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- Perland, Emelie, 1988-
(author)
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Atypical Solute Carriers : Identification, evolutionary conservation, structure and histology of novel membrane-bound transporters
- 2017
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Solute carriers (SLCs) constitute the largest family of membrane-bound transporter proteins in humans, and they convey transport of nutrients, ions, drugs and waste over cellular membranes via facilitative diffusion, co-transport or exchange. Several SLCs are associated with diseases and their location in membranes and specific substrate transport makes them excellent as drug targets. However, as 30 % of the 430 identified SLCs are still orphans, there are yet numerous opportunities to explain diseases and discover potential drug targets. Among the novel proteins are 29 atypical SLCs of major facilitator superfamily (MFS) type. These share evolutionary history with the remaining SLCs, but are orphans regarding expression, structure and/or function. They are not classified into any of the existing 52 SLC families. The overall aim in this thesis was to study the atypical SLCs with a focus on their phylogenetic clustering, evolutionary conservation, structure, protein expression in mouse brains and if and how their gene expressions were affected upon changed food intake. In Papers I-III, the focus was on specific proteins, MFSD5 and MFSD11 (Paper I), MFSD1 and MFSD3 (Paper II), and MFSD4A and MFSD9 (Paper III). They all shared neuronal expression, and their transcription levels were altered in several brain areas after subjecting mice to food deprivation or a high-fat diet. In Paper IV, the 29 atypical SLCs of MFS type were examined. They were divided into 15 families, based on phylogenetic analyses and sequence identities, to facilitate functional studies. Their sequence relationships with other SLCs were also established. Some of the proteins were found to be well conserved with orthologues down to nematodes and insects, whereas others emerged at first in vertebrates. The atypical SLCs of MFS type were predicted to have the common MFS structure, composed of 12 transmembrane segments. With single-cell RNA sequencing and in situ proximity ligation assay, co-expression of atypical SLCs was analysed to get a comprehensive understanding of how membrane-bound transporters interact. In conclusion, the atypical SLCs of MFS type are suggested to be novel SLC transporters, involved in maintaining nutrient homeostasis through substrate transport.
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| 2. |
- Nilsson, Anna, 1984-
(author)
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Mechanisms Behind Illness-Induced Anorexia
- 2016
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Loss of appetite is together with fever and malaise hallmarks of infection. Loosing appetite during an acute infection such as influenza does not result in any longlasting effects, but loosing appetite during chronic diseases such as cancer or AIDS constitutes a risk factor for mortality. Food intake regulation during inflammation is orchestrated by the brain in response to peripheral inflammatory signals. It is known that expression of the prostaglandin synthesizing enzyme cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) is crucial for the mechanisms underlying inflammation-induced anorexia, and that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is involved in anorexia induced by interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β). In this thesis I examined the prostaglandin-pathways proposed to be involved in anorexia. We show that acute anorexia is dependent on COX-2 expression, while cancer-induced anorexia is mediated by cyclooxygenase 1 (COX-1), at least in the initial stages, suggesting that the signaling pathways for chronic- and acute anorexia are distinct. We were able to demonstrate that the pathway underlying acute anorexia is distinct from that of fever, and that taste aversion is prostaglandin independent. We could also show that both acute and chronic anorexia-cachexia is dependent on expression of myeloid differentiation primary response gene (MyD88) in hematopoietic/myeloid cells.In summary, the findings presented in this thesis suggest that anorexia is a result of many different signaling pathways, as opposed to what is the case for several other inflammatory symptoms such as fever and malaise, where the pathways have been shown to be very exclusive. This provides new insight into the diversity of the pathways underlying inflammatory symptoms, which is fundamental for the ability to present potential, symptom-specific drug targets.
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| 3. |
- Hellsten, Sofie Victoria, 1985-
(author)
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Characterization of Amino Acid Transporters : Transporters expressed in the central nervous system belonging to the Solute Carrier family SLC38
- 2016
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- In cells and organelles transporters are responsible for translocation of amino acids, sugars and nucleotides among others. In the central nervous system (CNS), amino acid transporters can function as neurotransmitter transporters and nutrient sensors. The Solute carrier (SLC) superfamily is the largest family of transporters with 395 members divided in 52 families. The system A and system N amino acid transporter family, SLC38, consists of 11 members, SNAT1-11 (SLC38A1-11). The members are expressed in the brain, exclusively in neurons or astrocytes and some in both. Amino acid signaling is mainly regulated via two pathways, the amino acid responsive (AAR) pathway and the mechanistic/mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway. These pathways regulate the protein synthesis in opposite directions depending on the amino acid availability. SLC38 members along with other SLCs have been identified to participate in these pathways.In paper I, the regulation of SLC genes after complete amino acid starvation in mouse hypothalamic cells have been studied with microarray and we found that 47 SLC genes were significantly altered at five hours of starvation. Interestingly, we found that Slc38a1 and Slc38a7 were upregulated along with the known starvation responding gene, Slc38a2. A complementary starvation study for the SLC38 genes was performed using primary mouse embryonic cortex cells. We found that Slc38a1, Slc38a2, Slc38a5, Slc38a6 and Slc38a8 were upregulated while Slc38a3, Slc38a7 and Slc38a11 were downregulated.Three members from the SLC38 family, SNAT8 (paper IV), SNAT9 (paper III) and SNAT10 (paper II) have been histologically characterized in mouse brain and all these transporters are exclusively neuronal. SNAT8 and SNAT10 were also functionally characterized and shown to be transporters for alanine and glutamine among others. SNAT8 was shown to mediate sodium dependent transport and was classified to system A. SNAT10 was shown to be a sodium independent bidirectional transporter and displayed characteristics for system A and N. SNAT9 is a lysosomal component of the Ragulator-Rag complex which senses amino acid availability and activates mTORC1. In paper III we also found that Slc38a9 gene expression was upregulated following starvation and downregulated following high-fat diet in mouse brain.
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| 4. |
- Roshanbin, Sahar, 1984-
(author)
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Characterization of Centrally Expressed Solute Carriers : Histological and Functional Studies with Transgenic Mice
- 2016
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The Solute Carrier (SLC) superfamily is the largest group of membrane-bound transporters, currently with 456 transporters in 52 families. Much remains unknown about the tissue distribution and function of many of these transporters. The aim of this thesis was to characterize select SLCs with emphasis on tissue distribution, cellular localization, and function. In paper I, we studied the leucine transporter B0AT2 (Slc6a15). Localization of B0AT2 and Slc6a15 in mouse brain was determined using in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC), localizing it to neurons, epithelial cells, and astrocytes. Furthermore, we observed a lower reduction of food intake in Slc6a15 knockout mice (KO) upon intraperitoneal injections with leucine, suggesting B0AT2 is involved in mediating the anorexigenic effects of leucine. In paper II, we studied the postnatal, forebrain-specific deletion of Slcz1, belonging to the SLC18 family, in conditional KO mice (cKO). We observed a decreased response to diazepam and a higher neuronal activity in cortex and hippocampus of cKO mice, as well as an impairment in short-term recognition memory. Intracellular expression was found in neurons but not astrocytes with IHC, indicating SLCZ1 is implicated in neuronal regulation of locomotion and memory. In paper III, we performed the first detailed histological analysis of PAT4, a transporter belonging to the SLC36 family, involved in the activation of mTOR complex 1 on lysosomes. We found abundant Slc36a4 mRNA and PAT4 expression in mouse brain, using ISH and IHC. We used IHC to localize PAT4 to both inhibitory and excitatory neurons and epithelial cells. We also found both intracellular- and plasmalemmal expression and partial colocalization of PAT4 with lysosomal markers. Lastly, in paper IV, we provided the first tissue mapping of orphan transporter MCT14 (SLC16A14). Using qPCR, we detected moderate to high Slc16a14 mRNA in the central nervous system and kidney. We found widespread Slc16a14 and MCT14 in mouse brain using ISH and IHC. We also found MCT14 to have intracellular and plasmalemmal expression in mainly excitatory but also inhibitory neurons, as well as epithelial cells. We found MCT14 to be most closely related to MCT8, MCT2 and MCT9, suggesting a similar role for this transporter.
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| 5. |
- Titova, Olga E.
(author)
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Metabolic Health and Cognitive Function : The Roles of Lifestyle and Shift Work
- 2019
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The risk of cognitive impairment and metabolic disturbances increases during aging. Healthy lifestyle habits, such as a regular intake of fatty fish and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MeDi), have been shown to slow age-related cognitive decline and decrease the risk of metabolic disturbances. Conversely, poor lifestyle habits including habitual short sleep duration as well as irregular work schedules (e.g. night shift work) have been correlated with lower cognitive performance and increased risk of having metabolic syndrome (MetS). However evidence is not conclusive regarding the above mentioned associations. The aim of this thesis was to investigate associations of diet, sleep, and shift work with metabolic health or cognitive performance in two Swedish cohorts.In Paper I and II we examined whether the dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids and adherence to MeDi were related to measures of brain health in elderly subjects. To this aim, we used scores from the 7-minute cognitive screening test (7MS) and brain volume determined by magnetic resonance imaging. In Paper I, self-reported dietary intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) at age 70 was positively associated with cognitive performance and global gray matter volume at age 75. In Paper II, the fully-adjusted main analysis revealed that the MeDi score was not linked to measures of brain health. However, low intake of the MeDi component meat and meat products was associated with better performance on the 7MS and larger total brain volume.Paper III and IV included subjects aged 45-75 years. In Paper III we demonstrated that current and recent former shift workers (including shifts outside traditional working hours during the past 5 years at the time of the survey) performed worse on the trail making test (TMT) than non-shift workers. The TMT is a test evaluating executive cognitive function, and the performance on this test decreases with age. In Paper IV, sleep duration, sleep disturbances, and sleep-disordered breathing were all linked to an increased prevalence of MetS. Some of the observed associations were age-specific. For example, whereas both short and long sleep durations were linked to a higher prevalence of MetS in younger individuals (<65 years), only long sleep duration did so in the older participants. Collectively, the findings of this thesis suggest that maintaining healthy dietary habits, having high-quality sleep, and following a regular work schedule may be recommended strategies to mitigate age-related morbidities.
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