| 1. |
- Liu, Kui, et al.
(författare)
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Kallikrein genes are associated with lupus and glomerular basement membrane-specific antibody-induced nephritis in mice and humans
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Investigation. - 0021-9738 .- 1558-8238. ; 119:4, s. 911-923
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Immune-mediated nephritis contributes to disease in systemic lupus erythematosus, Goodpasture syndrome (caused by antibodies specific for glomerular basement membrane [anti-GBM antibodies]), and spontaneous lupus nephritis. Inbred mouse strains differ in susceptibility to anti-GBM antibody-induced and spontaneous lupus nephritis. This study sought to clarify the genetic and molecular factors that maybe responsible for enhanced immune-mediated renal disease in these models. When the kidneys of 3 mouse strains sensitive to anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis were compared with those of 2 control strains using microarray analysis, one-fifth of the underexpressed genes belonged to the kallikrein gene family,which encodes serine esterases. Mouse strains that upregulated renal and urinary kallikreins exhibited less evidence of disease. Antagonizing the kallikrein pathway augmented disease, while agonists dampened the severity of anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis. In addition, nephritis-sensitive mouse strains had kallikrein haplotypes that were distinct from those of control strains, including several regulatory polymorphisms,some of which were associated with functional consequences. Indeed, increased susceptibility to anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis and spontaneous lupus nephritis was achieved by breeding mice with a genetic interval harboring the kallikrein genes onto a disease-resistant background. Finally, both human SLE and spontaneous lupus nephritis were found to be associated with kallikrein genes, particularly KLK1 and the KLK3 promoter, when DNA SNPs from independent cohorts of SLE patients and controls were compared. Collectively, these studies suggest that kallikreins are protective disease-associated genes in anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis and lupus.
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| 2. |
- Agalou, Adamantia, et al.
(författare)
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A genome-wide survey of HD-Zip genes in rice and analysis of drought-responsive family members
- 2008
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Ingår i: Plant Molecular Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0167-4412 .- 1573-5028. ; 66:1-2, s. 87-103
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The homeodomain leucine zipper (HD-Zip) genes encode transcription factors that have diverse functions in plant development and have often been implicated in stress adaptation. The HD-Zip genes are the most abundant group of homeobox (HB) genes in plants and do not occur in other eukaryotes. This paper describes the complete annotation of the HD-Zip families I, II and III from rice and compares these gene families with Arabidopsis in a phylogeny reconstruction. Orthologous pairs of rice and Arabidopsis HD-Zip genes were predicted based on neighbour joining and maximum parsimony (MP) trees with support of conserved intron-exon organization. Additionally, a number of HD-Zip genes appeared to be unique to rice. Searching of EST and cDNA databases and expression analysis using RT-PCR showed that 30 out of 31 predicted rice HD-Zip genes are expressed. Most HD-Zip genes were broadly expressed in mature plants and seedlings, but others showed more organ specific patterns. Like in Arabidopsis and other dicots, a subset of the rice HD-Zip I and II genes was found to be regulated by drought stress. We identified both drought-induced and drought-repressed HD-Zip genes and demonstrate that these genes are differentially regulated in drought-sensitive versus drought-tolerant rice cultivars. The drought-repressed HD-Zip family I gene, Oshox4, was selected for promoter-GUS analysis, showing that drought-responsiveness of Oshox4 is controlled by the promoter and that Oshox4 expression is predominantly vascular-specific. Loss-of-function analysis of Oshox4 revealed no specific phenotype, but overexpression analysis suggested a role for Oshox4 in elongation and maturation processes.
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| 3. |
- Chang, Yu-mei, et al.
(författare)
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A pooled analysis of Melanocytic nevus phenotype and the risk of cutaneous melanoma at different latitudes
- 2009
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Ingår i: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 124:2, s. 420-428
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An abnormal nevus phenotype is associated with an increased risk of melanoma. We report a pooled analysis conducted using individual nevus data from 15 case-control studies (5,421 melanoma cases and 6,966 controls). The aims were to quantify the risk better and to determine whether relative risk is varied by latitude. Bayesian unconditional logistic random coefficients models were employed to study the risk associated with nevus characteristics. Participants with whole body nevus counts in the highest of 4 population-based categories had a greatly increased risk of melanoma compared with those in the lowest category (pooled odds ratio (pOR) 6.9 (95% confidence interval (CI): 4.4, 1.1.2) for those aged <50 years and pOR 5.1 (95% CI: 3.6, 7.5) for those aged >= 50). The pOR for presence compared with absence of any clinically atypical nevi was 4.0 (95 % CI: 2.8, 5.8). The pORs for 1-2 and >= 3 large nevi on the body compared with none were 2.9 (95% CI: 1.9, 4.3) and 7.1 (95% CI: 4.7, 11.6), respectively. The relative heterogeneities among studies were small for most measures of nevus phenotype, except for the analysis of nevus counts on the arms, which may have been due to methodological differences among studies. The pooled analysis also suggested that an abnormal nevus phenotype is associated most with melanomas on intermittently sun-exposed sites. The presence of increased numbers of nevi, large nevi and clinically atypical nevi on the body are robust risk factors for melanoma showing little variation in relative risk among studies performed at different latitudes. (C) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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| 4. |
- Chang, Yu-mei, et al.
(författare)
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Sun exposure and melanoma risk at different latitudes: a pooled analysis of 5700 cases and 7216 controls
- 2009
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Ingår i: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1464-3685 .- 0300-5771. ; 38:3, s. 814-830
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Melanoma risk is related to sun exposure; we have investigated risk variation by tumour site and latitude. Methods We performed a pooled analysis of 15 case-control studies (5700 melanoma cases and 7216 controls), correlating patterns of sun exposure, sunburn and solar keratoses (three studies) with melanoma risk. Pooled odds ratios (pORs) and 95% Bayesian confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Bayesian unconditional polytomous logistic random-coefficients models. Results Recreational sun exposure was a risk factor for melanoma on the trunk (pOR 1.7; 95% CI: 1.4-2.2) and limbs (pOR 1.4; 95% CI: 1.1-1.7), but not head and neck (pOR 1.1; 95% CI: 0.8-1.4), across latitudes. Occupational sun exposure was associated with risk of melanoma on the head and neck at low latitudes (pOR 1.7; 95% CI: 1.0-3.0). Total sun exposure was associated with increased risk of melanoma on the limbs at low latitudes (pOR 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0-2.2), but not at other body sites or other latitudes. The pORs for sunburn in childhood were 1.5 (95% CI: 1.3-1.7), 1.5 (95% CI: 1.3-1.7) and 1.4 (95% CI: 1.1-1.7) for melanoma on the trunk, limbs, and head and neck, respectively, showing little variation across latitudes. The presence of head and neck solar keratoses was associated with increased risk of melanoma on the head and neck (pOR 4.0; 95% CI: 1.7-9.1) and limbs (pOR 4.0; 95% CI: 1.9-8.4). Conclusion Melanoma risk at different body sites is associated with different amounts and patterns of sun exposure. Recreational sun exposure and sunburn are strong predictors of melanoma at all latitudes, whereas measures of occupational and total sun exposure appear to predict melanoma predominately at low latitudes. Keywords Melanoma, recreational sun exposure, occupational sun exposure, total sun exposure, sunburn, solar keratoses
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| 5. |
- Galli, André, et al.
(författare)
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The tailward flow of energetic neutral atoms observed at Mars
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - Washington : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 113
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ASPERA-3 experiment on Mars Express provides the first measurements of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) from Mars. These measurements are used to study the global structure of the interaction of the solar wind with the Martian atmosphere. In this study we describe the tailward ENA flow observed at the nightside of Mars. After characterizing energy spectra of hydrogen ENA signals, we present composite images of the ENA intensities and compare them to theoretical predictions (empirical and MHD models). We find that the tailward flow of hydrogen ENAs is mainly generated by shocked solar wind protons. Despite intensive search, no oxygen ENAs above the instrument threshold are detected. The results challenge existing plasma models and constrain the hydrogen exospheric densities and atmospheric hydrogen and oxygen loss rates at low solar activity.
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