| 1. |
- Aad, G., et al.
(författare)
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- 2013
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 2. |
- Klionsky, Daniel J., et al.
(författare)
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Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy
- 2012
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Ingår i: Autophagy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1554-8635 .- 1554-8627. ; 8:4, s. 445-544
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
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| 3. |
- Birkhofer, Klaus, et al.
(författare)
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General Relationships between Abiotic Soil Properties and Soil Biota across Spatial Scales and Different Land-Use Types.
- 2012
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 7:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Very few principles have been unraveled that explain the relationship between soil properties and soil biota across large spatial scales and different land-use types. Here, we seek these general relationships using data from 52 differently managed grassland and forest soils in three study regions spanning a latitudinal gradient in Germany. We hypothesize that, after extraction of variation that is explained by location and land-use type, soil properties still explain significant proportions of variation in the abundance and diversity of soil biota. If the relationships between predictors and soil organisms were analyzed individually for each predictor group, soil properties explained the highest amount of variation in soil biota abundance and diversity, followed by land-use type and sampling location. After extraction of variation that originated from location or land-use, abiotic soil properties explained significant amounts of variation in fungal, meso- and macrofauna, but not in yeast or bacterial biomass or diversity. Nitrate or nitrogen concentration and fungal biomass were positively related, but nitrate concentration was negatively related to the abundances of Collembola and mites and to the myriapod species richness across a range of forest and grassland soils. The species richness of earthworms was positively correlated with clay content of soils independent of sample location and land-use type. Our study indicates that after accounting for heterogeneity resulting from large scale differences among sampling locations and land-use types, soil properties still explain significant proportions of variation in fungal and soil fauna abundance or diversity. However, soil biota was also related to processes that act at larger spatial scales and bacteria or soil yeasts only showed weak relationships to soil properties. We therefore argue that more general relationships between soil properties and soil biota can only be derived from future studies that consider larger spatial scales and different land-use types.
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| 4. |
- Dawoodji, Amina, et al.
(författare)
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High Frequency of Cytolytic 21-Hydroxylase-Specific CD8(+) T Cells in Autoimmune Addison's Disease Patients
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Immunology. - : The American Association of Immunologists. - 0022-1767 .- 1550-6606. ; 193:5, s. 2118-2126
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The mechanisms behind destruction of the adrenal glands in autoimmune Addison's disease remain unclear. Autoantibodies against steroid 21-hydroxylase, an intracellular key enzyme of the adrenal cortex, are found in >90% of patients, but these autoantibodies are not thought to mediate the disease. In this article, we demonstrate highly frequent 21-hydroxylase-specific T cells detectable in 20 patients with Addison's disease. Using overlapping 18-aa peptides spanning the full length of 21-hydroxylase, we identified immunodominant CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cell responses in a large proportion of Addison's patients both ex vivo and after in vitro culture of PBLs <= 20 y after diagnosis. In a large proportion of patients, CD8(+) and CD4(+) 21-hydroxylase-specific T cells were very abundant and detectable in ex vivo assays. HLA class I tetramer guided isolation of 21-hydroxylase-specific CD8(+) T cells showed their ability to lyse 21-hydroxylase-positive target cells, consistent with a potential mechanism for disease pathogenesis. These data indicate that strong CTL responses to 21-hydroxylase often occur in vivo, and that reactive CTLs have substantial proliferative and cytolytic potential. These results have implications for earlier diagnosis of adrenal failure and ultimately a potential target for therapeutic intervention and induction of immunity against adrenal cortex cancer.
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| 5. |
- de Vogel, Stefan, et al.
(författare)
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Biomarkers related to one-carbon metabolism as potential risk factors for distal colorectal adenomas
- 2011
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Ingår i: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. - : American Association for Cancer Research. - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 20:8, s. 1726-1735
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Efficient one-carbon metabolism, which requires adequate supply of methyl group donors and B-vitamins, may protect against colorectal carcinogenesis. However, plasma folate and vitamins B2 and B12 have inconsistently been associated with colorectal cancer risk, and there have been no previous studies relating plasma concentrations of methionine, choline, and betaine to this outcome.METHODS: This study comprised 10,601 individuals, 50 to 64 years of age, participating in the Norwegian Colorectal Cancer Prevention (NORCCAP) screening study. Using logistic regression analyses, we crosssectionally investigated associations between distal colorectal adenoma occurrence-potential precursor lesions of colorectal carcinomas-and plasma concentrations of methyl group donors and B-vitamins, and polymorphisms of genes related to one-carbon metabolism.RESULTS: Screening revealed 1,809 subjects (17.1%) with at least one adenoma. The occurrence of high-risk adenomas (observed in 421 subjects) was inversely associated with plasma concentrations of methionine (highest versus lowest quartile: odds ratio (OR) = 0.61; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.45-0.83), betaine: OR = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.54-1.02, the vitamin B2 form flavin-mononucleotide (FMN): OR = 0.65; 95% CI = 0.49-0.88, and the vitamin B6 form pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP): OR = 0.69; 95% CI = 0.51-0.95, but not with folate, choline, vitamin B12 concentrations, or with the studied polymorphisms. High methionine concentration in combination with high vitamin B2 or B6 concentrations was associated with lower occurrence of high-risk adenomas compared with these factors individually.CONCLUSIONS: High plasma concentrations of methionine and betaine, and vitamins B2 and B6 may reduce risk of developing colorectal adenomas.IMPACT: In addition to B-vitamins, methyl group donors such as methionine and betaine may play a role in colorectal carcinogenesis.
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| 6. |
- Eussen, Simone J. P. M., et al.
(författare)
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North-south gradients in plasma concentrations of B-vitamins and other components of one-carbon metabolism in Western Europe: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study
- 2013
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Ingår i: British Journal of Nutrition. - 1475-2662 .- 0007-1145. ; 110:2, s. 363-374
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Different lifestyle patterns across Europe may influence plasma concentrations of B-vitamins and one-carbon metabolites and their relation to chronic disease. Comparison of published data on one-carbon metabolites in Western European regions is difficult due to differences in sampling procedures and analytical methods between studies. The present study aimed, to compare plasma concentrations of one-carbon metabolites in Western European regions with one laboratory performing all biochemical analyses. We performed the present study in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort among 5446 presumptively healthy individuals. Quantile regression was used to compare sex-specific median concentrations between Northern (Denmark and Sweden), Central (France, Germany, The Netherlands and United Kingdom) and Southern (Greece, Spain and Italy) European regions. The lowest folate concentrations were observed in Northern Europe (men, 10.4 nmol/l; women, 10.7 nmol/l) and highest concentrations in Central Europe. Cobalamin concentrations were slightly higher in Northern Europe (men, 330 pmol/l; women, 352 pmol/l) compared with Central and Southern Europe, but did not show a clear north-south gradient. Vitamin B-2 concentrations were highest in Northern Europe (men, 22.2 nmol/l; women, 26.0 nmol/l) and decreased towards Southern Europe (P-trend < 0.001). Vitamin B-6 concentrations were highest in Central Europe in men (77.3 nmol/l) and highest in the North among women (70.4 nmol/l), with decreasing concentrations towards Southern Europe in women (P-trend < 0.001). In men, concentrations of serine, glycine and sarcosine increased from the north to south. In women, sarcosine increased from Northern to Southern Europe. These findings may provide relevant information for the study of regional differences of chronic disease incidence in association with lifestyle.
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| 7. |
- Eussen, Simone JPM, et al.
(författare)
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Plasma folate, related genetic variants, and colorectal cancer risk in EPIC
- 2010
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Ingår i: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 19:5, s. 1328-1340
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Findings of the present study tend to weaken the evidence that folate plays an important role in CRC carcinogenesis. However, larger sample sizes are needed to adequately address potential gene-environment interactions.
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| 8. |
- Horikoshi, Momoko, et al.
(författare)
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New loci associated with birth weight identify genetic links between intrauterine growth and adult height and metabolism.
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 45:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Birth weight within the normal range is associated with a variety of adult-onset diseases, but the mechanisms behind these associations are poorly understood. Previous genome-wide association studies of birth weight identified a variant in the ADCY5 gene associated both with birth weight and type 2 diabetes and a second variant, near CCNL1, with no obvious link to adult traits. In an expanded genome-wide association meta-analysis and follow-up study of birth weight (of up to 69,308 individuals of European descent from 43 studies), we have now extended the number of loci associated at genome-wide significance to 7, accounting for a similar proportion of variance as maternal smoking. Five of the loci are known to be associated with other phenotypes: ADCY5 and CDKAL1 with type 2 diabetes, ADRB1 with adult blood pressure and HMGA2 and LCORL with adult height. Our findings highlight genetic links between fetal growth and postnatal growth and metabolism.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Manjer, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Vitamins B2 and B6 and genetic polymorphisms related to one-carbon metabolism as risk factors for gastric adenocarcinoma in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 19:1, s. 28-38
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- B vitamins and polymorphisms in genes coding for enzymes involved in one-carbon metabolism may affect DNA synthesis and methylation and thereby be implicated in carcinogenesis. Previous data on vitamins B2 and B6 and genetic polymorphisms other than those involving MTHFR as risk factors for gastric cancer (GC) are sparse and inconsistent. In this case-control study nested within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort, cases (n = 235) and controls (n = 601) were matched for study center, age, sex, and time of blood sampling. B2 and B6 species were measured in plasma, and the sum of riboflavin and flavin mononucleotide was used as the main exposure variable for vitamin B2 status, whereas the sum of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, pyridoxal, and 4-pyridoxic acid was used to define vitamin B6 status. In addition, we determined eight polymorphisms related to one-carbon metabolism. Relative risks for GC risk were calculated with conditional logistic regression, adjusted for Helicobacter pylori infection status and smoking status. Adjusted relative risks per quartile (95% confidence interval, P(trend)) were 0.85 (0.72-1.01, 0.06) for vitamin B2 and 0.78 (0.65-0.93, <0.01) for vitamin B6. Both relations were stronger in individuals with severe chronic atrophic gastritis. The polymorphisms were not associated with GC risk and did not modify the observed vitamin-cancer associations. In summary, results from this large European cohort study showed an inverse association between vitamin B2 and GC risk, which is borderline significant, and a significant inverse association between vitamin B6 and GC risk.
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| 11. |
- Meyer-Spradow, Jennis, et al.
(författare)
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Interactive Design and Debugging of GPU-based Volume Visualizations
- 2010
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Ingår i: GRAPP 2010. ; , s. 239-245
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- There is a growing need for custom visualization applications to deal with the rising amounts of volume data to be analyzed in fields like medicine, seismology, and meteorology. Visual programming techniques have been used in visualization and other fields to analyze and visualize data in an intuitive manner. However, this additional step of abstraction often results in a performance penalty during the actual rendering. In order to prevent this impact, a careful modularization of the required processing steps is necessary, which provides flexibility and good performance at the same time. In this paper, we will describe the technical foundations as well as the possible applications of such a modularization for GPU-based volume raycasting, which can be considered the state-of-the-art technique for interactive volume rendering. Based on the proposed modularization on a functional level, we will show how to integrate GPU-based volume ray-casting in a visual programming environment in such a way that a high degree of flexibility is achieved without any performance impact.
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| 12. |
- Riedel, Bettina M., et al.
(författare)
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Transcobalamin polymorphism 67A-> G, but not 776C-> G, affects serum holotranscobalamin in a cohort of healthy middle-aged men and women
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Nutrition. - Bethesda, Md. : Elsevier BV. - 0022-3166 .- 1541-6100. ; 141:10, s. 1784-1790
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two polymorphic variants in the gene coding for transcobalamin II (TCN2), TCN2 776C-> G and TCN2 67A-> G, may alter serum holotranscobalamin (holoTC), which in turn may affect cellular uptake of cobalamin (Cbl) and thereby Cbl status indicators. We studied the effects of TCN2 776C- > G and TCN2 67A- > G on blood concentrations of holoTC, Cbl, methylmalonic acid (MMA), and total homocysteine (tHcy) in 2411 individuals (50-64 y) that had been selected on the basis of these TCN2 genotypes from 10601 Norwegian inhabitants. The serum holoTC concentration was lower in TCN2 67AG (55 +/- 0.75 pmol/L) and 67GG (48 +/- 2.14 pmol/L) than in 67AA (62 +/- 0.67 pmol/L) (P < 0.001) but did not differ among TCN2 776C-> G genotypes. The polymorphisms interacted as serum holoTC determinants (P= 0.001) and the presence of TCN2 67AG and GG in strata of 776CC and CG, but not 776GG, increased the risk of having serum holoTC <45.6 pmol/L [tertile 1 vs. tertiles 2 and 3: OR = 2.5(95% CI 1.8-3.5) for 67AG; OR = 5.7 (95% Cl 3.5-9.1) for 67GG in 776CC; OR = 2.1 195% Cl 1.6-2.9) for 67AG; and OR = 4.5 (95% Cl 2.4-8.2) for 67GG in 776CG; all P < 0.0011. Plasma MMA, tHcy, and Cbl were not affected by either polymorphism. In summary, serum holoTC, but not plasma Cbl, MMA, or tHcy, varied according to TCN2 67A-> G genotypes. It remains to be determined whether this polymorphic effect on serum holoTC alters its diagnostic utility as Cbl status indicator.
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| 13. |
- Øksnes, Marianne, et al.
(författare)
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Quality of Life in European Patients with Addison's Disease : Validity of the Disease-Specific Questionnaire AddiQoL
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. - : The Endocrine Society. - 0021-972X .- 1945-7197. ; 97:2, s. 568-576
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context: Patients with Addison's disease (AD) self-report impairment in specific dimensions on well-being questionnaires. An AD-specific quality-of-life questionnaire (AddiQoL) was developed to aid evaluation of patients. Objective: We aimed to translate and determine construct validity, reliability, and concurrent validity of the AddiQoL questionnaire. Methods: After translation, the final versions were tested in AD patients from Norway (n = 107), Sweden (n = 101), Italy (n = 165), Germany (n = 200), and Poland (n = 50). Construct validity was examined by exploratory factor analysis and Rasch analysis, aiming at unidimensionality and fit to the Rasch model. Reliability was determined by Cronbach's coefficient-alpha and Person separation index. Longitudinal reliability was tested by differential item functioning in stable patient subgroups. Concurrent validity was examined in Norwegian (n = 101) and Swedish (n = 107) patients. Results: Exploratory factor analysis and Rasch analysis identified six items with poor psychometric properties. The 30 remaining items fitted the Rasch model and proved unidimensional, supported by appropriate item and person fit residuals and a nonsignificant chi(2) probability. Crohnbach's alpha-coefficient 0.93 and Person separation index 0.86 indicate high reliability. Longitudinal reliability was excellent. Correlation with Short Form-36 and Psychological General Well-Being Index scores was high. A shorter subscale comprising eight items also proved valid and reliable. Testing of AddiQoL-30 in this large patient cohort showed significantly worse scores with increasing age and inwomencompared with men but no difference between patients with isolated AD and those with concomitant diseases. Conclusion: The validation process resulted in a revised 30-item AddiQoL questionnaire and an eight-item AddiQoL short version with good psychometric properties and high reliability.
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