| 1. |
- Bar, N., et al.
(författare)
-
A reference map of potential determinants for the human serum metabolome
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Nature. - : Nature Research. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 588:7836, s. 135-140
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The serum metabolome contains a plethora of biomarkers and causative agents of various diseases, some of which are endogenously produced and some that have been taken up from the environment1. The origins of specific compounds are known, including metabolites that are highly heritable2,3, or those that are influenced by the gut microbiome4, by lifestyle choices such as smoking5, or by diet6. However, the key determinants of most metabolites are still poorly understood. Here we measured the levels of 1,251 metabolites in serum samples from a unique and deeply phenotyped healthy human cohort of 491 individuals. We applied machine-learning algorithms to predict metabolite levels in held-out individuals on the basis of host genetics, gut microbiome, clinical parameters, diet, lifestyle and anthropometric measurements, and obtained statistically significant predictions for more than 76% of the profiled metabolites. Diet and microbiome had the strongest predictive power, and each explained hundreds of metabolites—in some cases, explaining more than 50% of the observed variance. We further validated microbiome-related predictions by showing a high replication rate in two geographically independent cohorts7,8 that were not available to us when we trained the algorithms. We used feature attribution analysis9 to reveal specific dietary and bacterial interactions. We further demonstrate that some of these interactions might be causal, as some metabolites that we predicted to be positively associated with bread were found to increase after a randomized clinical trial of bread intervention. Overall, our results reveal potential determinants of more than 800 metabolites, paving the way towards a mechanistic understanding of alterations in metabolites under different conditions and to designing interventions for manipulating the levels of circulating metabolites.
|
|
| 2. |
- Al-Khalili, F, et al.
(författare)
-
Clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of individuals aged 75/76 years old with screening-detected elevated NT-proBNP levels
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Open heart. - : BMJ. - 2053-3624. ; 7:1, s. e001200-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High plasma levels of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) indicate increased probability of congestive heart failure (CHF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) and are associated with poor prognosis.ObjectiveWe aimed to describe the clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of a population of individuals aged 75/76 years old with NT-proBNP ≥900 ng/L without previously known CHF or AF.MethodsAll individuals aged 75/76 years in the Stockholm region were randomised to a screening study for AF. Half of them were invited to screening. Of those invited, 49.5% agreed to participate. Individuals with NT-proBNP ≥900 ng/L without known CHF were invited for further clinical evaluation.ResultsAmong 6315 participants without AF who had NT-proBNP sampled, 102 without previously known CHF had ≥900 ng/L. Of these, 93 completed further clinical investigations. In the population that was clinically investigated, 53% were female, and the median NT-proBNP was 1200 ng/L. New AF was found in 28 (30%). The NT-proBNP value in this group was not significantly different from those where AF was not detected (median 1285 vs 1178 ng/L). Patients with newly detected AF had larger left atrial volume and higher pulmonary artery pressure than those without AF. Preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (≥50%) was found in 86% of the participants, mid-range ejection fraction (40%–49%) in 3.2% and reduced ejection fraction (<40%) in 10.8%. Thirteen patients (14%) had other serious cardiac disorders that required medical attention.ConclusionElderly individuals with NT-proBNP levels ≥900 ng/L constitute a population at high cardiovascular risk even in the absence of diagnosed CHF or AF, and therefore merit further investigation.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- Gudmundsdottir, J. A., et al.
(författare)
-
Normal neonatal TREC and KREC levels in early onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Clinical Immunology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1521-6616 .- 1521-7035. ; 249
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Dysregulated central tolerance predisposes to autoimmune diseases. Reduced thymic output as well as compromised central B cell tolerance checkpoints have been proposed in the pathogenesis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). The aim of this study was to investigate neonatal levels of T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) and kappa-deleting element excision circles (KRECs), as markers of T-and B-cell output at birth, in patients with early onset JIA.Methods: TRECs and KRECs were quantitated by multiplex qPCR from dried blood spots (DBS), collected 2-5 days after birth, in 156 children with early onset JIA and in 312 matched controls.Results: When analysed from neonatal dried blood spots, the median TREC level was 78 (IQR 55-113) in JIA cases and 88 (IQR 57-117) copies/well in controls. The median KREC level was 51 (IQR 35-69) and 53 (IQR 35-74) copies/well, in JIA cases and controls, respectively. Stratification by sex and age at disease onset did not reveal any difference in the levels of TRECs and KRECs.Conclusion: T-and B-cell output at birth, as measured by TREC and KREC levels in neonatal dried blood spots, does not differ in children with early onset JIA compared to controls.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Gudmundsdottir, K. K., et al.
(författare)
-
Factors predicting participation and potential yield of screening-detected disease among non-participants in a Swedish population-based atrial fibrillation screening study
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Preventive Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 0091-7435 .- 1096-0260. ; 164
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The success of any screening program is dependent on participation. The characteristics of partic-ipants vs. non-participants have been studied and non-participants usually have a higher risk of disease. The potential yield of screening-detected disease in non-participants could be of interest to several screening programs.Aims: This is a sub-study to STROKESTOP II, a Swedish atrial fibrillation screening study. The aim was to study factors predicting participation and to estimate the potential yield of screening-detected disease in non-participants.Methods: Individual, anonymized data for participants and non-participants with respect to socioeconomic fac-tors, medical history and drugs dispensed were obtained from Swedish registries. A random forest model was trained to predict propensity scores for participation. The propensity scores were used to estimate potential screening-detected disease among non-participants. Results: Non-participants (n = 7086) had lower income, were more likely to have been hospitalized and had higher CHA2DS2-VASc scores compared to participants (n = 6868). The strongest factor predicting non-attendance was low income. The weighted estimates suggested that the yield of new atrial fibrillation was 2.4% in non-participants compared to 2.3% in the participants, which was not significant.Conclusions: Non-participants had higher CHA2DS2-VASc scores, indicating a higher stroke-risk and presumable benefit from attending screening, although estimated new atrial fibrillation detected was not significantly more common when compared to participants. Low income was the strongest factor for predicting non-attendance and should be a focus area when planning future screening scenarios.
|
|
| 7. |
|
|
| 8. |
- Knopp, Michael, et al.
(författare)
-
A novel type of colistin resistance genes selected from random sequence space
- 2021
-
Ingår i: PLOS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 17:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Antibiotic resistance is a rapidly increasing medical problem that severely limits the success of antibiotic treatments, and the identification of resistance determinants is key for surveillance and control of resistance dissemination. Horizontal transfer is the dominant mechanism for spread of resistance genes between bacteria but little is known about the original emergence of resistance genes. Here, we examined experimentally if random sequences can generate novel antibiotic resistance determinants de novo. By utilizing highly diverse expression libraries encoding random sequences to select for open reading frames that confer resistance to the last-resort antibiotic colistin in Escherichia coli, six de novo colistin resistance conferring peptides (Dcr) were identified. The peptides act via direct interactions with the sensor kinase PmrB (also termed BasS in E. coli), causing an activation of the PmrAB two-component system (TCS), modification of the lipid A domain of lipopolysaccharide and subsequent colistin resistance. This kinase-activation was extended to other TCS by generation of chimeric sensor kinases. Our results demonstrate that peptides with novel activities mediated via specific peptide-protein interactions in the transmembrane domain of a sensory transducer can be selected de novo, suggesting that the origination of such peptides from non-coding regions is conceivable. In addition, we identified a novel class of resistance determinants for a key antibiotic that is used as a last resort treatment for several significant pathogens. The high-level resistance provided at low expression levels, absence of significant growth defects and the functionality of Dcr peptides across different genera suggest that this class of peptides could potentially evolve as bona fide resistance determinants in natura.
|
|
| 9. |
- Lundstrom, UH, et al.
(författare)
-
Barriers and opportunities to increase PD incidence and prevalence: Lessons from a European Survey
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Peritoneal dialysis international : journal of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis. - : SAGE Publications. - 1718-4304 .- 0896-8608. ; 41:6, s. 542-551
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Peritoneal dialysis (PD) remains underutilised and unplanned start of dialysis further diminishes the likelihood of patients starting on PD, although outcomes are equal to haemodialysis (HD). Methods: A survey was sent to members of EuroPD and regional societies presenting a case vignette of a 48-year-old woman not previously known to the nephrology department and who arrives at the emergency department with established end-stage kidney disease (unplanned start), asking which dialysis modality would most likely be chosen at their respective centre. We assessed associations between the modality choices for this case vignette and centre characteristics and PD-related practices. Results: Of 575 respondents, 32.8%, 32.2% and 35.0% indicated they would start unplanned PD, unplanned HD or unplanned HD with intention to educate patient on PD later, respectively. Likelihood for unplanned start of PD was only associated with quality of structure of the pre-dialysis program. Structure of pre-dialysis education program, PD program in general, likelihood to provide education on PD to unplanned starters, good collaboration with the PD access team and taking initiatives to enhance home-based therapies increased the likelihood unplanned patients would end up on PD. Conclusions: Well-structured pre-dialysis education on PD as a modality, good connections to dedicated PD catheter placement teams and additional initiatives to enhance home-based therapies are key to grow PD programs. Centres motivated to grow their PD programs seem to find solutions to do so.
|
|
| 10. |
- Mikaelsdottir, E, et al.
(författare)
-
Genetic variants associated with platelet count are predictive of human disease and physiological markers
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Communications biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 4:1, s. 1132-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Platelets play an important role in hemostasis and other aspects of vascular biology. We conducted a meta-analysis of platelet count GWAS using data on 536,974 Europeans and identified 577 independent associations. To search for mechanisms through which these variants affect platelets, we applied cis-expression quantitative trait locus, DEPICT and IPA analyses and assessed genetic sharing between platelet count and various traits using polygenic risk scoring. We found genetic sharing between platelet count and counts of other blood cells (except red blood cells), in addition to several other quantitative traits, including markers of cardiovascular, liver and kidney functions, height, and weight. Platelet count polygenic risk score was predictive of myeloproliferative neoplasms, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, hypertension, and benign prostate hyperplasia. Taken together, these results advance understanding of diverse aspects of platelet biology and how they affect biological processes in health and disease.
|
|
