| 1. |
- Consiglio, Camila, et al.
(författare)
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Immune system adaptation during gender-affirming testosterone treatment
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Reproductive Immunology. - : Elsevier. - 0165-0378 .- 1872-7603. ; 159, s. 29-30
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Biological sex impacts human immune responses, modulating susceptibility and severity to immune-related diseases. Female generally mount more robust immune responses than males, resulting in lower infection severity and greater autoimmunity incidence. Here, we addressed the contribution of testosterone to human immune function by analyzing a cohort of subjects undergoing gender-affirming testosterone treatment. We performed systems-level immunomonitoring through mass cytometry, scRNA and scA-TAC-Sequencing, and proteome profiling of blood samples at baseline and following 3 and 12 months of treatment. Testosterone treatment was associated with a low-grade inflammatory profile, evidenced by upregulation of proinflammatory plasma proteome (e.g., EN-RAGE, OSM, TNF), and induction of an inflammatory transcriptional program associated with NFkB signaling, and TNF signaling. Following testosterone treatment, higher NFkB activity was revealed in CD4 T, CD8 T, and NK cells in scATACseq analyses. Further, testosterone increased monocytic inflammatory responses upon bacterial stimulation in vitro. Although testosterone was associated with this inflammatory profile, it also exerted negative effects on antiviral immunity. Firstly, the percentage of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) decreased over transition, with pDC also displaying phenotypic changes associated with lower IFN responses. Secondly, bulk transcriptomics analyses show an overall reduction of IFNa responses. Thirdly, testosterone treatment led to reduced IFNa production upon PBMCs stimulation with a viral agonist. Our results show that testosterone has broad effects on the human immune system, and significantly modulates important players in antiviral immunity and inflammatory response. Identifying pathways involved in immune sexual dimorphism will help define novel targets for effective prevention and treatment of immune-mediated diseases.
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| 2. |
- Hägg, Sara, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Carbon-14 Dating to Determine Carotid Plaque Age : Carbon-14 Dating of Carotid Plaques
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Rationale: The exact nature of atherosclerotic plaque development and the molecular mechanisms that lead to clinical manifestations of carotid stenosis are unclear. After nuclear bomb tests in the 1950s, atmospheric 14C concentrations rapidly increased. Since then, the concentrations have been declining, and the curve of declination can be used to date biological samples synthesized during the last five to six decades. Objective: To investigate plaque age as a novel characteristic of atherosclerotic plaques in patients with carotid stenosis. Methods and Results: Carotid plaques from 29 well-characterized endarterectomy patients with symptomatic carotid stenosis were analyzed by accelerator mass spectrometry, and global gene expression of 25 plaque samples was profiled with HG-U133 Plus 2.0 arrays. The average plaque age was 9.3 years, and inter- and intrasample standard variations were low (1–3.5 years); thus, most of the plaques were generated 5–15 years before surgery. Plaque age was not associated with patient age or plaque size, determined by intima-media thickness, but was inversely related to plasma insulin levels (P=0.0014). A cluster of functionally related genes enriched with genes involved in immune responses was activated in plaques with low plaque age, as were oxidative phosphorylation genes. Conclusion: Patients with mild insulin resistance have increased immune and inflammatory gene activity in their carotid plaques causing them to become instable, rapidly progressing into clinical manifestations at a relatively young age. These results show that plaque age, determined by 14C dating, is a novel and important characteristic of atherosclerotic plaques that will improve our understanding of the clinical significance and molecular underpinnings of atherosclerosis.
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| 3. |
- Hägg, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Carotid Plaque Age Is a Feature of Plaque Stability Inversely Related to Levels of Plasma Insulin
- 2011
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 6:4, s. e18248-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The stability of atherosclerotic plaques determines the risk for rupture, which may lead to thrombus formation and potentially severe clinical complications such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Although the rate of plaque formation may be important for plaque stability, this process is not well understood. We took advantage of the atmospheric C-14-declination curve (a result of the atomic bomb tests in the 1950s and 1960s) to determine the average biological age of carotid plaques. Methodology/Principal Finding: The cores of carotid plaques were dissected from 29 well-characterized, symptomatic patients with carotid stenosis and analyzed for C-14 content by accelerator mass spectrometry. The average plaque age (i.e. formation time) was 9.6+/-3.3 years. All but two plaques had formed within 5-15 years before surgery. Plaque age was not associated with the chronological ages of the patients but was inversely related to plasma insulin levels (p=0.0014). Most plaques were echo-lucent rather than echo-rich (2.2460.97, range 1-5). However, plaques in the lowest tercile of plaque age (most recently formed) were characterized by further instability with a higher content of lipids and macrophages (67.8+/-12.4 vs. 50.4+/-6.2, p=0.00005; 57.6+/-26.1 vs. 39.8+/-25.7, p<0.0005, respectively), less collagen (45.3+/-6.1 vs. 51.1+/-9.8, p<0.05), and fewer smooth muscle cells (130+/-31 vs. 141+/-21, p<0.05) than plaques in the highest tercile. Microarray analysis of plaques in the lowest tercile also showed increased activity of genes involved in immune responses and oxidative phosphorylation. Conclusions/Significance: Our results show, for the first time, that plaque age, as judge by relative incorporation of C-14, can improve our understanding of carotid plaque stability and therefore risk for clinical complications. Our results also suggest that levels of plasma insulin might be involved in determining carotid plaque age.
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| 4. |
- Hägg, Sara, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Dual-Specificity Phosphatase-1—An Anti-Inflammatory Marker in Blood Independently Predicting Prolonged Postoperative Stay after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting : DUSP1 – A Preoperative Blood Marker of Postoperative Stay
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Objectives: Perform multi-organ expression profiling to identify gene markers predicting postoperative complications and hospitalization after coronary artery by-pass grafting (CABG) surgery. Background: Identifying patients who are at increased risk of morbidity and prolonged post-operative stay is of interest from both health-economic and individual patient perspectives. Patients with diabetes often present with inflammatory conditions and have prolonged hospitalization after CABG. The recent development of technologies to generate high-dimensional data provides an opportunity to identify preoperative markers that can be used to help optimize preoperative planning to minimize postoperative complications. Methods: We analyzed 198 whole-genome expression profiles of liver, skeletal muscle, and visceral fat isolated from 66 patients undergoing CABG in the Stockholm Atherosclerosis Gene Expression (STAGE) study. The findings were validated in pre-operative blood samples isolated from 181 patients undergoing CABG at Tartu University Hospital. Results: As shown in other studies, diabetic CABG patients in the STAGE cohort also had prolonged hospitalization time (P<0.02). Out of ~50 000 mRNAs measures in the liver, skeletal muscle and visceral fat in 66 STAGE patients, the mRNA levels of anti-inflammatory gene dual specificity phosphatase-1 (DUSP1) correlated independently with post-operative rehabilitation and separated the patients into those with normal (8 days) and prolonged hospitalization (>8 days). In the validation cohort, preoperative blood levels of DUSP1 separated patients with short and long hospitalization stay (P=9x10-10). Conclusions: From genome scans in three separate organs, we identified the anti-inflammatory gene DUSP1 as a pre-operative marker indicating risk for prolonged postoperative stay after CABG.
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| 5. |
- Hägg, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular Phenotypes of Coronary Artery Disease : The Stockholm Atherosclerosis Gene Expression (STAGE) Study
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- BACKGROUNDBy offering a comprehensive view of the molecular underpinnings of pathology, high-dimensional data have the potential to revolutionize the diagnosis and management of complex disorders such as coronary artery disease (CAD). To identify molecular phenotypes of CAD, we performed multi organ gene expression profiling of subjects enrolled in the Stockholm Atherosclerosis Gene Expression (STAGE) study.METHODSAtherosclerotic and unaffected arterial wall, liver, skeletal muscle, and mediastinal fat biopsies were obtained during coronary artery bypass grafting from 114 well-characterized CAD patients. RNA samples were isolated, and 278 transcription profiles were obtained using Affymetrix HG-U133_Plus_2 GeneChips.RESULTSThe most prominent molecular phenotype of the CAD patients was represented by 733 genes in mediastinal fat, which were involved in extracellular matrix organization, response to stress and regulation of programmed cell death. Other aspects of this phenotype were shared with liver (e.g., oxidoreductase activity), skeletal muscle (insulin-like growth factor binding), and atherosclerotic arterial wall (cell motility and adhesion, fatty acid metabolism). In addition, the activity of 400 genes exclusively in mediastinal fat was associated with the extent of coronary stenosis and atherosclerosis. Immune-cell activation in mediastinal fat defined CAD patients with poor blood glucose control and prolonged hospitalization.CONCLUSIONSThe molecular phenotype of mediastinal fat appears to be central in CAD and should be useful for early identification of CAD risk.
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| 6. |
- Hägg, Sara, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Multi-Organ Expression Profiling Uncovers a Gene Module in Coronary Artery Disease Involving Transendothelial Migration of Leukocytes and LIM Domain Binding 2 : The Stockholm Atherosclerosis Gene Expression (STAGE) Study
- 2009
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Ingår i: PLoS Genetics. - : PLoS Genetics. - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 5:12, s. e1000754-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Environmental exposures filtered through the genetic make-up of each individual alter the transcriptional repertoire in organs central to metabolic homeostasis, thereby affecting arterial lipid accumulation, inflammation, and the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). The primary aim of the Stockholm Atherosclerosis Gene Expression (STAGE) study was to determine whether there are functionally associated genes (rather than individual genes) important for CAD development. To this end, two-way clustering was used on 278 transcriptional profiles of liver, skeletal muscle, and visceral fat (n=66/tissue) and atherosclerotic and unaffected arterial wall (n=40/tissue) isolated from CAD patients during coronary artery bypass surgery. The first step, across all mRNA signals (n=15,042/12,621 RefSeqs/genes) in each tissue, resulted in a total of 60 tissue clusters (n=3958 genes). In the second step (performed within tissue clusters), one atherosclerotic lesion (n=49/48) and one visceral fat (n=59) cluster segregated the patients into two groups that differed in the extent of coronary stenosis (P=0.008 and P=0.00015). The associations of these clusters with coronary atherosclerosis were validated by analyzing carotid atherosclerosis expression profiles. Remarkably, in one cluster (n=55/54) relating to carotid stenosis (P=0.04), 27 genes in the two clusters relating to coronary stenosis were confirmed (n=16/17, P<10-27and-30). Genes in the transendothelial migration of leukocytes (TEML) pathway were overrepresented in all three clusters, referred to as the atherosclerosis module (A-module). In a second validation step, using three independent cohorts, the A-module was found to be genetically enriched with CAD risk by 1.8-fold (P<0.004). The transcription co-factor LIM domain binding 2 (LDB2) was identified as a potential high-hierarchy regulator of the A-module, a notion supported by subnetwork analysis, cellular and lesion expression of LDB2, and the expression of 13 TEML genes in Ldb2-deficient arterial wall. Thus, the A-module appears to be important for atherosclerosis development and together with LDB2 merits further attention in CAD research.
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