| 1. |
- Brenden, Nina, et al.
(author)
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A triple-transgenic immunotolerant mouse model.
- 2013
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In: Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-3549 .- 1520-6017. ; 102:3, s. 1116-24
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Avoiding unwanted immunogenicity is of key importance in the development of therapeutic drug proteins. Animal models are of less predictive value because most of the drug proteins are recognized as foreign proteins. However, different methods have been developed to obtain immunotolerant animal models. So far, the immunotolerant animal models have been developed to assess one protein at a time and are not suitable for the assessment of combination products. Our aim was to develop an animal model for evaluating the impact of manufacturing and formulation changes on immunogenicity, suitable for both single protein and combination products. We constructed two lines of transgenic mice expressing the three human coagulation factors, II, VII, and X, by inserting a single vector containing the three coagulation factors encoding sequences separated by insulator sequences derived from the chicken beta-globin locus into the mouse genome. Immunization of transgenic mice from the two lines and their wild-type littermates showed that transgenic mice from both lines were immunotolerant to the expressed human coagulation factors. We conclude that transgenic mice immunotolerant to multiple proteins can be obtained, and that these mice are potentially useful as animal models in the assessment of immunogenicity in response to manufacturing changes.
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| 2. |
- Cirenajwis, Helena, et al.
(author)
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Molecular stratification of metastatic melanoma using gene expression profiling: prediction of survival outcome and benefit from molecular targeted therapy.
- 2015
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In: Oncotarget. - : Impact Journals, LLC. - 1949-2553. ; 6:14, s. 12297-12309
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Melanoma is currently divided on a genetic level according to mutational status. However, this classification does not optimally predict prognosis. In prior studies, we have defined gene expression phenotypes (high-immune, pigmentation, proliferative and normal-like), which are predictive of survival outcome as well as informative of biology. Herein, we employed a population-based metastatic melanoma cohort and external cohorts to determine the prognostic and predictive significance of the gene expression phenotypes. We performed expression profiling on 214 cutaneous melanoma tumors and found an increased risk of developing distant metastases in the pigmentation (HR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.05-3.28; P=0.03) and proliferative (HR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.43-5.57; P=0.003) groups as compared to the high-immune response group. Further genetic characterization of melanomas using targeted deep-sequencing revealed similar mutational patterns across these phenotypes. We also used publicly available expression profiling data from melanoma patients treated with targeted or vaccine therapy in order to determine if our signatures predicted therapeutic response. In patients receiving targeted therapy, melanomas resistant to targeted therapy were enriched in the MITF-low proliferative subtype as compared to pre-treatment biopsies (P=0.02). In summary, the melanoma gene expression phenotypes are highly predictive of survival outcome and can further help to discriminate patients responding to targeted therapy.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Forsberg, Simon, et al.
(author)
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The Shepherds' Tale : A Genome-Wide Study across 9 Dog Breeds Implicates Two Loci in the Regulation of Fructosamine Serum Concentration in Belgian Shepherds
- 2015
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 10:5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Diabetes mellitus is a serious health problem in both dogs and humans. Certain dog breeds show high prevalence of the disease, whereas other breeds are at low risk. Fructosamine and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) are two major biomarkers of glycaemia, where serum concentrations reflect glucose turnover over the past few weeks to months. In this study, we searched for genetic factors influencing variation in serum fructosamine concentration in healthy dogs using data from nine dog breeds. Considering all breeds together, we did not find any genome-wide significant associations to fructosamine serum concentration. However, by performing breed-specific analyses we revealed an association on chromosome 3 (rho(corrected) approximate to 1:68 x 10(-6)) in Belgian shepherd dogs of the Malinois subtype. The associated region and its close neighbourhood harbours interesting candidate genes such as LETM1 and GAPDH that are important in glucose metabolism and have previously been implicated in the aetiology of diabetes mellitus. To further explore the genetics of this breed specificity, we screened the genome for reduced heterozygosity stretches private to the Belgian shepherd breed. This revealed a region with reduced heterozygosity that shows a statistically significant interaction (rho = 0.025) with the association region on chromosome 3. This region also harbours some interesting candidate genes and regulatory regions but the exact mechanisms underlying the interaction are still unknown. Nevertheless, this finding provides a plausible explanation for breed-specific genetic effects for complex traits in dogs. Shepherd breeds are at low risk of developing diabetes mellitus. The findings in Belgian shepherds could be connected to a protective mechanism against the disease. Further insight into the regulation of glucose metabolism could improve diagnostic and therapeutic methods for diabetes mellitus.
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| 5. |
- Harbst, Katja, et al.
(author)
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Molecular and genetic diversity in the metastatic process of melanoma.
- 2014
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In: Journal of Pathology. - : Wiley. - 0022-3417 .- 1096-9896. ; 233:1, s. 39-50
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Diversity between metastatic melanoma tumours in individual patients is known; however, the molecular and genetic differences remain unclear. To examine the molecular and genetic differences between metastatic tumours, we performed gene-expression profiling of 63 melanoma tumours obtained from 28 patients (two or three tumours/patient), followed by analysis of their mutational landscape, using targeted deep sequencing of 1697 cancer genes and DNA copy number analysis. Gene-expression signatures revealed discordant phenotypes between tumour lesions within a patient in 50% of the cases. In 18 of 22 patients (where matched normal tissue was available), we found that the multiple lesions within a patient were genetically divergent, with one or more melanoma tumours harbouring 'private' somatic mutations. In one case, the distant subcutaneous metastasis of one patient occurring 3 months after an earlier regional lymph node metastasis had acquired 37 new coding sequence mutations, including mutations in PTEN and CDH1. However, BRAF and NRAS mutations, when present in the first metastasis, were always preserved in subsequent metastases. The patterns of nucleotide substitutions found in this study indicate an influence of UV radiation but possibly also DNA alkylating agents. Our results clearly demonstrate that metastatic melanoma is a molecularly highly heterogeneous disease that continues to progress throughout its clinical course. The private aberrations observed on a background of shared aberrations within a patient provide evidence of continued evolution of individual tumours following divergence from a common parental clone, and might have implications for personalized medicine strategies in melanoma treatment. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. www.pathsoc.org.uk.
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| 6. |
- Harbst, Katja, et al.
(author)
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Molecular profiling reveals low- and high-grade forms of primary melanoma.
- 2012
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In: Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. - 1557-3265. ; 18:15, s. 4026-4036
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- For primary melanomas, tumor thickness, mitotic rate, and ulceration are well-laid cornerstones of prognostication. However, a molecular exposition of melanoma aggressiveness is critically missing. We recently uncovered a four-class structure in metastatic melanoma, which predicts outcome and informs biology. This raises the possibility that a molecular structure exists even in the early stages of melanoma and that molecular determinants could underlie histophenotype and eventual patient outcome.We subjected 223 archival primary melanomas to a horizontally integrated analysis of RNA expression, oncogenic mutations at 238 lesions, histomorphometry, and survival data.Our previously described four-class structure that was elucidated in metastatic lesions was evident within the expression space of primary melanomas. Because these subclasses converged into two larger prognostic and phenotypic groups, we used the metastatic lesions to develop a binary subtype-based signature capable of distinguishing between "high" and "low" grade forms of the disease. The two-grade signature was subsequently applied to the primary melanomas. Compared with low-grade tumors, high-grade primary melanomas were significantly associated with increased tumor thickness, mitotic rate, ulceration (all P < 0.01), and poorer relapse-free (HR = 4.94; 95% CI, 2.84-8.59), and overall (HR = 3.66; 95% CI, 2.40-5.58) survival. High-grade melanomas exhibited elevated levels of proliferation and BRCA1/DNA damage signaling genes, whereas low-grade lesions harbored higher expression of immune genes. Importantly, the molecular-grade signature was validated in two external gene expression data sets.We provide evidence for a molecular organization within melanomas, which is preserved across all stages of disease.
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| 7. |
- Höglund, Katja, et al.
(author)
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Effect of Breed on Plasma Endothelin-1 Concentration, Plasma Renin Activity, and Serum Cortisol Concentration in Healthy Dogs
- 2016
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In: Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. - : Wiley. - 0891-6640 .- 1939-1676. ; 30:2, s. 566-573
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: There are breed differences in several blood variables in healthy dogs.Objective: Investigate breed variation in plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1) concentration, plasma renin activity, and serum cortisol concentration.Animals: Five-hundred and thirty-one healthy dogs of 9 breeds examined at 5 centers (2-4 breeds/center).Methods: Prospective observational study. Circulating concentrations of ET-1 and cortisol, and renin activity, were measured using commercially available assays. Absence of organ-related or systemic disease was ensured by thorough clinical investigations, including blood pressure measurement, echocardiography, ECG, blood and urine analysis.Results: Median ET-1 concentration was 1.29 (interquartile range [IQR], 0.97-1.82) pg/mL, median cortisol concentration 46.0 (IQR, 29.0-80.8) nmol/L, and median renin activity 0.73 (IQR, 0.48-1.10) ng/mL/h in all dogs. Overall, breed differences were found in ET-1 and cortisol concentrations, and renin activity (P < .0001 for all). Pair-wise comparisons between breeds differed in 67% of comparisons for ET-1, 22% for cortisol, and 19% for renin activity, respectively. Within centers, breed differences were found at 5/5 centers for ET-1, 4/5 centers for cortisol, and 2/5 centers for renin activity. Newfoundlands had highest median ET-1 concentration, 3 times higher than Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Doberman Pinschers, and Dachshunds. Median renin activity was highest in Dachshunds, twice the median value in Newfoundlands and Boxers. Median cortisol concentration was highest in Finnish Lapphunds, almost 3 times higher than in Boxers.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Breed variation might be important to take into consideration when interpreting test results in clinical studies.
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| 8. |
- Lundgren, Helena, et al.
(author)
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Genetic analysis of reproductive performance in Landrace sows and its correlation to piglet growth
- 2010
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In: Livestock Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 1871-1413 .- 1878-0490. ; 128, s. 173-178
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study was to investigate the reproductive performance of sows, including the interval from weaning to service after 1st litter and litter size in the following (2nd) parity, as well as the direct and maternal genetic effects of piglet growth on these reproduction traits. Data on 15 946 Norwegian Landrace sows' 1st and 2nd parity, and on 106,962 piglets born in 11,323 1st parity litters were included in the analyses, in total, five traits were analysed. Weaning-to-service interval was based on a 1- to 7-day interval (WS17) or a transformed 1- to 50-day interval (WS150). A third reproduction trait was total number of piglets born in 2nd parity (NBTnext). Piglet weight was included in the analyses, either as average piglet weight in the litter at 3 weeks of age (meanW3) or as individual piglet weight gain during the first 3 weeks of life (IWG03). Genetic parameters were estimated with animal models, including both direct and maternal effects for IWG03. Heritability estimates for WS17, WS150 and NBTnext were 0.08, 0.03 and 0.09 respectively. For meanW3. the heritability estimate was 0.21. For IWG03, the direct and maternal heritability estimates were 0.15 and 0.10 respectively. Negative and unfavourable genetic correlations were estimated between meanW3 and NBTnext (r(g) = -0.37), and between IWG03(maternal) and NBTnext (r(g) = -0.39). The ability to raise fast growing, heavy piglets seems to have an unfavorable effect on total number born in next litter but not on the weaning-to-service interval. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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