genome function in several major areas. First, our studies provide convincing evidence that the genome is pervasively transcribed, such that the majority of its bases can be found in primary transcripts, including non-protein-coding transcripts, and those that extensively overlap one another. Second, systematic examination of transcriptional regulation has yielded new understanding about transcription start sites, including their relationship to specific regulatory sequences and features of chromatin accessibility and histone modification. Third, a more sophisticated view of chromatin structure has emerged, including its inter-relationship with DNA replication and transcriptional regulation. Finally, integration of these new sources of information, in particular with respect to mammalian evolution based on inter- and intra-species sequence comparisons, has yielded new mechanistic and evolutionary insights concerning the functional landscape of the human genome. Together, these studies are defining a path for pursuit of a more comprehensive characterization of human genome function.
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| 2. |
- Hillier, Ladeana W, et al.
(författare)
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Sequence and comparative analysis of the chicken genome provide unique perspectives on vertebrate evolution
- 2004
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Ingår i: Nature. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 432:7018, s. 695-716
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present here a draft genome sequence of the red jungle fowl, Gallus gallus. Because the chicken is a modern descendant of the dinosaurs and the first non-mammalian amniote to have its genome sequenced, the draft sequence of its genome--composed of approximately one billion base pairs of sequence and an estimated 20,000-23,000 genes--provides a new perspective on vertebrate genome evolution, while also improving the annotation of mammalian genomes. For example, the evolutionary distance between chicken and human provides high specificity in detecting functional elements, both non-coding and coding. Notably, many conserved non-coding sequences are far from genes and cannot be assigned to defined functional classes. In coding regions the evolutionary dynamics of protein domains and orthologous groups illustrate processes that distinguish the lineages leading to birds and mammals. The distinctive properties of avian microchromosomes, together with the inferred patterns of conserved synteny, provide additional insights into vertebrate chromosome architecture.
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| 3. |
- Hänzelmann, Sonja, et al.
(författare)
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Thrombin stimulates insulin secretion via protease-activated receptor-3.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Islets. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1938-2022 .- 1938-2014. ; 7:4, s. 1118195-1118195
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The disease mechanisms underlying type 2 diabetes (T2D) remain poorly defined. Here we aimed to explore the pathophysiology of T2D by analyzing gene co-expression networks in human islets. Using partial correlation networks we identified a group of co-expressed genes ('module') including F2RL2 that was associated with glycated hemoglobin. F2Rl2 is a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that encodes protease-activated receptor-3 (PAR3). PAR3 is cleaved by thrombin, which exposes a 6-amino acid sequence that acts as a 'tethered ligand' to regulate cellular signaling. We have characterized the effect of PAR3 activation on insulin secretion by static insulin secretion measurements, capacitance measurements, studies of diabetic animal models and patient samples. We demonstrate that thrombin stimulates insulin secretion, an effect that was prevented by an antibody that blocks the thrombin cleavage site of PAR3. Treatment with a peptide corresponding to the PAR3 tethered ligand stimulated islet insulin secretion and single β-cell exocytosis by a mechanism that involves activation of phospholipase C and Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores. Moreover, we observed that the expression of tissue factor, which regulates thrombin generation, was increased in human islets from T2D donors and associated with enhanced β-cell exocytosis. Finally, we demonstrate that thrombin generation potential in patients with T2D was associated with increased fasting insulin and insulinogenic index. The findings provide a previously unrecognized link between hypercoagulability and hyperinsulinemia and suggest that reducing thrombin activity or blocking PAR3 cleavage could potentially counteract the exaggerated insulin secretion that drives insulin resistance and β-cell exhaustion in T2D.
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| 4. |
- Zhukova, Nataliya, et al.
(författare)
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WNT activation by lithium abrogates TP53 mutation associated radiation resistance in medulloblastoma
- 2014
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Ingår i: Acta neuropathologica communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2051-5960. ; 2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- TP53 mutations confer subgroup specific poor survival for children with medulloblastoma. We hypothesized that WNT activation which is associated with improved survival for such children abrogates TP53 related radioresistance and can be used to sensitize TP53 mutant tumors for radiation. We examined the subgroup-specific role of TP53 mutations in a cohort of 314 patients treated with radiation. TP53 wild-type or mutant human medulloblastoma cell-lines and normal neural stem cells were used to test radioresistance of TP53 mutations and the radiosensitizing effect of WNT activation on tumors and the developing brain. Children with WNT/TP53 mutant medulloblastoma had higher 5-year survival than those with SHH/TP53 mutant tumours (100% and 36.6%±8.7%, respectively (p<0.001)). Introduction of TP53 mutation into medulloblastoma cells induced radioresistance (survival fractions at 2Gy (SF2) of 89%±2% vs. 57.4%±1.8% (p<0.01)). In contrast, beta-catenin mutation sensitized TP53 mutant cells to radiation (p<0.05). Lithium, an activator of the WNT pathway, sensitized TP53 mutant medulloblastoma to radiation (SF2 of 43.5%±1.5% in lithium treated cells vs. 56.6±3% (p<0.01)) accompanied by increased number of gammaH2AX foci. Normal neural stem cells were protected from lithium induced radiation damage (SF2 of 33%±8% for lithium treated cells vs. 27%±3% for untreated controls (p=0.05). Poor survival of patients with TP53 mutant medulloblastoma may be related to radiation resistance. Since constitutive activation of the WNT pathway by lithium sensitizes TP53 mutant medulloblastoma cells and protect normal neural stem cells from radiation, this oral drug may represent an attractive novel therapy for high-risk medulloblastomas.
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