| 1. |
- Gizzi, Leonardo, et al.
(författare)
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Experimental muscle pain impairs the synergistic modular control of neck muscles
- 2015
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203 .- 1932-6203. ; 10:9, s. 1-19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A motor task can be performed via different patterns of muscle activation that show regularities that can be factorized in combinations of a reduced number of muscle groupings (also referred to as motor modules, or muscle synergies). In this study we evaluate whether an acute noxious stimulus induces a change in the way motor modules are combined to generate movement by neck muscles. The neck region was selected as it is a region with potentially high muscular redundancy. We used the motor modules framework to assess the redistribution of muscular activity of 12 muscles (6 per side) in the neck region of 8 healthy individuals engaged in a head and neck aiming task, in non-painful conditions (baseline, isotonic saline injection, post pain) and after the injection of hypertonic saline into the right splenius capitis muscle. The kinematics of the task was similar in the painful and control conditions. A general decrease of activity was noted for the injected muscle during the painful condition together with an increase or decrease of the activity of the other muscles. Subjects did not adopt shared control strategies (motor modules inter subject similarity at baseline 0.73±0.14); the motor modules recorded during the painful condition could not be used to reconstruct the activation patterns of the control conditions, and the painful stimulus triggered a subject-specific redistribution of muscular activation (i.e., in some subjects the activity of a given muscle increased, whereas in other subjects it decreased with pain). Alterations of afferent input (i.e., painful stimulus) influenced motor control at a multi muscular level, but not kinematic output. These findings provide new insights into the motor adaptation to pain.
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| 2. |
- Palmnäs, Marie, 1988, et al.
(författare)
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Low-dose aspartame consumption differentially affects gut microbiota-host metabolic interactions in the diet-induced obese rat
- 2014
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203 .- 1932-6203. ; 9:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aspartame consumption is implicated in the development of obesity and metabolic disease despite the intention of limiting caloric intake. The mechanisms responsible for this association remain unclear, but may involve circulating metabolites and the gut microbiota. Aims were to examine the impact of chronic low-dose aspartame consumption on anthropometric, metabolic and microbial parameters in a diet-induced obese model. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into a standard chow diet (CH, 12% kcal fat) or high fat (HF, 60% kcal fat) and further into ad libitum water control (W) or low-dose aspartame (A, 5–7 mg/kg/d in drinking water) treatments for 8 week (n = 10–12 animals/treatment). Animals on aspartame consumed fewer calories, gained less weight and had a more favorable body composition when challenged with HF compared to animals consuming water. Despite this, aspartame elevated fasting glucose levels and an insulin tolerance test showed aspartame to impair insulin-stimulated glucose disposal in both CH and HF, independently of body composition. Fecal analysis of gut bacterial composition showed aspartame to increase total bacteria, the abundance of Enterobacteriaceae and Clostridium leptum. An interaction between HF and aspartame was also observed for Roseburia ssp wherein HF-A was higher than HF-W (P<0.05). Within HF, aspartame attenuated the typical HF-induced increase in the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio. Serum metabolomics analysis revealed aspartame to be rapidly metabolized and to be associated with elevations in the short chain fatty acid propionate, a bacterial end product and highly gluconeogenic substrate, potentially explaining its negative affects on insulin tolerance. How aspartame influences gut microbial composition and the implications of these changes on the development of metabolic disease require further investigation.
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| 3. |
- Vitolo Coelho, Carla Regina, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Diets with Improved Omega-3 Fatty Acid Profiles
- 2016
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203 .- 1932-6203. ; 11:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A high incidence of cardiovascular disease is observed worldwide, and dietary habits are one of the risk factors for these diseases. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet help to prevent cardiovascular disease. We used life cycle assessment to analyse the potential of two strategies to improve the nutritional and environmental characteristics of French diets: 1) modifying diets by changing the quantities and proportions of foods and 2) increasing the omega-3 contents in diets by replacing mainly animal foods with equivalent animal foods having higher omega-3 contents. We also investigated other possibilities for reducing environmental impacts. Our results showed that a diet compliant with nutritional recommendations for macronutrients had fewer environmental impacts than the current average French diet. Moving from an omnivorous to a vegetarian diet further reduced environmental impacts. Increasing the omega-3 contents in animal rations increased Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) in animal food products. Providing these enriched animal foods in human diets increased their EPA and DHA contents without affecting their environmental impacts. However, in diets that did not contain fish, EPA and DHA contents were well below the levels recommended by health authorities, despite the inclusion of animal products enriched in EPA and DHA. Reducing meat consumption and avoidable waste at home are two main avenues for reducing environmental impacts of diets.
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| 4. |
- Zhang, YANAN, et al.
(författare)
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Differential expression patterns in chemosensory and non-chemosensory tissues of putative chemosensory genes identified by transcriptome analysis of insect pest the purple stem borer Sesamia inferens (Walker)
- 2013
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203 .- 1932-6203. ; 8:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background:A large number of insect chemosensory genes from different gene subfamilies have been identified and annotated, but their functional diversity and complexity are largely unknown. A systemic examination of expression patterns in chemosensory organs could provide important information.Methodology/Principal Findings:We identified 92 putative chemosensory genes by analysing the transcriptome of the antennae and female sex pheromone gland of the purple stem borer Sesamia inferens, among them 87 are novel in this species, including 24 transcripts encoding for odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 24 for chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 2 for sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), 39 for odorant receptors (ORs) and 3 for ionotropic receptors (IRs). The transcriptome analyses were validated and quantified with a detailed global expression profiling by Reverse Transcription-PCR for all 92 transcripts and by Quantitative Real Time RT-PCR for selected 16 ones. Among the chemosensory gene subfamilies, CSP transcripts are most widely and evenly expressed in different tissues and stages, OBP transcripts showed a clear antenna bias and most of OR transcripts are only detected in adult antennae. Our results also revealed that some OR transcripts, such as the transcripts of SNMP2 and 2 IRs were expressed in non-chemosensory tissues, and some CSP transcripts were antenna-biased expression. Furthermore, no chemosensory transcript is specific to female sex pheromone gland and very few are found in the heads.Conclusion:Our study revealed that there are a large number of chemosensory genes expressed in S. inferens, and some of them displayed unusual expression profile in non-chemosensory tissues. The identification of a large set of putative chemosensory genes of each subfamily from a single insect species, together with their different expression profiles provide further information in understanding the functions of these chemosensory genes in S. inferens as well as other insects.
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| 5. |
- Ahluwalia, Bani, et al.
(författare)
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Differences in Metabolite Composition of Aloe barbadensis Mill. Extracts Lead to Differential Effects on Human Blood T Cell Activity In Vitro
- 2022
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Ingår i: Molecules. - : MDPI AG. - 1420-3049 .- 1420-3049. ; 27:19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aloe barbadensis Mill. (Aloe) is used for diverse therapeutic properties including immunomodulation. However, owing to the compositionally complex nature of Aloe, bioactive component(s) responsible for its beneficial properties, though thought to be attributed to polysaccharides (acemannan), remain unknown. We therefore aimed to determine the metabolite composition of various commercial Aloe extracts and assess their effects on human blood T cell activity in vitro. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy donors were stimulated polyclonally in presence or absence of various Aloe extracts. T cell phenotype and proliferation were investigated by flow cytometry. Aloe extracts were analyzed using targeted 1H-NMR spectroscopy for standard phytochemical quality characterization and untargeted gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for metabolite profiling. Aloe extracts differing in their standard phytochemical composition had varying effects on T cell activation, proliferation, apoptosis, and cell-death in vitro, although this was not related to the acemannan content. Furthermore, each Aloe extract had its own distinct metabolite profile, where extracts rich in diverse sugar and sugar-derivatives were associated with reduced T cell activity. Our results demonstrate that all commercial Aloe extracts are unique with distinct metabolite profiles, which lead to differential effects on T cell activity in vitro, independent of the acemannan content.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Gustafsson, Gabriel, et al.
(författare)
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Secretion and uptake of α-synuclein via extracellular vesicles in cultured cells
- 2018
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Ingår i: Cellular and molecular neurobiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0272-4340 .- 1573-6830. ; 38:8, s. 1539-1550
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Parkinson’s disease and other Lewy body disorders, the propagation of pathology has been accredited to the spreading of extracellular α-synuclein (α-syn). Although the pathogenic mechanisms are not fully understood, cell-to-cell transfer of α-syn via exosomes and other extracellular vesicles (EVs) has been reported. Here, we investigated whether altered molecular properties of α-syn can influence the distribution and secretion of α-syn in human neuroblastoma cells. Different α-syn variants, including α-syn:hemi-Venus and disease-causing mutants, were overexpressed and EVs were isolated from the conditioned medium. Of the secreted α-syn, 0.1–2% was associated with vesicles. The major part of EV α-syn was attached to the outer membrane of vesicles, whereas a smaller fraction was found in their lumen. For α-syn expressed with N-terminal hemi-Venus, the relative levels associated with EVs were higher than for WT α-syn. Moreover, such EV-associated α-syn:hemi-Venus species were internalized in recipient cells to a higher degree than the corresponding free-floating forms. Among the disease-causing mutants, A53T α-syn displayed an increased association with EVs. Taken together, our data suggest that α-syn species with presumably lost physiological functions or altered aggregation properties may shift the cellular processing towards vesicular secretion. Our findings thus lend further support to the tenet that EVs can mediate spreading of harmful α-syn species and thereby contribute to the pathology in α-synucleinopathies.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Järemo, Petter, et al.
(författare)
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Alzheimer's disease and granulocyte density diversity
- 2013
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Ingår i: European Journal of Clinical Investigation. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0014-2972 .- 1365-2362. ; 43:6, s. 545-548
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND:The current study investigates circulating eosinophils and neutrophils in Alzheimer's (AD) type dementia with respect to density (kg/L). The existence of β-amyloid plaques in the brain is a feature of AD. Sporadic scientific reports indicate that the disease affects circulating neutrophils. In contrast, numerous publications investigate inflammatory reactions in AD brains. Locally, the plaques evoke a substantial inflammatory response involving activated microglia and astrocytes.METHODS:Subjects with probable AD (n = 39) were included and compared with elderly individuals (n = 22) lacking apparent memory problems. We sampled 10 mL venous blood in citrate. Granulocytes were separated according to density in linear Percoll™ gradients. Subsequently, the gradients were divided into density subfractions (n = 16). In every fraction, determination of eosinophil and neutrophil counts was carried out.RESULTS:AD sufferers displayed less granulocytes in fractions nos. 13-15 containing light cells. For these fractions, the P-values proved to be (P < 0·001; not significant; P = 0·03) and (P = 0·01; P = 0·01; not significant), for eosinophils and neutrophils, respectively.CONCLUSIONS:The present work describes that less circulating light granulocytes are a feature of AD demented individuals. It is to hypothesize that it is a sign of impaired granulocyte turnover and cell damage. It is concluded that AD affects inflammatory cells in the periphery and that the behaviour of granulocytes in dementia is worthwhile further studies.
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| 10. |
- Lundberg, A. M., et al.
(författare)
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Toll-like receptor 3 and 4 signalling through the TRIF and TRAM adaptors in haematopoietic cells promotes atherosclerosis
- 2013
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Ingår i: Cardiovascular Research. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0008-6363 .- 1755-3245. ; 99:2, s. 364-373
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIMS: Members of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family initiate innate immune responses and were recently shown to play a role in atherosclerosis. However, the mechanisms that link TLR ligation to vascular inflammation and atherogenesis remain unclear. To identify which signalling pathways downstream of TLRs in immune cells are pro-atherogenic, we analysed the role of the TLR-specific adaptors MyD88 adaptor-like (MAL), TRIF-related adaptor molecule (TRAM), and TIR-domain-containing adaptor-inducing interferon-beta (TRIF) in atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using a bone-marrow transplantation strategy into low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient (Ldlr-/-) mice, we could specifically study the absence of the TLR adaptors in immune cells. We showed that haematopoietic deficiency of TRAM and TRIF, but not MAL, reduces atherosclerosis without affecting cholesterol metabolism. This was mediated by decreased aortic inflammation, indicated by lower aortic levels of pro-inflammatory mediators, and reduced influx of macrophages and T cells. Furthermore, by studying Tlr3-/- chimeric Ldlr-/- mice, we found that deleting TLR3 in immune cells significantly reduced both aortic inflammation and atherosclerotic burden. CONCLUSIONS: By studying hypercholesterolaemic mice with defects in TLR-signalling adaptors, we demonstrated that deleting either TRAM or TRIF in immune cells is sufficient to attenuate vessel inflammation and protect against atherosclerosis. In addition, these adaptors elicit partly different sets of inflammatory mediators and can independently inhibit the disease process. Furthermore, we identify TLR3 as a pro-atherogenic receptor in haematopoietic immune cells. The identification of these pro-atherogenic pathways downstream of TLR3 and TLR4 contributes to a better understanding of TLRs and their signalling pathways in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.
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