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- Emerging Risk Factors, Collaboration, et al.
(author)
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The Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration: analysis of individual data on lipid, inflammatory and other markers in over 1.1 million participants in 104 prospective studies of cardiovascular diseases
- 2007
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In: Eur J Epidemiol. - 0393-2990. ; 22:12, s. 839-69
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Many long-term prospective studies have reported on associations of cardiovascular diseases with circulating lipid markers and/or inflammatory markers. Studies have not, however, generally been designed to provide reliable estimates under different circumstances and to correct for within-person variability. The Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration has established a central database on over 1.1 million participants from 104 prospective population-based studies, in which subsets have information on lipid and inflammatory markers, other characteristics, as well as major cardiovascular morbidity and cause-specific mortality. Information on repeat measurements on relevant characteristics has been collected in approximately 340,000 participants to enable estimation of and correction for within-person variability. Re-analysis of individual data will yield up to approximately 69,000 incident fatal or nonfatal first ever major cardiovascular outcomes recorded during about 11.7 million person years at risk. The primary analyses will involve age-specific regression models in people without known baseline cardiovascular disease in relation to fatal or nonfatal first ever coronary heart disease outcomes. This initiative will characterize more precisely and in greater detail than has previously been possible the shape and strength of the age- and sex-specific associations of several lipid and inflammatory markers with incident coronary heart disease outcomes (and, secondarily, with other incident cardiovascular outcomes) under a wide range of circumstances. It will, therefore, help to determine to what extent such associations are independent from possible confounding factors and to what extent such markers (separately and in combination) provide incremental predictive value.
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- Danesh, John, et al.
(author)
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Plasma fibrinogen level and the risk of major cardiovascular diseases and nonvascular mortality: an individual participant meta-analysis
- 2005
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In: JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. - : American Medical Association (AMA). - 1538-3598 .- 0098-7484. ; 294:14, s. 1799-1809
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- CONTEXT: Plasma fibrinogen levels may be associated with the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationships of fibrinogen levels with risk of major vascular and with risk of nonvascular outcomes based on individual participant data. DATA SOURCES: Relevant studies were identified by computer-assisted searches, hand searches of reference lists, and personal communication with relevant investigators. STUDY SELECTION: All identified prospective studies were included with information available on baseline fibrinogen levels and details of subsequent major vascular morbidity and/or cause-specific mortality during at least 1 year of follow-up. Studies were excluded if they recruited participants on the basis of having had a previous history of cardiovascular disease; participants with known preexisting CHD or stroke were excluded. DATA EXTRACTION: Individual records were provided on each of 154,211 participants in 31 prospective studies. During 1.38 million person-years of follow-up, there were 6944 first nonfatal myocardial infarctions or stroke events and 13,210 deaths. Cause-specific mortality was generally available. Analyses involved proportional hazards modeling with adjustment for confounding by known cardiovascular risk factors and for regression dilution bias. DATA SYNTHESIS: Within each age group considered (40-59, 60-69, and > or =70 years), there was an approximately log-linear association with usual fibrinogen level for the risk of any CHD, any stroke, other vascular (eg, non-CHD, nonstroke) mortality, and nonvascular mortality. There was no evidence of a threshold within the range of usual fibrinogen level studied at any age. The age- and sex- adjusted hazard ratio per 1-g/L increase in usual fibrinogen level for CHD was 2.42 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.24-2.60); stroke, 2.06 (95% CI, 1.83-2.33); other vascular mortality, 2.76 (95% CI, 2.28-3.35); and nonvascular mortality, 2.03 (95% CI, 1.90-2.18). The hazard ratios for CHD and stroke were reduced to about 1.8 after further adjustment for measured values of several established vascular risk factors. In a subset of 7011 participants with available C-reactive protein values, the findings for CHD were essentially unchanged following additional adjustment for C-reactive protein. The associations of fibrinogen level with CHD or stroke did not differ substantially according to sex, smoking, blood pressure, blood lipid levels, or several features of study design. CONCLUSIONS: In this large individual participant meta-analysis, moderately strong associations were found between usual plasma fibrinogen level and the risks of CHD, stroke, other vascular mortality, and nonvascular mortality in a wide range of circumstances in healthy middle-aged adults. Assessment of any causal relevance of elevated fibrinogen levels to disease requires additional research.
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- Liu, Z. G., et al.
(author)
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Hemizygous variants in protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 3F (PPP1R3F) are associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by developmental delay, intellectual disability and autistic features
- 2023
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In: Human Molecular Genetics. - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 32:20, s. 2981-2995
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 3F (PPP1R3F) is a member of the glycogen targeting subunits (GTSs), which belong to the large group of regulatory subunits of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1), a major eukaryotic serine/threonine protein phosphatase that regulates diverse cellular processes. Here, we describe the identification of hemizygous variants in PPP1R3F associated with a novel X-linked recessive neurodevelopmental disorder in 13 unrelated individuals. This disorder is characterized by developmental delay, mild intellectual disability, neurobehavioral issues such as autism spectrum disorder, seizures and other neurological findings including tone, gait and cerebellar abnormalities. PPP1R3F variants segregated with disease in affected hemizygous males that inherited the variants from their heterozygous carrier mothers. We show that PPP1R3F is predominantly expressed in brain astrocytes and localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum in cells. Glycogen content in PPP1R3F knockout astrocytoma cells appears to be more sensitive to fluxes in extracellular glucose levels than in wild-type cells, suggesting that PPP1R3F functions in maintaining steady brain glycogen levels under changing glucose conditions. We performed functional studies on nine of the identified variants and observed defects in PP1 binding, protein stability, subcellular localization and regulation of glycogen metabolism in most of them. Collectively, the genetic and molecular data indicate that deleterious variants in PPP1R3F are associated with a new X-linked disorder of glycogen metabolism, highlighting the critical role of GTSs in neurological development. This research expands our understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders and the role of PP1 in brain development and proper function.
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- Kaptoge, S., et al.
(author)
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C-Reactive Protein, Fibrinogen, and Cardiovascular Disease Prediction
- 2012
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In: New England Journal of Medicine. - 0028-4793 .- 1533-4406. ; 367:14, s. 1310-1320
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background There is debate about the value of assessing levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and other biomarkers of inflammation for the prediction of first cardiovascular events. Methods We analyzed data from 52 prospective studies that included 246,669 participants without a history of cardiovascular disease to investigate the value of adding CRP or fibrinogen levels to conventional risk factors for the prediction of cardiovascular risk. We calculated measures of discrimination and reclassification during follow-up and modeled the clinical implications of initiation of statin therapy after the assessment of CRP or fibrinogen. Results The addition of information on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol to a prognostic model for cardiovascular disease that included age, sex, smoking status, blood pressure, history of diabetes, and total cholesterol level increased the C-index, a measure of risk discrimination, by 0.0050. The further addition to this model of information on CRP or fibrinogen increased the C-index by 0.0039 and 0.0027, respectively (P < 0.001), and yielded a net reclassification improvement of 1.52% and 0.83%, respectively, for the predicted 10-year risk categories of "low" (< 10%), " intermediate" (10% to < 20%), and "high" (>= 20%) (P < 0.02 for both comparisons). We estimated that among 100,000 adults 40 years of age or older, 15,025 persons would initially be classified as being at intermediate risk for a cardiovascular event if conventional risk factors alone were used to calculate risk. Assuming that statin therapy would be initiated in accordance with Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines (i.e., for persons with a predicted risk of >= 20% and for those with certain other risk factors, such as diabetes, irrespective of their 10-year predicted risk), additional targeted assessment of CRP or fibrinogen levels in the 13,199 remaining participants at intermediate risk could help prevent approximately 30 additional cardiovascular events over the course of 10 years. Conclusions In a study of people without known cardiovascular disease, we estimated that under current treatment guidelines, assessment of the CRP or fibrinogen level in people at intermediate risk for a cardiovascular event could help prevent one additional event over a period of 10 years for every 400 to 500 people screened. (Funded by the British Heart Foundation and others.)
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- Lammertsma, Emmy I., et al.
(author)
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Sensitivity of wetland hydrology to external climate forcing in central Florida
- 2015
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In: Quaternary Research. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0033-5894 .- 1096-0287. ; 84:3, s. 287-300
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Available proxy records from the Florida peninsula give a varying view on hydrological changes during the late Holocene. Here we evaluate the consistency and sensitivity of local wetland records in relation to hydrological changes over the past ~ 5 ka based on pollen and diatom proxies from peat cores in Highlands Hammock State Park, central Florida. Around 5 cal ka BP, a dynamic floodplain environment is present. Subsequently, a wetland forest establishes, followed by a change to persistent wet conditions between ~ 2.5 and 2.0 ka. Long hydroperiods remain despite gradual succession and basin infilling with maximum wet conditions between ~ 1.3 and 1.0 ka. The wet phase and subsequent strong drying over the last millennium, as indicated by shifts in both pollen and diatom assemblages, can be linked to the early Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age, respectively, driven by regionally higher sea-surface temperatures and a temporary northward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Changes during the 20th century are the result of constructions intended to protect the Highlands Hammock State Park from wildfires. The multiple cores and proxies allow distinguishing local and regional hydrological changes. The peat records reflect relatively subtle climatic changes that are not evident from regional pollen records from lakes.
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| 17. |
- Okur, Halil I., et al.
(author)
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The Jones-Ray Effect Is Not Caused by Surface-Active Impurities
- 2018
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In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1948-7185. ; 9:23, s. 6739-6743
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Pure aqueous electrolyte solutions display a minimum in surface tension at concentrations of 2 +/- 1 mM. This effect has been a source of controversy since it was first reported by Jones and Ray in the 1930s. The Jones Ray effect has frequently been dismissed as an artifact linked to the presence of surface-active impurities. Herein we systematically consider the effect of surface-active impurities by purposely adding nanomolar concentrations of surfactants to dilute electrolyte solutions. Trace amounts of surfactant are indeed found to decrease the surface tension and influence the surface chemistry. However, surfactants can be removed by repeated aspiration and stirring cycles, which eventually deplete the surfactant from solution, creating a pristine surface. Upon following this cleaning procedure, a reduction in the surface tension by millimolar concentrations of salt is still observed. Consequently, we demonstrate that the Jones Ray effect is not caused by surface-active impurities.
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- Joseph, A, et al.
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Metabolic features of cancer cells impact immunosurveillance
- 2021
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In: Journal for immunotherapy of cancer. - : BMJ. - 2051-1426. ; 9:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Tumors rewire their metabolism to achieve robust anabolism and resistance against therapeutic interventions like cisplatin treatment. For example, a prolonged exposure to cisplatin causes downregulation of pyridoxal kinase (PDXK), the enzyme that generates the active vitamin B6, and upregulation of poly ADP-ribose (PAR) polymerase-1 (PARP1) activity that requires a supply of nicotinamide (vitamin B3) adenine dinucleotide. We investigated the impact of the levels of PDXK and PAR on the local immunosurveillance (ie, density of the antigen presenting cells and adaptive immune response by CD8 T lymphocytes) in two different tumor types.MethodsTumors from patients with locally advanced cervical carcinoma (LACC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were stained for PAR, PDXK, dendritic cell lysosomal associated membrane glycoprotein (DC-LAMP) and CD8 T cell infiltration. Their correlations and prognostic impact were assessed. Cisplatin-resistant NSCLC cell clones isolated from Lewis-lung cancer (LLC) cells were evaluated for PAR levels by immunoblot. Parental (PARlow) and cisplatin-resistant (PARhigh) clones were subcutaneously injected into the flank of C57BL/6 mice. Tumors were harvested to evaluate their immune infiltration by flow cytometry.ResultsThe infiltration of tumors by CD8 T and DC-LAMP+ cells was associated with a favorable overall survival in patients with LACC (p=0.006 and p=0.008, respectively) and NSCLC (p<0.001 for both CD8 T and DC-LAMP cells). We observed a positive correlation between PDXK expression and the infiltration by DC-LAMP (R=0.44, p=0.02 in LACC, R=0.14, p=0.057 in NSCLC), and a negative correlation between PAR levels and CD8 T lymphocytes (R=−0.39, p=0.034 in LACC, R=−0.18, p=0.017 in NSCLC). PARP1 is constitutively hyperactivated in cisplatin-resistant LLC cells manifesting elevated intracellular levels of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ated proteins (PARhigh). Tumors formed by such cancer cells injected into immunocompetent mice were scarcely infiltrated by CD8 T (p=0.028) and antigen presenting cells (p=0.086).ConclusionsOncometabolic features can impact local immunosurveillance, providing new functional links between cisplatin resistance and therapeutic failure.
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| 23. |
- Okur, Halil I., et al.
(author)
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Beyond the Hofmeister Series : Ion-Specific Effects on Proteins and Their Biological Functions
- 2017
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In: Journal of Physical Chemistry B. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-6106 .- 1520-5207. ; 121:9, s. 1997-2014
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ions differ in their ability to salt out proteins from solution as expressed in the lyotropic or Hofmeister series of cations and anions. Since its first formulation in 1888, this series has been invoked in a plethora of effects, going beyond the original salting out/salting in idea to include enzyme activities and the crystallization of proteins, as well as to processes not involving proteins like ion exchange, the surface tension of electrolytes, or bubble coalescence. Although it has been clear that the Hofmeister series is intimately connected to ion hydration in homogeneous and heterogeneous environments and to ion pairing, its molecular origin has not been fully understood. This situation could have been summarized as follows: Many chemists used the Hofmeister series as a mantra to put a label on ion-specific behavior in various environments, rather than to reach a molecular level understanding and, consequently, an ability to predict a particular effect of a given salt ion on proteins in solutions. In this Feature Article we show that the cationic and anionic Hofmeister series can now be rationalized primarily in terms of specific interactions of salt ions with the backbone and charged side chain groups at the protein surface in solution. At the same time, we demonstrate the limitations of separating Hofmeister effects into independent cationic and anionic contributions due to the electroneutrality condition, as well as specific ion pairing, leading to interactions of ions of opposite polarity. Finally, we outline the route beyond Hofmeister chemistry in the direction of understanding specific roles of ions in various biological functionalities, where generic Hofmeister-type interactions can be complemented or even overruled by particular steric arrangements in various ion binding sites. (Chemical Equation Presented).
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- Wormser, David, et al.
(author)
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Adult height and the risk of cause-specific death and vascular morbidity in 1 million people : individual participant meta-analysis
- 2012
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In: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 41:5, s. 1419-1433
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundThe extent to which adult height, a biomarker of the interplay of genetic endowment and early-life experiences, is related to risk of chronic diseases in adulthood is uncertain.MethodsWe calculated hazard ratios (HRs) for height, assessed in increments of 6.5 cm, using individual-participant data on 174 374 deaths or major non-fatal vascular outcomes recorded among 1 085 949 people in 121 prospective studies.ResultsFor people born between 1900 and 1960, mean adult height increased 0.5-1 cm with each successive decade of birth. After adjustment for age, sex, smoking and year of birth, HRs per 6.5 cm greater height were 0.97 (95% confidence interval: 0.96-0.99) for death from any cause, 0.94 (0.93-0.96) for death from vascular causes, 1.04 (1.03-1.06) for death from cancer and 0.92 (0.90-0.94) for death from other causes. Height was negatively associated with death from coronary disease, stroke subtypes, heart failure, stomach and oral cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, mental disorders, liver disease and external causes. In contrast, height was positively associated with death from ruptured aortic aneurysm, pulmonary embolism, melanoma and cancers of the pancreas, endocrine and nervous systems, ovary, breast, prostate, colorectum, blood and lung. HRs per 6.5 cm greater height ranged from 1.26 (1.12-1.42) for risk of melanoma death to 0.84 (0.80-0.89) for risk of death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. HRs were not appreciably altered after further adjustment for adiposity, blood pressure, lipids, inflammation biomarkers, diabetes mellitus, alcohol consumption or socio-economic indicators.ConclusionAdult height has directionally opposing relationships with risk of death from several different major causes of chronic diseases.
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