| 1. |
- Banasik, Karina, et al.
(author)
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The FOXO3A rs2802292 G-Allele Associates with Improved Peripheral and Hepatic Insulin Sensitivity and Increased Skeletal Muscle-FOXO3A mRNA Expression in Twins.
- 2011
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In: The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. - : The Endocrine Society. - 1945-7197 .- 0021-972X. ; 96, s. 119-124
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: The minor G allele of FOXO3A rs2802292 has been associated with longevity. We aimed to investigate whether a phenotype related to healthy metabolic aging could be identified in individuals carrying the longevity-associated FOXO3A rs2802292 G allele. Research Design and Methods: rs2802292 was genotyped in a phenotypically well-characterized population of young and elderly twins (n = 190) and in the population-based Inter99 cohort (n = 5768). All participants underwent oral glucose tolerance tests, and the twin population was additionally examined with an iv glucose tolerance test and a hyperinsulinemic, euglycemic clamp. Basal and insulin-stimulated FOXO3A mRNA expression was assessed in skeletal muscle biopsies from the twin population. Results: In the twin sample, carriers of the minor G allele of rs2802292 showed reduced fasting plasma insulin [per allele effect (β) = -13% (-24; -1) (95% confidence interval), P = 0.03] and lower incremental area under the curve 0-120 min for insulin after an oral glucose load [β = -14% (-23; -), P = 0.005]. The G allele was associated with increased peripheral insulin action [glucose disposal rate clamp, β = 0.85 mg·kgfat-free mass(-1) · min(-1) (0.049; 1.64), P = 0.04] and lower hepatic insulin resistance index [β = -13% (-25; -1), P = 0.03]. Furthermore, carriers of the G allele had increased basal FOXO3A mRNA expression in skeletal muscle compared with T-allele carriers [β = 16% (0; 33), P = 0.047]. In the Inter99 sample, we found an association with reduced incremental area under the curve 0-120 min for insulin after an oral glucose load [β = -3% (-5; -0.07), P = 0.04], but this association was not significant after adjustment for body mass index. Conclusion: Our data indicate that the minor G allele of FOXO3A rs2802292 is associated with enhanced peripheral and hepatic insulin sensitivity in our small twin cohort, which may be mediated through increased FOXO3A mRNA expression, although no major metabolic impact of rs2802292 was found in the large Inter99 cohort.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Christensen, Lise Lotte, et al.
(author)
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The association between genetic variants in hMLH1 and hMSH2 and the development of sporadic colorectal cancer in the Danish population
- 2008
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In: BMC Medical Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2350. ; 9, s. 52-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Mutations in the mismatch repair genes hMLH1 and hMSH2 predispose to hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). Genetic screening of more than 350 Danish patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) has led to the identification of several new genetic variants (e.g. missense, silent and non-coding) in hMLH1 and hMSH2. The aim of the present study was to investigate the frequency of these variants in hMLH1 and hMSH2 in Danish patients with sporadic colorectal cancer and in the healthy background population. The purpose was to reveal if any of the common variants lead to increased susceptibility to colorectal cancer. METHODS: Associations between genetic variants in hMLH1 and hMSH2 and sporadic colorectal cancer were evaluated using a case-cohort design. The genotyping was performed on DNA isolated from blood from the 380 cases with sporadic colorectal cancer and a sub-cohort of 770 individuals. The DNA samples were analyzed using Single Base Extension (SBE) Tag-arrays. A Bonferroni corrected Fisher exact test was used to test for association between the genotypes of each variant and colorectal cancer. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) was investigated using HaploView (v3.31). RESULTS: Heterozygous and homozygous changes were detected in 13 of 35 analyzed variants. Two variants showed a borderline association with colorectal cancer, whereas the remaining variants demonstrated no association. Furthermore, the genomic regions covering hMLH1 and hMSH2 displayed high linkage disequilibrium in the Danish population. Twenty-two variants were neither detected in the cases with sporadic colorectal cancer nor in the sub-cohort. Some of these rare variants have been classified either as pathogenic mutations or as neutral variants in other populations and some are unclassified Danish variants. CONCLUSION: None of the variants in hMLH1 and hMSH2 analyzed in the present study were highly associated with colorectal cancer in the Danish population. High linkage disequilibrium in the genomic regions covering hMLH1 and hMSH2, indicate that common genetic variants in the two genes in general are not involved in the development of sporadic colorectal cancer. Nevertheless, some of the rare unclassified variants in hMLH1 and hMSH2 might be involved in the development of colorectal cancer in the families where they were originally identified.
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| 4. |
- Dixen, Karen, et al.
(author)
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ERR gamma Enhances UCP1 Expression and Fatty Acid Oxidation in Brown Adipocytes
- 2013
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In: Obesity. - : Wiley. - 1930-7381 .- 1930-739X. ; 21:3, s. 516-524
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: Estrogen-related receptors (ERRs) are important regulators of energy metabolism. Here we investigated the hypothesis that ERR gamma impacts on differentiation and function of brown adipocytes. Design and Methods: We characterize the expression of ERR gamma in adipose tissues and cell models and investigate the effects of modulating ERR? activity on UCP1 gene expression and metabolic features of brown and white adipocytes. Results: ERR gamma was preferentially expressed in brown compared to white fat depots, and ERR gamma was induced during cold-induced browning of subcutaneous white adipose tissue and brown adipogenesis. Overexpression of ERR gamma positively regulated uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) expression levels during brown adipogenesis. This ERR gamma-induced augmentation of UCP1 expression was independent of the presence of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor coactivator-1 (PGC-1 alpha) but was associated with increased rates of fatty acid oxidation in adrenergically stimulated cells. ERR? did not influence mitochondrial biogenesis, and its reduced expression in white adipocytes could not explain their low expression level of UCP1. Conclusions: Through its augmenting effect on expression of UCP1, ERR gamma may physiologically be involved in increasing the potential for energy expenditure in brown adipocytes, a function that is becoming of therapeutic interest.
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| 5. |
- Holm, Jacob Bak, et al.
(author)
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Chronic Trichuris muris Infection Decreases Diversity of the Intestinal Microbiota and Concomitantly Increases the Abundance of Lactobacilli.
- 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
- The intestinal microbiota is vital for shaping the local intestinal environment as well as host immunity and metabolism. At the same time, epidemiological and experimental evidence suggest an important role for parasitic worm infections in maintaining the inflammatory and regulatory balance of the immune system. In line with this, the prevalence of persistent worm infections is inversely correlated with the incidence of immune-associated diseases, prompting the use of controlled parasite infections for therapeutic purposes. Despite this, the impact of parasite infection on the intestinal microbiota, as well as potential downstream effects on the immune system, remain largely unknown. We have assessed the influence of chronic infection with the large-intestinal nematode Trichuris muris, a close relative of the human pathogen Trichuris trichiura, on the composition of the murine intestinal microbiota by 16S ribosomal-RNA gene-based sequencing. Our results demonstrate that persistent T. muris infection dramatically affects the large-intestinal microbiota, most notably with a drop in the diversity of bacterial communities, as well as a marked increase in the relative abundance of the Lactobacillus genus. In parallel, chronic T. muris infection resulted in a significant shift in the balance between regulatory and inflammatory T cells in the intestinal adaptive immune system, in favour of inflammatory cells. Together, these data demonstrate that chronic parasite infection strongly influences the intestinal microbiota and the adaptive immune system. Our results illustrate the complex interactions between these factors in the intestinal tract, and contribute to furthering the understanding of this interplay, which is of crucial importance considering that 500 million people globally are suffering from these infections and their potential use for therapeutic purposes.
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| 6. |
- Jensen, Benjamin A H, et al.
(author)
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Lysates of Methylococcus capsulatus Bath induce a lean-like microbiota, intestinal FoxP3+RORγt+IL-17+ Tregs and improve metabolism
- 2021
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Interactions between host and gut microbial communities are modulated by diets and play pivotal roles in immunological homeostasis and health. We show that exchanging the protein source in a high fat, high sugar, westernized diet from casein to whole-cell lysates of the non-commensal bacterium Methylococcus capsulatus Bath is sufficient to reverse western diet-induced changes in the gut microbiota to a state resembling that of lean, low fat diet-fed mice, both under mild thermal stress (T22 °C) and at thermoneutrality (T30 °C). Concomitant with microbiota changes, mice fed the Methylococcus-based western diet exhibit improved glucose regulation, reduced body and liver fat, and diminished hepatic immune infiltration. Intake of the Methylococcu-based diet markedly boosts Parabacteroides abundances in a manner depending on adaptive immunity, and upregulates triple positive (Foxp3+RORγt+IL-17+) regulatory T cells in the small and large intestine. Collectively, these data point to the potential for leveraging the use of McB lysates to improve immunometabolic homeostasis.
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| 7. |
- Madsen, Lise, et al.
(author)
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UCP1 induction during recruitment of brown adipocytes in white adipose tissue is dependent on cyclooxygenase activity.
- 2010
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In: PloS one. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 5:6, s. e11391-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) is a hallmark of brown adipocytes and pivotal for cold- and diet-induced thermogenesis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we report that cyclooxygenase (COX) activity and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) are crucially involved in induction of UCP1 expression in inguinal white adipocytes, but not in classic interscapular brown adipocytes. Cold-induced expression of UCP1 in inguinal white adipocytes was repressed in COX2 knockout (KO) mice and by administration of the COX inhibitor indomethacin in wild-type mice. Indomethacin repressed beta-adrenergic induction of UCP1 expression in primary inguinal adipocytes. The use of PGE(2) receptor antagonists implicated EP(4) as a main PGE(2) receptor, and injection of the stable PGE(2) analog (EP(3/4) agonist) 16,16 dm PGE(2) induced UCP1 expression in inguinal white adipose tissue. Inhibition of COX activity attenuated diet-induced UCP1 expression and increased energy efficiency and adipose tissue mass in obesity-resistant mice kept at thermoneutrality. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings provide evidence that induction of UCP1 expression in white adipose tissue, but not in classic interscapular brown adipose tissue is dependent on cyclooxygenase activity. Our results indicate that cyclooxygenase-dependent induction of UCP1 expression in white adipose tissues is important for diet-induced thermogenesis providing support for a surprising role of COX activity in the control of energy balance and obesity development.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Pedersen, Kristina, et al.
(author)
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A simple way to evaluate self-designed probes for tumor specific Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA)
- 2010
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In: BMC Research Notes. - : BioMed Central Ltd. - 1756-0500. ; 3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND:The Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) is widely used for analysis of copy number variations (CNVs) in single or multiple loci. MLPA is a versatile methodology and important tool in cancer research; it provides precise information on increased or decreased copy number at specific loci as opposed to loss of heterozygosity (LOH) studies based upon microsatellite analysis. Pre-designed MLPA kits and software are commercially available to analyze multiple exons, genes, and genomic regions. However, an increasing demand for new gene specific assays makes it necessary to self-design new MLPA probes for which the available software may not be applicable. During evaluation of new self-designed reference probes, we encountered a number of problems, especially when applying the MLPA methodology to tumor samples.FINDINGS:DNA samples from 48 unaffected individuals and 145 breast cancer patients were used to evaluate 11 self-designed MLPA probes and determine the cut-off values for CNV, before applying the MLPA probes to normalize the target probes in a cohort of affected individuals. To test the calculation strategy, three probes were designed to cover regions in Regulator of G-protein Signaling 8 (RGS8), which we previously have identified as being affected by allelic imbalance by LOH analysis across RGS8 in the cohort comprising 145 breast tumors. Agreement between the LOH results and the results obtained by each of the three MLPA probes in RGS8 was found for 64%, 73%, and 91%, of the analyzed samples, respectively.CONCLUSION:Here, we present a straightforward method, based upon the normalization pattern in both unaffected and affected individuals, to evaluate self-designed reference probes and to calculate CNV for the MLPA assay with specific focus on the difficulties when analyzing tumor DNA.
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| 10. |
- Reverté, Sara, et al.
(author)
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National records of 3000 European bee and hoverfly species : A contribution to pollinator conservation
- 2023
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In: Insect Conservation and Diversity. - 1752-458X. ; 16:6, s. 758-775
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Pollinators play a crucial role in ecosystems globally, ensuring the seed production of most flowering plants. They are threatened by global changes and knowledge of their distribution at the national and continental levels is needed to implement efficient conservation actions, but this knowledge is still fragmented and/or difficult to access. As a step forward, we provide an updated list of around 3000 European bee and hoverfly species, reflecting their current distributional status at the national level (in the form of present, absent, regionally extinct, possibly extinct or non-native). This work was attainable by incorporating both published and unpublished data, as well as knowledge from a large set of taxonomists and ecologists in both groups. After providing the first National species lists for bees and hoverflies for many countries, we examine the current distributional patterns of these species and designate the countries with highest levels of species richness. We also show that many species are recorded in a single European country, highlighting the importance of articulating European and national conservation strategies. Finally, we discuss how the data provided here can be combined with future trait and Red List data to implement research that will further advance pollinator conservation.
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