1. |
- Sliz, E., et al.
(författare)
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Evidence of a causal effect of genetic tendency to gain muscle mass on uterine leiomyomata
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Uterine leiomyomata (UL) are the most common tumours of the female genital tract and the primary cause of surgical removal of the uterus. Genetic factors contribute to UL susceptibility. To add understanding to the heritable genetic risk factors, we conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of UL in up to 426,558 European women from FinnGen and a previous UL meta-GWAS. In addition to the 50 known UL loci, we identify 22 loci that have not been associated with UL in prior studies. UL-associated loci harbour genes enriched for development, growth, and cellular senescence. Of particular interest are the smooth muscle cell differentiation and proliferation-regulating genes functioning on the myocardin-cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor 1A pathway. Our results further suggest that genetic predisposition to increased fat-free mass may be causally related to higher UL risk, underscoring the involvement of altered muscle tissue biology in UL pathophysiology. Overall, our findings add to the understanding of the genetic pathways underlying UL, which may aid in developing novel therapeutics.
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2. |
- Guerreiro, R., et al.
(författare)
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Heritability and genetic variance of dementia with Lewy bodies
- 2019
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Ingår i: Neurobiology of Disease. - : Elsevier BV. - 0969-9961. ; 127, s. 492-501
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent large-scale genetic studies have allowed for the first glimpse of the effects of common genetic variability in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), identifying risk variants with appreciable effect sizes. However, it is currently well established that a substantial portion of the genetic heritable component of complex traits is not captured by genome-wide significant SNPs. To overcome this issue, we have estimated the proportion of phenotypic variance explained by genetic variability (SNP heritability) in DLB using a method that is unbiased by allele frequency or linkage disequilibrium properties of the underlying variants. This shows that the heritability of DLB is nearly twice as high as previous estimates based on common variants only (31% vs 59.9%). We also determine the amount of phenotypic variance in DLB that can be explained by recent polygenic risk scores from either Parkinson's disease (PD) or Alzheimer's disease (AD), and show that, despite being highly significant, they explain a low amount of variance. Additionally, to identify pleiotropic events that might improve our understanding of the disease, we performed genetic correlation analyses of DLB with over 200 diseases and biomedically relevant traits. Our data shows that DLB has a positive correlation with education phenotypes, which is opposite to what occurs in AD. Overall, our data suggests that novel genetic risk factors for DLB should be identified by larger GWAS and these are likely to be independent from known AD and PD risk variants. © 2019 Elsevier Inc.
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3. |
- Tabassum, R, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic architecture of human plasma lipidome and its link to cardiovascular disease
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nature communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 10:1, s. 4329-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding genetic architecture of plasma lipidome could provide better insights into lipid metabolism and its link to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Here, we perform genome-wide association analyses of 141 lipid species (n = 2,181 individuals), followed by phenome-wide scans with 25 CVD related phenotypes (n = 511,700 individuals). We identify 35 lipid-species-associated loci (P <5 ×10−8), 10 of which associate with CVD risk including five new loci-COL5A1, GLTPD2, SPTLC3, MBOAT7 and GALNT16 (false discovery rate<0.05). We identify loci for lipid species that are shown to predict CVD e.g., SPTLC3 for CER(d18:1/24:1). We show that lipoprotein lipase (LPL) may more efficiently hydrolyze medium length triacylglycerides (TAGs) than others. Polyunsaturated lipids have highest heritability and genetic correlations, suggesting considerable genetic regulation at fatty acids levels. We find low genetic correlations between traditional lipids and lipid species. Our results show that lipidomic profiles capture information beyond traditional lipids and identify genetic variants modifying lipid levels and risk of CVD.
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5. |
- Guerreiro, R., et al.
(författare)
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Investigating the genetic architecture of dementia with Lewy bodies: a two-stage genome-wide association study
- 2018
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Ingår i: Lancet Neurology. - 1474-4422. ; 17:1, s. 64-74
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Dementia with Lewy bodies is the second most common form of dementia in elderly people but has been overshadowed in the research field, partly because of similarities between dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. So far, to our knowledge, no large-scale genetic study of dementia with Lewy bodies has been done. To better understand the genetic basis of dementia with Lewy bodies, we have done a genome-wide association study with the aim of identifying genetic risk factors for this disorder. Methods In this two-stage genome-wide association study, we collected samples from white participants of European ancestry who had been diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies according to established clinical or pathological criteria. In the discovery stage (with the case cohort recruited from 22 centres in ten countries and the controls derived from two publicly available database of Genotypes and Phenotypes studies [phs000404.v1.p1 and phs000982.v1.p1] in the USA), we performed genotyping and exploited the recently established Haplotype Reference Consortium panel as the basis for imputation. Pathological samples were ascertained following autopsy in each individual brain bank, whereas clinical samples were collected after participant examination. There was no specific timeframe for collection of samples. We did association analyses in all participants with dementia with Lewy bodies, and also only in participants with pathological diagnosis. In the replication stage, we performed genotyping of significant and suggestive results from the discovery stage. Lastly, we did a meta-analysis of both stages under a fixed-effects model and used logistic regression to test for association in each stage. Findings This study included 1743 patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (1324 with pathological diagnosis) and 4454 controls (1216 patients with dementia with Lewy bodies vs 3791 controls in the discovery stage; 527 vs 663 in the replication stage). Results confirm previously reported associations: APOE (rs429358; odds ratio [OR] 2.40, 95% CI 2.14-2.70; p=1.05 x 10-48), SNCA (rs7681440; OR 0.73, 0.66-0.81; p=6.39 x 10(-10)), and GBA (rs35749011; OR 2.55, 1.88-3.46; p=1.78 x 10(-9)). They also provide some evidence for a novel candidate locus, namely CNTN1 (rs7314908; OR 1.51, 1.27-1.79; p=2.32 x 10(-6)); further replication will be important. Additionally, we estimate the heritable component of dementia with Lewy bodies to be about 36%. Interpretation Despite the small sample size for a genome-wide association study, and acknowledging the potential biases from ascertaining samples from multiple locations, we present the most comprehensive and well powered genetic study in dementia with Lewy bodies so far. These data show that common genetic variability has a role in the disease.
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6. |
- Orme, T., et al.
(författare)
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Analysis of neurodegenerative disease-causing genes in dementia with Lewy bodies
- 2020
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Ingår i: Acta neuropathologica communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2051-5960. ; 8:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a clinically heterogeneous disorder with a substantial burden on healthcare. Despite this, the genetic basis of the disorder is not well defined and its boundaries with other neurodegenerative diseases are unclear. Here, we performed whole exome sequencing of a cohort of 1118 Caucasian DLB patients, and focused on genes causative of monogenic neurodegenerative diseases. We analyzed variants in 60 genes implicated in DLB, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and atypical parkinsonian or dementia disorders, in order to determine their frequency in DLB. We focused on variants that have previously been reported as pathogenic, and also describe variants reported as pathogenic which remain of unknown clinical significance, as well as variants associated with strong risk. Rare missense variants of unknown significance were found in APP, CHCHD2, DCTN1, GRN, MAPT, NOTCH3, SQSTM1, TBK1 and TIA1. Additionally, we identified a pathogenic GRN p.Arg493* mutation, potentially adding to the diversity of phenotypes associated with this mutation. The rarity of previously reported pathogenic mutations in this cohort suggests that the genetic overlap of other neurodegenerative diseases with DLB is not substantial. Since it is now clear that genetics plays a role in DLB, these data suggest that other genetic loci play a role in this disease.
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7. |
- Pirinen, E., et al.
(författare)
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Enhanced polyamine catabolism alters homeostatic control of white adipose tissue mass, energy expenditure, and glucose metabolism
- 2007
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Ingår i: Mol Cell Biol. - 0270-7306. ; 27:13, s. 4953-67
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1 alpha) is an attractive candidate gene for type 2 diabetes, as genes of the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway are coordinatively downregulated by reduced expression of PGC-1 alpha in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue of patients with type 2 diabetes. Here we demonstrate that transgenic mice with activated polyamine catabolism due to overexpression of spermidine/spermine N(1)-acetyltransferase (SSAT) had reduced white adipose tissue (WAT) mass, high basal metabolic rate, improved glucose tolerance, high insulin sensitivity, and enhanced expression of the OXPHOS genes, coordinated by increased levels of PGC-1 alpha and 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in WAT. As accelerated polyamine flux caused by SSAT overexpression depleted the ATP pool in adipocytes of SSAT mice and N(1),N(11)-diethylnorspermine-treated wild-type fetal fibroblasts, we propose that low ATP levels lead to the induction of AMPK, which in turn activates PGC-1 alpha in WAT of SSAT mice. Our hypothesis is supported by the finding that the phenotype of SSAT mice was reversed when the accelerated polyamine flux was reduced by the inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis in WAT. The involvement of polyamine catabolism in the regulation of energy and glucose metabolism may offer a novel target for drug development for obesity and type 2 diabetes.
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9. |
- Alafuzoff, Irina, et al.
(författare)
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Synucleinopathies
- 2015
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Ingår i: Neuropathology of neurodegenerative diseases. - : Cambridge University Press. - 9781107588660 - 9781107674202 ; , s. 149-175
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Definition, structure and biochemical background Similar to other “proteinopathies,” the process that links α-synuclein (αS) protein to disease pathogenesis originated from the discovery that a single point mutation in the αS gene (i.e. SNCA) can cause autosomal-dominant Parkinson’s disease (PD) [1]. This was followed by the breakthrough finding that the actual transcribed protein was a major fibrillar component of pathological hallmarks known as Lewy bodies (LBs), Lewy neurites (LNs) and glial cytoplasmic inclusions characterizing a heterogeneous group of diseases, now collectively referred to as “synucleinopathies,” i.e. PD, PD with dementia (PDD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) [2, 3]. Currently, there are five missense mutations (pA53T, p.A30P, p.E46K, p.H50Q and p.G51D) [1, 4–8] and multiplication mutations (SNCA duplication and triplication) [9–11] that are genetically linked to clinical parkinsonism (Table 9.1). This genetic and pathological linkage establishes αS as an important player in the development of these disorders.
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10. |
- Parkkinen, L, et al.
(författare)
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Abundant glial alpha-synuclein pathology in a case without overt clinical symptoms.
- 2007
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Ingår i: Clinical Neuropathology. - 0722-5091. ; 26:6, s. 276-83
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Screening of 1,800 brains with alpha-synuclein (alphaS) immunohistochemistry revealed five cases with abundant glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs) within the white matter of the brainstem. Surprisingly, retrospective clinical assessment showed that one of these subjects did not fulfil the currently recommended clinical consensus criteria for the multiple system atrophy (MSA). One of the hallmark lesions of MSA, alphaS-positive GCIs, were widespread and abundant in this atypical case that nonetheless lacked any significant neuronal loss. If the patient had met the clinical criteria for MSA, the neuropathological phenotype would have undeniably confirmed the clinically suggested diagnosis. However, lacking overt clinical signs of MSA, the neuropathological phenotype in this subject is prone to be variably denoted or overlooked. We would therefore like to advise neuropathologists to acknowledge these cases with "occult" alpha-synucleinopathy and to inform the clinicians of such a finding. Whether these cases represent a preclinical stage of MSA or simply a biological coincidence, is yet unknown. The observation of abundant GCIs in an asymptomatic subject is, however, important, because even if these cases are rare in number, their occurrence challenge the current presumption, whereby simply the number of alphaS-positive GCIs mediates the neuronal dysfunction responsible for the clinical symptoms of MSA.
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11. |
- Vaikath, Nishant Narayanan, et al.
(författare)
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Generation and characterization of novel conformation-specific monoclonal antibodies for α-synuclein pathology.
- 2015
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Ingår i: Neurobiology of Disease. - : Elsevier BV. - 0969-9961. ; 79, s. 81-99
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- α-Synuclein (α-syn), a small protein that has the intrinsic propensity to aggregate, is implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA), which are collectively known as synucleinopathies. Genetic, pathological, biochemical, and animal modeling studies provided compelling evidence that α-syn aggregation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of PD and related synucleinopathies. It is therefore of utmost importance to develop reliable tools that can detect the aggregated forms of α-syn. We describe here the generation and characterization of six novel conformation-specific monoclonal antibodies that recognize specifically α-syn aggregates but not the soluble, monomeric form of the protein. The antibodies described herein did not recognize monomers or fibrils generated from other amyloidogenic proteins including β-syn, γ-syn, β-amyloid, tau protein, islet amyloid polypeptide and ABri. Interestingly, the antibodies did not react to overlapping linear peptides spanning the entire sequence of α-syn, confirming further that they only detect α-syn aggregates. In immunohistochemical studies, the new conformation-specific monoclonal antibodies showed underappreciated small micro-aggregates and very thin neurites in PD and DLB cases that were not observed with generic pan antibodies that recognize linear epitope. Furthermore, employing one of our conformation-specific antibodies in a sandwich based ELISA, we observed an increase in levels of α-syn oligomers in brain lysates from DLB compared to Alzheimer's disease and control samples. Therefore, the conformation-specific antibodies portrayed herein represent useful tools for research, biomarkers development, diagnosis and even immunotherapy for PD and related pathologies.
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