1. |
- Bayurova, Ekaterina, et al.
(author)
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HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase Promotes Tumor Growth and Metastasis Formation via ROS-Dependent Upregulation of Twist
- 2019
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In: Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. - : Hindawi Limited. - 1942-0900 .- 1942-0994. ; 2019
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- HIV-induced immune suppression results in the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS-associated malignancies including Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and cervical cancer. HIV-infected people are also at an increased risk of non-AIDS-defining malignancies not directly linked to immune suppression but associated with viral infections. Their incidence is increasing despite successful antiretroviral therapy. The mechanism behind this phenomenon remains unclear. Here, we obtained daughter clones of murine mammary gland adenocarcinoma 4T1luc2 cells expressing consensus reverse transcriptase of HIV-1 subtype A FSU_A strain (RT_A) with and without primary mutations of drug resistance. In in vitro tests, mutations of resistance to nucleoside inhibitors K65R/M184V reduced the polymerase, and to nonnucleoside inhibitors K103N/G190S, the RNase H activities of RT_A. Expression of these RT_A variants in 4T1luc2 cells led to increased production of the reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation, enhanced cell motility in the wound healing assay, and upregulation of expression of Vimentin and Twist. These properties, particularly, the expression of Twist, correlated with the levels of expression RT_A and/or the production of ROS. When implanted into syngeneic BALB/C mice, 4T1luc2 cells expressing nonmutated RT_A demonstrated enhanced rate of tumor growth and increased metastatic activity, dependent on the level of expression of RT_A and Twist. No enhancement was observed for the clones expressing mutated RT_A variants. Plausible mechanisms are discussed involving differential interactions of mutated and nonmutated RTs with its cellular partners involved in the regulation of ROS. This study establishes links between the expression of HIV-1 RT, production of ROS, induction of EMT, and enhanced propagation of RT-expressing tumor cells. Such scenario can be proposed as one of the mechanisms of HIV-induced/enhanced carcinogenesis not associated with immune suppression.
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2. |
- Bergström, Anders, et al.
(author)
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Grey wolf genomic history reveals a dual ancestry of dogs
- 2022
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 607:7918, s. 313-320
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The grey wolf (Canis lupus) was the first species to give rise to a domestic population, and they remained widespread throughout the last Ice Age when many other large mammal species went extinct. Little is known, however, about the history and possible extinction of past wolf populations or when and where the wolf progenitors of the present-day dog lineage (Canis familiaris) lived. Here we analysed 72 ancient wolf genomes spanning the last 100,000 years from Europe, Siberia and North America. We found that wolf populations were highly connected throughout the Late Pleistocene, with levels of differentiation an order of magnitude lower than they are today. This population connectivity allowed us to detect natural selection across the time series, including rapid fixation of mutations in the gene IFT88 40,000–30,000 years ago. We show that dogs are overall more closely related to ancient wolves from eastern Eurasia than to those from western Eurasia, suggesting a domestication process in the east. However, we also found that dogs in the Near East and Africa derive up to half of their ancestry from a distinct population related to modern southwest Eurasian wolves, reflecting either an independent domestication process or admixture from local wolves. None of the analysed ancient wolf genomes is a direct match for either of these dog ancestries, meaning that the exact progenitor populations remain to be located.
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3. |
- Gesheva, Kostadinka, et al.
(author)
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Optical, structural and electrochromic properties of sputter deposited W-Mo oxide thin films
- 2016
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In: INERA CONFERENCE. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP).
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Thin metal oxide films were investigated by a series of characterization techniques including impedance spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, Raman spectroscopy, and Atomic Force Microscopy. Thin film deposition by reactive DC magnetron sputtering was performed at the Ångström Laboratory. W and Mo targets (5 cm diameter) and various oxygen gas flows were employed to prepare samples with different properties, whereas the gas pressure was kept constant at about 30 mTorr. The substrates were 5×5 cm2 plates of unheated glass pre-coated with ITO having a resistance of 40 ohm/sq. Film thicknesses were around 300nm as determined by surface profilometry. Newly acquired equipment was used to study optical spectra, optoelectronic properties, and film structure. Films of WO3 and of mixed W–Mo oxide with three compositions showed coloring and bleaching under the application of a small voltage. Cyclic voltammograms were recorded with a scan rate of 5 mV s–1. Ellipsometric data for the optical constants show dependence on the amount of MoOx in the chemical composition. Single MoOx film, and the mixed one with only 8% MoOx have the highest value of refractive index, and similar dispersion in the visible spectral range. Raman spectra displayed strong lines at wavenumbers between 780 cm–1 and 950 cm–1 related to stretching vibrations of WO3, and MoO3. AFM gave evidence for domains of different composition in mixed W-Mo oxide films.
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4. |
- Ivanova, Anna, et al.
(author)
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Hepatitis E Virus in Domestic Pigs, Wild Boars, Pig Farm Workers, and Hunters in Estonia
- 2015
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In: Food and Environmnetal Virology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1867-0334 .- 1867-0342. ; 7:4, s. 403-412
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While hepatitis E is a growing health concern in Europe, epidemiological data on hepatitis E virus (HEV) in Estonia are scarce. Along with imported HEV infections, autochthonous cases are reported from European countries. Both domestic and wild animals can be a source of human cases of this zoonosis. Here, we investigated the presence of anti-HEV antibodies and HEV RNA in domestic pigs and wild boars, as well as in pig farm workers and hunters in Estonia. Anti-HEV antibodies were detected in 234/380 (61.6 %) of sera from domestic pigs and in all investigated herds, and in 81/471 (17.2 %) of meat juice samples from wild boars. HEV RNA was detected by real-time PCR in 103/449 (22.9 %) of fecal samples from younger domestic pigs and 13/81 (16.0 %) of anti-HEV-positive wild boar samples. Analysis of sera from 67 pig farm workers and 144 hunters revealed the presence of HEV-specific IgG in 13.4 and 4.2 % of the samples, respectively. No HEV RNA was detected in the human serum samples. Phylogenetic analyses of HEV sequences from domestic pigs and wild boars, based on a 245 bp fragment from the open reading frame 2 showed that all of them belonged to genotype 3. The present study demonstrates the presence of HEV in Estonian domestic pig and wild boar populations, as well as in humans who have direct regular contact with these animals. Our results suggest that HEV infections are present in Estonia and require attention.
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5. |
- Kale, Manoj Ashokrao, et al.
(author)
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The effect of urbanization on the functional and scale-sensitive diversity of bird assemblages in Central India
- 2018
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In: Journal of Tropical Ecology. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0266-4674 .- 1469-7831. ; 34, s. 341-350
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Diversity changes can be evaluated at various spatial scales, and the relationship between changes in diversity at the local, landscape and regional scales is not evident. The overall patterns of functional and beta diversity of bird assemblages were evaluated along a five-stage urbanization gradient, censused over the months of January to April in the years 2010-2013, in and around Amravati city, Deccan Plateau, Central India. We expected the abundance of large and predatory species to decline along the gradient, and urbanization to homogenize species richness at the landscape level. Overall, 112,829 birds belonging to 89 species were identified in the region, and species richness decreased from the rural forest (73 species) to more urbanized areas (lowest at the centre of Amravaty city with 29 species). Along the urbanization gradient, bird assemblages contained more small species, and the share of frugivorous and omnivorous species also increased, while that of insectivorous species decreased. Diversity partitioning indicated that of the overall pattern, local (alpha) diversity accounted for 50.1% of the total (gamma) diversity, and urbanization stages another 36.2%; the contribution of within-stage, local diversity was rather small (2.7%), indicating fairly homogeneous assemblages.
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6. |
- Sinding, Mikkel-Holger S., et al.
(author)
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Arctic-adapted dogs emerged at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition
- 2020
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In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 368:6498
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although sled dogs are one of the most specialized groups of dogs, their origin and evolution has received much less attention than many other dog groups. We applied a genomic approach to investigate their spatiotemporal emergence by sequencing the genomes of 10 modern Greenland sled dogs, an similar to 9500-year-old Siberian dog associated with archaeological evidence for sled technology, and an similar to 33,000-year-old Siberian wolf. We found noteworthy genetic similarity between the ancient dog and modern sled dogs. We detected gene flow from Pleistocene Siberian wolves, but not modern American wolves, to present-day sled dogs. The results indicate that the major ancestry of modern sled dogs traces back to Siberia, where sled dog-specific haplotypes of genes that potentially relate to Arctic adaptation were established by 9500 years ago.
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