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- Kanoni, Stavroula, et al.
(author)
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Implicating genes, pleiotropy, and sexual dimorphism at blood lipid loci through multi-ancestry meta-analysis.
- 2022
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In: Genome biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1474-760X .- 1465-6906 .- 1474-7596. ; 23:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genetic variants within nearly 1000 loci are known to contribute to modulation of blood lipid levels. However, the biological pathways underlying these associations are frequently unknown, limiting understanding of these findings and hindering downstream translational efforts such as drug target discovery.To expand our understanding of the underlying biological pathways and mechanisms controlling blood lipid levels, we leverage a large multi-ancestry meta-analysis (N=1,654,960) of blood lipids to prioritize putative causal genes for 2286 lipid associations using six gene prediction approaches. Using phenome-wide association (PheWAS) scans, we identify relationships of genetically predicted lipid levels to other diseases and conditions. We confirm known pleiotropic associations with cardiovascular phenotypes and determine novel associations, notably with cholelithiasis risk. We perform sex-stratified GWAS meta-analysis of lipid levels and show that 3-5% of autosomal lipid-associated loci demonstrate sex-biased effects. Finally, we report 21 novel lipid loci identified on the X chromosome. Many of the sex-biased autosomal and X chromosome lipid loci show pleiotropic associations with sex hormones, emphasizing the role of hormone regulation in lipid metabolism.Taken together, our findings provide insights into the biological mechanisms through which associated variants lead to altered lipid levels and potentially cardiovascular disease risk.
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- Shungin, Dmitry, et al.
(author)
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New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.
- 2015
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 518:7538, s. 187-378
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms.
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4. |
- Locke, Adam E, et al.
(author)
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Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology.
- 2015
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 518:7538, s. 197-401
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Obesity is heritable and predisposes to many diseases. To understand the genetic basis of obesity better, here we conduct a genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI), a measure commonly used to define obesity and assess adiposity, in up to 339,224 individuals. This analysis identifies 97 BMI-associated loci (P < 5 × 10(-8)), 56 of which are novel. Five loci demonstrate clear evidence of several independent association signals, and many loci have significant effects on other metabolic phenotypes. The 97 loci account for ∼2.7% of BMI variation, and genome-wide estimates suggest that common variation accounts for >20% of BMI variation. Pathway analyses provide strong support for a role of the central nervous system in obesity susceptibility and implicate new genes and pathways, including those related to synaptic function, glutamate signalling, insulin secretion/action, energy metabolism, lipid biology and adipogenesis.
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6. |
- Tragante, Vinicius, et al.
(author)
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Gene-centric Meta-analysis in 87,736 Individuals of European Ancestry Identifies Multiple Blood-Pressure-Related Loci.
- 2014
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In: American Journal of Human Genetics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0002-9297. ; 94:3, s. 349-360
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Blood pressure (BP) is a heritable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. To investigate genetic associations with systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and pulse pressure (PP), we genotyped ∼50,000 SNPs in up to 87,736 individuals of European ancestry and combined these in a meta-analysis. We replicated findings in an independent set of 68,368 individuals of European ancestry. Our analyses identified 11 previously undescribed associations in independent loci containing 31 genes including PDE1A, HLA-DQB1, CDK6, PRKAG2, VCL, H19, NUCB2, RELA, HOXC@ complex, FBN1, and NFAT5 at the Bonferroni-corrected array-wide significance threshold (p < 6 × 10(-7)) and confirmed 27 previously reported associations. Bioinformatic analysis of the 11 loci provided support for a putative role in hypertension of several genes, such as CDK6 and NUCB2. Analysis of potential pharmacological targets in databases of small molecules showed that ten of the genes are predicted to be a target for small molecules. In summary, we identified previously unknown loci associated with BP. Our findings extend our understanding of genes involved in BP regulation, which may provide new targets for therapeutic intervention or drug response stratification.
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7. |
- Kilpeläinen, Tuomas O, et al.
(author)
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Genome-wide meta-analysis uncovers novel loci influencing circulating leptin levels
- 2016
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Leptin is an adipocyte-secreted hormone, the circulating levels of which correlate closely with overall adiposity. Although rare mutations in the leptin (LEP) gene are well known to cause leptin deficiency and severe obesity, no common loci regulating circulating leptin levels have been uncovered. Therefore, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of circulating leptin levels from 32,161 individuals and followed up loci reaching P<10(-6) in 19,979 additional individuals. We identify five loci robustly associated (P<5 × 10(-8)) with leptin levels in/near LEP, SLC32A1, GCKR, CCNL1 and FTO. Although the association of the FTO obesity locus with leptin levels is abolished by adjustment for BMI, associations of the four other loci are independent of adiposity. The GCKR locus was found associated with multiple metabolic traits in previous GWAS and the CCNL1 locus with birth weight. Knockdown experiments in mouse adipose tissue explants show convincing evidence for adipogenin, a regulator of adipocyte differentiation, as the novel causal gene in the SLC32A1 locus influencing leptin levels. Our findings provide novel insights into the regulation of leptin production by adipose tissue and open new avenues for examining the influence of variation in leptin levels on adiposity and metabolic health.
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8. |
- Pattaro, Cristian, et al.
(author)
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Genetic associations at 53 loci highlight cell types and biological pathways relevant for kidney function
- 2016
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Reduced glomerular filtration rate defines chronic kidney disease and is associated with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), combining data across 133,413 individuals with replication in up to 42,166 individuals. We identify 24 new and confirm 29 previously identified loci. Of these 53 loci, 19 associate with eGFR among individuals with diabetes. Using bioinformatics, we show that identified genes at eGFR loci are enriched for expression in kidney tissues and in pathways relevant for kidney development and transmembrane transporter activity, kidney structure, and regulation of glucose metabolism. Chromatin state mapping and DNase I hypersensitivity analyses across adult tissues demonstrate preferential mapping of associated variants to regulatory regions in kidney but not extra-renal tissues. These findings suggest that genetic determinants of eGFR are mediated largely through direct effects within the kidney and highlight important cell types and biological pathways.
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9. |
- Stanaway, Jeffrey D., et al.
(author)
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Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 84 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017
- 2018
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In: The Lancet. - 1474-547X .- 0140-6736. ; 392:10159, s. 1923-1994
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 comparative risk assessment (CRA) is a comprehensive approach to risk factor quantification that offers a useful tool for synthesising evidence on risks and risk-outcome associations. With each annual GBD study, we update the GBD CRA to incorporate improved methods, new risks and risk-outcome pairs, and new data on risk exposure levels and risk- outcome associations. Methods We used the CRA framework developed for previous iterations of GBD to estimate levels and trends in exposure, attributable deaths, and attributable disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), by age group, sex, year, and location for 84 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or groups of risks from 1990 to 2017. This study included 476 risk-outcome pairs that met the GBD study criteria for convincing or probable evidence of causation. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from 46 749 randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL), we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We explored the relationship between development and risk exposure by modelling the relationship between the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) and risk-weighted exposure prevalence and estimated expected levels of exposure and risk-attributable burden by SDI. Finally, we explored temporal changes in risk-attributable DALYs by decomposing those changes into six main component drivers of change as follows: (1) population growth; (2) changes in population age structures; (3) changes in exposure to environmental and occupational risks; (4) changes in exposure to behavioural risks; (5) changes in exposure to metabolic risks; and (6) changes due to all other factors, approximated as the risk-deleted death and DALY rates, where the risk-deleted rate is the rate that would be observed had we reduced the exposure levels to the TMREL for all risk factors included in GBD 2017.
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12. |
- Alcott, Lewis J., et al.
(author)
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Development of Iron Speciation Reference Materials for Palaeoredox Analysis
- 2020
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In: Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research. - : Wiley. - 1639-4488 .- 1751-908X. ; 44:3, s. 581-591
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The development and application of geochemical techniques to identify redox conditions in modern and ancient aquatic environments has intensified over recent years. Iron (Fe) speciation has emerged as one of the most widely used procedures to distinguish different redox regimes in both the water column and sediments, and is the main technique used to identify oxic, ferruginous (anoxic, Fe(II) containing) and euxinic (anoxic, sulfidic) water column conditions. However, an international sediment reference material has never been developed. This has led to concern over the consistency of results published by the many laboratories that now utilise the technique. Here, we report an interlaboratory comparison of four Fe speciation reference materials for palaeoredox analysis, which span a range of compositions and reflect deposition under different redox conditions. We provide an update of extraction techniques used in Fe speciation and assess the effects of both test portion mass, and the use of different analytical procedures, on the quantification of different Fe fractions in sedimentary rocks. While atomic absorption spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry produced comparable Fe measurements for all extraction stages, the use of ferrozine consistently underestimated Fe in the extraction step targeting mixed ferrous–ferric minerals such as magnetite. We therefore suggest that the use of ferrozine is discontinued for this Fe pool. Finally, we report the combined data of four independent Fe speciation laboratories to characterise the Fe speciation composition of the reference materials. These reference materials are available to the community to provide an essential validation of in-house Fe speciation measurements.
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14. |
- Murray, Christopher J. L., et al.
(author)
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Population and fertility by age and sex for 195 countries and territories, 1950–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017
- 2018
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In: The Lancet. - 1474-547X .- 0140-6736. ; 392:10159, s. 1995-2051
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Population estimates underpin demographic and epidemiological research and are used to track progress on numerous international indicators of health and development. To date, internationally available estimates of population and fertility, although useful, have not been produced with transparent and replicable methods and do not use standardised estimates of mortality. We present single-calendar year and single-year of age estimates of fertility and population by sex with standardised and replicable methods. Methods: We estimated population in 195 locations by single year of age and single calendar year from 1950 to 2017 with standardised and replicable methods. We based the estimates on the demographic balancing equation, with inputs of fertility, mortality, population, and migration data. Fertility data came from 7817 location-years of vital registration data, 429 surveys reporting complete birth histories, and 977 surveys and censuses reporting summary birth histories. We estimated age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs; the annual number of livebirths to women of a specified age group per 1000 women in that age group) by use of spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression and used the ASFRs to estimate total fertility rates (TFRs; the average number of children a woman would bear if she survived through the end of the reproductive age span [age 10–54 years] and experienced at each age a particular set of ASFRs observed in the year of interest). Because of sparse data, fertility at ages 10–14 years and 50–54 years was estimated from data on fertility in women aged 15–19 years and 45–49 years, through use of linear regression. Age-specific mortality data came from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 estimates. Data on population came from 1257 censuses and 761 population registry location-years and were adjusted for underenumeration and age misreporting with standard demographic methods. Migration was estimated with the GBD Bayesian demographic balancing model, after incorporating information about refugee migration into the model prior. Final population estimates used the cohort-component method of population projection, with inputs of fertility, mortality, and migration data. Population uncertainty was estimated by use of out-of-sample predictive validity testing. With these data, we estimated the trends in population by age and sex and in fertility by age between 1950 and 2017 in 195 countries and territories. Findings: From 1950 to 2017, TFRs decreased by 49·4% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 46·4–52·0). The TFR decreased from 4·7 livebirths (4·5–4·9) to 2·4 livebirths (2·2–2·5), and the ASFR of mothers aged 10–19 years decreased from 37 livebirths (34–40) to 22 livebirths (19–24) per 1000 women. Despite reductions in the TFR, the global population has been increasing by an average of 83·8 million people per year since 1985. The global population increased by 197·2% (193·3–200·8) since 1950, from 2·6 billion (2·5–2·6) to 7·6 billion (7·4–7·9) people in 2017; much of this increase was in the proportion of the global population in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The global annual rate of population growth increased between 1950 and 1964, when it peaked at 2·0%; this rate then remained nearly constant until 1970 and then decreased to 1·1% in 2017. Population growth rates in the southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania GBD super-region decreased from 2·5% in 1963 to 0·7% in 2017, whereas in sub-Saharan Africa, population growth rates were almost at the highest reported levels ever in 2017, when they were at 2·7%. The global average age increased from 26·6 years in 1950 to 32·1 years in 2017, and the proportion of the population that is of working age (age 15–64 years) increased from 59·9% to 65·3%. At the national level, the TFR decreased in all countries and territories between 1950 and 2017; in 2017, TFRs ranged from a low of 1·0 livebirths (95% UI 0·9–1·2) in Cyprus to a high of 7·1 livebirths (6·8–7·4) in Niger. The TFR under age 25 years (TFU25; number of livebirths expected by age 25 years for a hypothetical woman who survived the age group and was exposed to current ASFRs) in 2017 ranged from 0·08 livebirths (0·07–0·09) in South Korea to 2·4 livebirths (2·2–2·6) in Niger, and the TFR over age 30 years (TFO30; number of livebirths expected for a hypothetical woman ageing from 30 to 54 years who survived the age group and was exposed to current ASFRs) ranged from a low of 0·3 livebirths (0·3–0·4) in Puerto Rico to a high of 3·1 livebirths (3·0–3·2) in Niger. TFO30 was higher than TFU25 in 145 countries and territories in 2017. 33 countries had a negative population growth rate from 2010 to 2017, most of which were located in central, eastern, and western Europe, whereas population growth rates of more than 2·0% were seen in 33 of 46 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2017, less than 65% of the national population was of working age in 12 of 34 high-income countries, and less than 50% of the national population was of working age in Mali, Chad, and Niger. Interpretation: Population trends create demographic dividends and headwinds (ie, economic benefits and detriments) that affect national economies and determine national planning needs. Although TFRs are decreasing, the global population continues to grow as mortality declines, with diverse patterns at the national level and across age groups. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide transparent and replicable estimates of population and fertility, which can be used to inform decision making and to monitor progress. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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16. |
- Schunk, Stefan J., et al.
(author)
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Genetically determined NLRP3 inflammasome activation associates with systemic inflammation and cardiovascular mortality
- 2021
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In: European Heart Journal. - : Oxford University Press. - 0195-668X .- 1522-9645. ; 42:18, s. 1742-1756
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AimsInflammation plays an important role in cardiovascular disease (CVD) development. The NOD-like receptor protein-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome contributes to the development of atherosclerosis in animal models. Components of the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway such as interleukin-1β can therapeutically be targeted. Associations of genetically determined inflammasome-mediated systemic inflammation with CVD and mortality in humans are unknown.Methods and resultsWe explored the association of genetic NLRP3 variants with prevalent CVD and cardiovascular mortality in 538 167 subjects on the individual participant level in an explorative gene-centric approach without performing multiple testing. Functional relevance of single-nucleotide polymorphisms on NLRP3 inflammasome activation has been evaluated in monocyte-enriched peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Genetic analyses identified the highly prevalent (minor allele frequency 39.9%) intronic NLRP3 variant rs10754555 to affect NLRP3 gene expression. rs10754555 carriers showed significantly higher C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A plasma levels. Carriers of the G allele showed higher NLRP3 inflammasome activation in isolated human PBMCs. In carriers of the rs10754555 variant, the prevalence of coronary artery disease was significantly higher as compared to non-carriers with a significant interaction between rs10754555 and age. Importantly, rs10754555 carriers had significantly higher risk for cardiovascular mortality during follow-up. Inflammasome inducers (e.g. urate, triglycerides, apolipoprotein C3) modulated the association between rs10754555 and mortality.ConclusionThe NLRP3 intronic variant rs10754555 is associated with increased systemic inflammation, inflammasome activation, prevalent coronary artery disease, and mortality. This study provides evidence for a substantial role of genetically driven systemic inflammation in CVD and highlights the NLRP3 inflammasome as a therapeutic target.
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17. |
- Walford, G. A., et al.
(author)
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Genome-wide association study of the modified stumvoll insulin sensitivity index identifies BCL2 and FAM19A2 as novel insulin sensitivity loci
- 2016
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In: Diabetes. - : American Diabetes Association. - 0012-1797 .- 1939-327X. ; 65:10, s. 3200-3211
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have found few common variants that influence fasting measures of insulin sensitivity. We hypothesized that a GWAS of an integrated assessment of fasting and dynamic measures of insulin sensitivity would detect novel common variants. We performed a GWAS of the modified Stumvoll Insulin Sensitivity Index (ISI) within the Meta-Analyses of Glucose and Insulin-Related Traits Consortium. Discovery for genetic association was performed in 16,753 individuals, and replication was attempted for the 23 most significant novel loci in 13,354 independent individuals. Association with ISI was tested in models adjusted for age, sex, and BMI and in a model analyzing the combined influence of the genotype effect adjusted for BMI and the interaction effect between the genotype and BMI on ISI (model 3). In model 3, three variants reached genome-wide significance: Rs13422522 (NYAP2; P = 8.87 × 10-11), rs12454712 (BCL2; P = 2.7 × 10-8), and rs10506418 (FAM19A2; P = 1.9 × 10-8). The association at NYAP2 was eliminated by conditioning on the known IRS1 insulin sensitivity locus; the BCL2 and FAM19A2 associations were independent of known cardiometabolic loci. In conclusion, we identified two novel loci and replicated known variants associated with insulin sensitivity. Further studies are needed to clarify the causal variant and function at the BCL2 and FAM19A2 loci. © 2016 by the American Diabetes Association.
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- Abletshauser, C, et al.
(author)
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Biosensing of arteriosclerotic nanoplaque formation and interaction with an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor
- 2002
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In: Acta Physiologica Scandinavica. - 0001-6772 .- 1365-201X. ; 176, s. 131-146
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Proteoheparan sulphate can be adsorbed to a methylated silica surface in a monomolecular layer via its transmembrane hydrophobic protein core domain. As a result of electrostatic repulsion, its anionic glycosaminoglycan side chains are stretched out into the blood substitute solution, thereby representing one receptor site for specific lipoprotein binding through basic amino acid-rich residues within their apolipoproteins. The binding process was studied by ellipsometric techniques suggesting that high-density lipoprotein (HDL) has a high binding affinity and a protective effect on interfacial heparan sulphate proteoglycan layers with respect to low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and Ca2+ complexation. Low-density lipoprotein was found to deposit strongly at the proteoheparan sulphate-coated surface, particularly in the presence of Ca2+, apparently through complex formation 'proteoglycan-LDL-calcium'. This ternary complex build-up may be interpreted as arteriosclerotic nanoplaque formation on the molecular level responsible for the arteriosclerotic primary lesion. On the other hand, HDL bound to heparan sulphate proteoglycan protected against LDL deposition and completely suppressed calcification of the proteoglycan-lipoprotein complex. In addition, HDL was able to decelerate the ternary complex deposition. Therefore, HDL attached to its proteoglycan receptor sites is thought to raise a multidomain barrier, selection and control motif for transmembrane and paracellular lipoprotein uptake into the arterial wall. Although much remains unclear regarding the mechanism of lipoprotein depositions at proteoglycan-coated surfaces, it seems clear that the use of such systems offers possibilities for investigating lipoprotein deposition at a 'nanoscopic' level under close to physiological conditions. In particular, Ca2+-promoted LDL deposition and the protective effect of HDL even at high Ca2+ and LDL concentrations agree well with previous clinical observations regarding risk and beneficial factors for early stages of atherosclerosis. Considering this, the system was tested on its reliability in a biosensor application in order to unveil possible acute pleiotropic effects of the lipid lowering drug fluvastatin. The very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)/intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL)/LDL plasma fraction from a high risk patient with dyslipoproteinaemia and type 2 diabetes mellitus showed beginning arteriosclerotic nanoplaque formation already at a normal blood Ca2+ concentration, with a strong increase at higher Ca2+ concentrations. Fluvastatin, whether applied to the patient (one single 80 mg slow release matrix tablet) or acutely in the experiment (2.2 μmol L-1), markedly slowed down this process of ternary aggregational nanoplaque complexation at all Ca2+ concentrations used. This action resulted without any significant change in lipid concentrations of the patient. Furthermore, after ternary complex build-up, fluvastatin, similar to HDL, was able to reduce nanoplaque adsorption and size. These immediate effects of fluvastatin have to be taken into consideration while interpreting the clinical outcome of long-term studies.
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20. |
- Dam, Veerle, et al.
(author)
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Genetically Determined Reproductive Aging and Coronary Heart Disease : A Bidirectional 2-sample Mendelian Randomization
- 2022
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In: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. - : The Endocrine Society. - 0021-972X .- 1945-7197. ; 107:7, s. E2952-E2961
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Accelerated reproductive aging, in women indicated by early natural menopause, is associated with increased coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in observational studies. Conversely, an adverse CHD risk profile has been suggested to accelerate menopause. Objectives: To study the direction and evidence for causality of the relationship between reproductive aging and (non-)fatal CHD and CHD risk factors in a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) approach, using age at natural menopause (ANM) genetic variants as a measure for genetically determined reproductive aging in women. We also studied the association of these variants with CHD risk (factors) in men. Design: Two-sample MR, using both cohort data as well as summary statistics, with 4 methods: simple and weighted median-based, standard inverse-variance weighted (IVW) regression, and MR-Egger regression. Participants: Data from EPIC-CVD and summary statistics from UK Biobank and publicly available genome-wide association studies were pooled for the different analyses. Main Outcome Measures: CHD, CHD risk factors, and ANM. Results: Across different methods of MR, no association was found between genetically determined reproductive aging and CHD risk in women (relative risk estimateIVW = 0.99; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.97-1.01), or any of the CHD risk factors. Similarly, no associations were found in men. Neither did the reversed analyses show evidence for an association between CHD (risk factors) and reproductive aging. Conclusion: Genetically determined reproductive aging is not causally associated with CHD risk (factors) in women, nor were the genetic variants associated in men. We found no evidence for a reverse association in a combined sample of women and men.
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22. |
- Eriksson, Anna-Lena, 1971, et al.
(author)
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Genetic Determinants of Circulating Estrogen Levels and Evidence of a Causal Effect of Estradiol on Bone Density in Men.
- 2018
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In: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. - : The Endocrine Society. - 0021-972X .- 1945-7197. ; 103:3, s. 991-1004
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Serum estradiol (E2) and estrone (E1) levels exhibit substantial heritability.To investigate the genetic regulation of serum E2 and E1 in men.Genome-wide association study in 11,097 men of European origin from nine epidemiological cohorts.Genetic determinants of serum E2 and E1 levels.Variants in/near CYP19A1 demonstrated the strongest evidence for association with E2, resolving to three independent signals. Two additional independent signals were found on the X chromosome; FAMily with sequence similarity 9, member B (FAM9B), rs5934505 (P = 3.4 × 10-8) and Xq27.3, rs5951794 (P = 3.1 × 10-10). E1 signals were found in CYP19A1 (rs2899472, P = 5.5 × 10-23), in Tripartite motif containing 4 (TRIM4; rs17277546, P = 5.8 × 10-14), and CYP11B1/B2 (rs10093796, P = 1.2 × 10-8). E2 signals in CYP19A1 and FAM9B were associated with bone mineral density (BMD). Mendelian randomization analysis suggested a causal effect of serum E2 on BMD in men. A 1 pg/mL genetically increased E2 was associated with a 0.048 standard deviation increase in lumbar spine BMD (P = 2.8 × 10-12). In men and women combined, CYP19A1 alleles associated with higher E2 levels were associated with lower degrees of insulin resistance.Our findings confirm that CYP19A1 is an important genetic regulator of E2 and E1 levels and strengthen the causal importance of E2 for bone health in men. We also report two independent loci on the X-chromosome for E2, and one locus each in TRIM4 and CYP11B1/B2, for E1.
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23. |
- Kamp, M., et al.
(author)
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Low loss InP based photonic crystal waveguides and resonators
- 2005
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In: Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits VII. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 0819457035 ; , s. 249-256
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on low-loss light propagation at the communication wavelength of 1.55 μm through straight two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguides patterned into InGaAsP/InP heterostructures. The linear defect waveguides along the ΓK direction of a triangular lattice of air holes were etched deeply into the semiconductor by Cl 2/Ar electron cyclotron resonance reactive ion etching. Efficient waveguiding was observed for both polarization directions, although a photonic band gap exists for only one of the polarization states. Propagation losses, determined by the Fabry-Pérot resonance method, are as low as 0.2 dB/mm and 1.5 dB/mm for waveguides based on seven and three missing rows of holes, respectively. Waveguide resonators with 100 GHz channel spacing and quality factors up to 15,000 have been realized by inserting photonic crystal mirrors into the waveguides. The dispersion of the resonators was measured using a phase shift technique. Values for the group velocity dispersion range from -250 ps/nm to +250 ps/nm at wavelengths around 1.55 μm, which is sufficient to compensate for the dispersion of 15 km standard single-mode fiber. Controlling the device temperature allows to tune the dispersive properties of the devices.
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24. |
- Lindholm, Daniel, 1982-, et al.
(author)
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Biomarker-Based Risk Model to Predict Cardiovascular Mortality in Patients With Stable Coronary Disease
- 2017
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In: Journal of the American College of Cardiology. - : Elsevier. - 0735-1097 .- 1558-3597. ; 70:7, s. 813-826
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Currently, there is no generally accepted model to predict outcomes in stable coronary heart disease (CHD).Objectives This study evaluated and compared the prognostic value of biomarkers and clinical variables to develop a biomarker-based prediction model in patients with stable CHD.Methods In a prospective, randomized trial cohort of 13,164 patients with stable CHD, we analyzed several candidate biomarkers and clinical variables and used multivariable Cox regression to develop a clinical prediction model based on the most important markers. The primary outcome was cardiovascular (CV) death, but model performance was also explored for other key outcomes. It was internally bootstrap validated, and externally validated in 1,547 patients in another study.Results During a median follow-up of 3.7 years, there were 591 cases of CV death. The 3 most important biomarkers were N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, where NT-proBNP and hs-cTnT had greater prognostic value than any other biomarker or clinical variable. The final prediction model included age (A), biomarkers (B) (NT-proBNP, hs-cTnT, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), and clinical variables (C) (smoking, diabetes mellitus, and peripheral arterial disease). This “ABC-CHD” model had high discriminatory ability for CV death (c-index 0.81 in derivation cohort, 0.78 in validation cohort), with adequate calibration in both cohorts.Conclusions This model provided a robust tool for the prediction of CV death in patients with stable CHD. As it is based on a small number of readily available biomarkers and clinical factors, it can be widely employed to complement clinical assessment and guide management based on CV risk. (The Stabilization of Atherosclerotic Plaque by Initiation of Darapladib Therapy Trial [STABILITY]; NCT00799903)
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- Robinson-Cohen, Cassianne, et al.
(author)
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Genetic Variants Associated with Circulating Parathyroid Hormone.
- 2017
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In: Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN. - 1533-3450. ; 28:5, s. 1553-1565
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is a primary calcium regulatory hormone. Elevated serum PTH concentrations in primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism have been associated with bone disease, hypertension, and in some studies, cardiovascular mortality. Genetic causes of variation in circulating PTH concentrations are incompletely understood. We performed a genome-wide association study of serum PTH concentrations among 29,155 participants of European ancestry from 13 cohort studies (n=22,653 and n=6502 in discovery and replication analyses, respectively). We evaluated the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with natural log-transformed PTH concentration adjusted for age, sex, season, study site, and principal components of ancestry. We discovered associations of SNPs from five independent regions with serum PTH concentration, including the strongest association with rs6127099 upstream of CYP24A1 (P=4.2 × 10(-53)), a gene that encodes the primary catabolic enzyme for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and 25-dihydroxyvitamin D. Each additional copy of the minor allele at this SNP associated with 7% higher serum PTH concentration. The other SNPs associated with serum PTH concentration included rs4074995 within RGS14 (P=6.6 × 10(-17)), rs219779 adjacent to CLDN14 (P=3.5 × 10(-16)), rs4443100 near RTDR1 (P=8.7 × 10(-9)), and rs73186030 near CASR (P=4.8 × 10(-8)). Of these five SNPs, rs6127099, rs4074995, and rs219779 replicated. Thus, common genetic variants located near genes involved in vitamin D metabolism and calcium and renal phosphate transport associated with differences in circulating PTH concentrations. Future studies could identify the causal variants at these loci, and the clinical and functional relevance of these variants should be pursued.
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- Rossignol, P, et al.
(author)
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NT-proBNP and stem cell factor plasma concentrations are independently associated with cardiovascular outcomes in end-stage renal disease hemodialysis patients
- 2022
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In: European Heart Journal Open. - : Oxford University Press. - 2752-4191. ; 2:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aimas: End-stage renal disease (ESRD) treated by chronic hemodialysis (HD) is associated with poor cardiovascular (CV) outcomes, with no available evidence-based therapeutics. A multiplexed proteomic approach may identify new pathophysiological pathways associated with CV outcomes, potentially actionable for precision medicine.Methods and Results: The AURORA trial was an international, multicentre, randomized, double-blind trial involving 2776 patients undergoing maintenance HD. Rosuvastatin vs. placebo had no significant effect on the composite primary endpoint of death from CV causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction or nonfatal stroke. We first compared CV risk-matched cases and controls (n = 410) to identify novel biomarkers using a multiplex proximity extension immunoassay (276 proteomic biomarkers assessed with OlinkTM). We replicated our findings in 200 unmatched cases and 200 controls. External validation was conducted from a multicentre real-life Danish cohort [Aarhus-Aalborg (AA), n = 331 patients] in which 92 OlinkTM biomarkers were assessed. In AURORA, only N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP, positive association) and stem cell factor (SCF) (negative association) were found consistently associated with the trial's primary outcome across exploration and replication phases, independently from the baseline characteristics. Stem cell factor displayed a lower added predictive ability compared with NT-ProBNP. In the AA cohort, in multivariable analyses, BNP was found significantly associated with major CV events, while higher SCF was associated with less frequent CV deaths.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that NT-proBNP and SCF may help identify ESRD patients with respectively high and low CV risk, beyond classical clinical predictors and also point at novel pathways for prevention and treatment.
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- Vimaleswaran, Karani S, et al.
(author)
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Association of vitamin D status with arterial blood pressure and hypertension risk: a mendelian randomisation study.
- 2014
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In: The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology. - 2213-8595 .- 2213-8587. ; 2:9, s. 719-29
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Low plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentration is associated with high arterial blood pressure and hypertension risk, but whether this association is causal is unknown. We used a mendelian randomisation approach to test whether 25(OH)D concentration is causally associated with blood pressure and hypertension risk. Methods In this mendelian randomisation study, we generated an allele score (25[OH]D synthesis score) based on variants of genes that affect 25(OH)D synthesis or substrate availability (CYP2R1 and DHCR7), which we used as a proxy for 25(OH)D concentration. We meta-analysed data for up to 108173 individuals from 35 studies in the D-CarDia collaboration to investigate associations between the allele score and blood pressure measurements. We complemented these analyses with previously published summary statistics from the International Consortium on Blood Pressure (ICBP), the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium, and the Global Blood Pressure Genetics (Global BPGen) consortium. Findings In phenotypic analyses (up to n=49363), increased 25(OH)D concentration was associated with decreased systolic blood pressure (β per 10% increase, −0·12 mm Hg, 95% CI −0·20 to −0·04; p=0·003) and reduced odds of hypertension (odds ratio [OR] 0·98, 95% CI 0·97–0·99; p=0·0003), but not with decreased diastolic blood pressure (β per 10% increase, −0·02 mm Hg, −0·08 to 0·03; p=0·37). In meta-analyses in which we combined data from D-CarDia and the ICBP (n=146581, after exclusion of overlapping studies), each 25(OH)D-increasing allele of the synthesis score was associated with a change of −0·10 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure (−0·21 to −0·0001; p=0·0498) and a change of −0·08 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure (−0·15 to −0·02; p=0·01). When D-CarDia and consortia data for hypertension were meta-analysed together (n=142255), the synthesis score was associated with a reduced odds of hypertension (OR per allele, 0·98, 0·96–0·99; p=0·001). In instrumental variable analysis, each 10% increase in genetically instrumented 25(OH)D concentration was associated with a change of −0·29 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure (−0·52 to −0·07; p=0·01), a change of −0·37 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure (−0·73 to 0·003; p=0·052), and an 8·1% decreased odds of hypertension (OR 0·92, 0·87–0·97; p=0·002). Interpretation Increased plasma concentrations of 25(OH)D might reduce the risk of hypertension. This finding warrants further investigation in an independent, similarly powered study.
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- Ward, James P.J., et al.
(author)
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Stable silicon isotopes uncover a mineralogical control on the benthic silicon cycle in the Arctic Barents Sea
- 2022
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In: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-7037. ; 329, s. 206-230
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Biogeochemical cycling of silicon (Si) in the Barents Sea is under considerable pressure from physical and chemical changes, including dramatic warming and sea ice retreat, together with a decline in dissolved silicic acid (DSi) concentrations of Atlantic inflow waters since 1990. Associated changes in the community composition of phytoplankton blooms will alter the material comprising the depositional flux, which will subsequently influence recycling processes at and within the seafloor. In this study we assess the predominant controls on the early diagenetic cycling of Si, a key nutrient in marine ecosystems, by combining stable isotopic analysis (δ30Si) of pore water DSi and of operationally defined reactive pools of the solid phase. We show that low biogenic silica (BSi) contents (0.26–0.52 wt% or 92–185 μmol g dry wt−1) drive correspondingly low asymptotic concentrations of pore water DSi of ∼100 μM, relative to biosiliceous sediments (>20 wt% BSi) wherein DSi can reach ∼900 μM. While Barents Sea surface sediments appear almost devoid of BSi, we present evidence for the rapid recycling of bloom derived BSi that generates striking transient peaks in sediment pore water [DSi] of up to 300 μM, which is a feature that is subject to future shifts in phytoplankton community compositions. Using a simple isotopic mass balance calculation we show that at two of three stations the pore water DSi pool at 0.5 cm below the seafloor (+0.96 to +1.36 ‰) is sourced from the mixing of core top waters (+1.46 to +1.69 ‰) with the dissolution of BSi (+0.82 to +1.50 ‰), supplemented with a lithogenic Si source (LSi) (−0.89 ±0.16‰). Further, our sediment pore water δ30Si profiles uncover a coupling of the Si cycle with the redox cycling of metal oxides associated with isotopically light Si (−2.88 ±0.17‰). We suggest that a high LSi:BSi ratio and apparent metal oxide influence could lead to a degree of stability in the annual background benthic flux of DSi, despite current pressures on pelagic phytoplankton communities. Coupled with supporting isotopic evidence for the precipitation of authigenic clays in Barents Sea sediment cores, our observations have implications for the regional Si budget.
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