1. |
- Solinas, Giovanni, et al.
(author)
-
An adipoincretin effect links adipostasis with insulin secretion.
- 2024
-
In: Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM. - 1879-3061. ; 35:6, s. 466-477
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The current paradigm for the insulin system focuses on the phenomenon of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and insulin action on blood glucose control. This historical glucose-centric perspective may have introduced a conceptual bias in our understanding of insulin regulation. A body of evidence demonstrating that in vivo variations in blood glucose and insulin secretion can be largely dissociated motivated us to reconsider the fundamental design of the insulin system as a control system for metabolic homeostasis. Here, we propose that a minimal glucose-centric model does not accurately describe the physiological behavior of the insulin system and propose a new paradigm focusing on the effects of incretins, arguing that under fasting conditions, insulin is regulated by an adipoincretin effect.
|
|
2. |
- Bauzá-Thorbrügge, Marco, et al.
(author)
-
NRF2 is essential for adaptative browning of white adipocytes.
- 2023
-
In: Redox biology. - : Elsevier. - 2213-2317. ; 68
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- White adipose tissue browning, defined by accelerated mitochondrial metabolism and biogenesis, is considered a promising mean to treat or prevent obesity-associated metabolic disturbances. We hypothesize that redox stress acutely leads to increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which activate electrophile sensor nuclear factor erythroid 2-Related Factor 2 (NRF2) that over time results in an adaptive adipose tissue browning process. To test this, we have exploited adipocyte-specific NRF2 knockout mice and cultured adipocytes and analyzed time- and dose-dependent effect of NAC and lactate treatment on antioxidant expression and browning-like processes. We found that short-term antioxidant treatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) induced reductive stress as evident from increased intracellular NADH levels, increased ROS-production, reduced oxygen consumption rate (OCR), and increased NRF2 levels in white adipocytes. In contrast, and in line with our hypothesis, longer-term NAC treatment led to a NRF2-dependent browning response. Lactate treatment elicited similar effects as NAC, and mechanistically, these NRF2-dependent adipocyte browning responses in vitro were mediated by increased heme oxygenase-1 (HMOX1) activity. Moreover, this NRF2-HMOX1 axis was also important for β3-adrenergic receptor activation-induced adipose tissue browning in vivo. In conclusion, our findings show that administration of exogenous antioxidants can affect biological function not solely through ROS neutralization, but also through reductive stress. We also demonstrate that NRF2 is essential for white adipose tissue browning processes.
|
|
3. |
- Rube, Tanja, et al.
(author)
-
Development of the Swedish anticholinergic burden scale (Swe-ABS).
- 2023
-
In: BMC geriatrics. - 1471-2318. ; 23:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Drugs with anticholinergic properties are associated with cognitive adverse effects, especially in patients vulnerable to central muscarinic antagonism. A variety of drugs show weak, moderate or strong anticholinergic effects. Therefore, the cumulative anticholinergic burden should be considered in patients with cognitive impairment. This study aimed to develop a Swedish Anticholinergic Burden Scale (Swe-ABS) to be used in health care and research.A systematic literature review was conducted in PubMed and Ovid Embase to identify previously published tools quantifying anticholinergic drug burden (i.e., exposure). Drugs and grading scores (0-3, no to high anticholinergic activity) were extracted from identified lists. Enteral and parenteral drugs authorized in Sweden were included. Drugs with conflicting scores in the existing lists were assessed by an expert group. Two drugs that were not previously assessed were also added to the evaluation process.The systematic literature search identified the following nine anticholinergic burden scales: Anticholinergic Activity Scale, Anticholinergic Burden Classification, updated Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden scale, Anticholinergic Drug Scale, Anticholinergic Load Scale, Anticholinergic Risk Scale, updated Clinician-rated Anticholinergic Scale, German Anticholinergic Burden Scale and Korean Anticholinergic Burden Scale. A list of drugs with significant anticholinergic effects provided by The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare was included in the process. The suggested Swe-ABS consists of 104 drugs scored as having weak, moderate or strong anticholinergic effects. Two hundred and fifty-six drugs were listed as having no anticholinergic effects based on evaluation in previous scales. In total, 62 drugs were assessed by the expert group.Swe-ABS is a simplified method to quantify the anticholinergic burden and is easy to use in clinical practice. Publication of this scale might make clinicians more aware of drugs with anticholinergic properties and patients' total anticholinergic burden. Further research is needed to validate the Swe-ABS and evaluate anticholinergic exposure versus clinically significant outcomes.
|
|
4. |
- Mohammadi, Elyas, et al.
(author)
-
Applications of Genome-Wide Screening and Systems Biology Approaches in Drug Repositioning
- 2020
-
In: Cancers. - : MDPI AG. - 2072-6694. ; 12:9, s. 1-24
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Simple Summary Drug repurposing is an accelerated route for drug development and a promising approach for finding medications for orphan and common diseases. Here, we compiled databases that comprise both computationally- or experimentally-derived data, and categorized them based on quiddity and origin of data, further focusing on those that present high throughput omic data or drug screens. These databases were then contextualized with genome-wide screening methods such as CRISPR/Cas9 and RNA interference, as well as state of art systems biology approaches that enable systematic characterizations of multi-omic data to find new indications for approved drugs or those that reached the latest phases of clinical trials. Modern drug discovery through de novo drug discovery entails high financial costs, low success rates, and lengthy trial periods. Drug repositioning presents a suitable approach for overcoming these issues by re-evaluating biological targets and modes of action of approved drugs. Coupling high-throughput technologies with genome-wide essentiality screens, network analysis, genome-scale metabolic modeling, and machine learning techniques enables the proposal of new drug-target signatures and uncovers unanticipated modes of action for available drugs. Here, we discuss the current issues associated with drug repositioning in light of curated high-throughput multi-omic databases, genome-wide screening technologies, and their application in systems biology/medicine approaches.
|
|
5. |
- Altay, Özlem, et al.
(author)
-
Current Status of COVID-19 Therapies and Drug Repositioning Applications
- 2020
-
In: Iscience. - : Elsevier BV. - 2589-0042. ; 23:7
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The rapid and global spread of a new human coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has produced an immediate urgency to discover promising targets for the treatment of COVID-19. Drug repositioning is an attractive approach that can facilitate the drug discovery process by repurposing existing pharmaceuticals to treat illnesses other than their primary indications. Here, we review current information concerning the global health issue of COVID-19 including promising approved drugs and ongoing clinical trials for prospective treatment options. In addition, we describe computational approaches to be used in drug repurposing and highlight examples of in silico studies of drug development efforts against SARS-CoV-2.
|
|
6. |
- Zhang, C., et al.
(author)
-
The acute effect of metabolic cofactor supplementation: a potential therapeutic strategy against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- 2020
-
In: Molecular Systems Biology. - : EMBO. - 1744-4292. ; 16:4
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) continues to increase dramatically, and there is no approved medication for its treatment. Recently, we predicted the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in the progression of NAFLD using network analysis and identified metabolic cofactors that might be beneficial as supplements to decrease human liver fat. Here, we first assessed the tolerability of the combined metabolic cofactors including l-serine, N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC), nicotinamide riboside (NR), and l-carnitine by performing a 7-day rat toxicology study. Second, we performed a human calibration study by supplementing combined metabolic cofactors and a control study to study the kinetics of these metabolites in the plasma of healthy subjects with and without supplementation. We measured clinical parameters and observed no immediate side effects. Next, we generated plasma metabolomics and inflammatory protein markers data to reveal the acute changes associated with the supplementation of the metabolic cofactors. We also integrated metabolomics data using personalized genome-scale metabolic modeling and observed that such supplementation significantly affects the global human lipid, amino acid, and antioxidant metabolism. Finally, we predicted blood concentrations of these compounds during daily long-term supplementation by generating an ordinary differential equation model and liver concentrations of serine by generating a pharmacokinetic model and finally adjusted the doses of individual metabolic cofactors for future human clinical trials.
|
|
7. |
- Titulaer, Joep
(author)
-
Finding improved drug strategies for schizophrenia : Preclinical studies on lumateperone and sodium nitroprusside
- 2023
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder affecting approximately 20 million people worldwide. The disease consists of positive symptoms e.g. hallucinations, negative symptoms such as anhedonia, and cognitive deficits, e.g. impaired episodic memory. Most of the currently available treatment options for schizophrenia only target the positive symptoms, possess severe side effects and do not work for a large group of patients. In this thesis, the unique antipsychotic drug lumateperone and adjunctive treatment of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) to sub-maximal doses of conventional antipsychotic drugs are investigated in preclinical tests as novel treatment options for schizophrenia In paper I we showed that SNP enhances the antipsychotic-like effect of a sub-effective dose of risperidone in the conditioned avoidance response (CAR) test in rats. Moreover, by using microdialysis we showed that SNP significantly enhances risperidone-induced dopamine release in the rat medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) but not in the nucleus accumbens, indicating that adjunct SNP could be used to improve the efficacy of antipsychotic drugs, while reducing their dose and subsequently lower the risk of side effects.In paper II we used microdialysis combined to the behavioral novel object recognition test in rats to show that the release of both dopamine and norepinephrine is increased in the ventral hippocampus in response to a novel object, suggesting that dopamine and norepinephrine may play a crucial role in recognition memory. In paper III we showed that SNP significantly enhanced the antipsychotic-like effect of sub-effective doses of olanzapine in the CAR test, but not of clozapine, this could be explained by the developed tolerance towards clozapine after repeated administrations.In paper IV we used enzyme-coated microelectrode arrays to show that lumateperone significantly increased cortical glutamate release in the mPFC of anaesthetized rats. By using electrophysiology, we also show that lumateperone facilitates NMDA and AMPA-mediated currents in a dopamine D1 dependent manner in layer V/VI pyramidal neurons in the mPFC of rats. Moreover, lumateperone increases dopamine release in the mPFC of freely moving rats as shown by using microdialysis. These mechanisms may improve cognitive deficits and contribute to the clinically demonstrated antidepressant effects of lumateperone. Taken together, these results show that lumateperone is a promising novel treatment option for schizophrenia, and that adjunct SNP treatment may allow for improved efficacy at maintained or even reduced dosage of conventional antipsychotic medication.
|
|
8. |
- Björn, Niclas, et al.
(author)
-
Genes and variants in hematopoiesis-related pathways are associated with gemcitabine/carboplatin-induced thrombocytopenia
- 2020
-
In: The Pharmacogenomics Journal. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1470-269X .- 1473-1150. ; 20:2, s. 179-191
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression, including thrombocytopenia, is a recurrent problem during cancer treatments that may require dose alterations or cessations that could affect the antitumor effect of the treatment. To identify genetic markers associated with treatment-induced thrombocytopenia, we whole-exome sequenced 215 non-small cell lung cancer patients homogeneously treated with gemcitabine/carboplatin. The decrease in platelets (defined as nadir/baseline) was used to assess treatment-induced thrombocytopenia. Association between germline genetic variants and thrombocytopenia was analyzed at single-nucleotide variant (SNV) (based on the optimal false discovery rate, the severity of predicted consequence, and effect), gene, and pathway levels. These analyses identified 130 SNVs/INDELs and 25 genes associated with thrombocytopenia (P-value < 0.002). Twenty-three SNVs were validated in an independent genome-wide association study (GWAS). The top associations include rs34491125 in JMJD1C (P-value = 9.07 × 10−5), the validated variants rs10491684 in DOCK8 (P-value = 1.95 × 10−4), rs6118 in SERPINA5 (P-value = 5.83 × 10−4), and rs5877 in SERPINC1 (P-value = 1.07 × 10−3), and the genes CAPZA2 (P-value = 4.03 × 10−4) and SERPINC1 (P-value = 1.55 × 10−3). The SNVs in the top-scoring pathway “Factors involved in megakaryocyte development and platelet production” (P-value = 3.34 × 10−4) were used to construct weighted genetic risk score (wGRS) and logistic regression models that predict thrombocytopenia. The wGRS predict which patients are at high or low toxicity risk levels, for CTCAE (odds ratio (OR) = 22.35, P-value = 1.55 × 10−8), and decrease (OR = 66.82, P-value = 5.92 × 10−9). The logistic regression models predict CTCAE grades 3–4 (receiver operator characteristics (ROC) area under the curve (AUC) = 0.79), and large decrease (ROC AUC = 0.86). We identified and validated genetic variations within hematopoiesis-related pathways that provide a solid foundation for future studies using genetic markers for predicting chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia and personalizing treatments.
|
|
9. |
- Ghirmai, Semhar, 1993, et al.
(author)
-
Relationship between hemolysis and lipid oxidation in red blood cell-spiked fish muscle; dependance on pH and blood plasma
- 2024
-
In: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Research. - 2045-2322. ; 14:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The relationship between hemolysis and lipid oxidation was explored in red blood cell (RBCs)-spiked washed cod mince (WCM). At pH 6.8 and 3 ± 1 °C, intact RBCs (71 µM Hb) delayed lipid oxidation by 1 day compared to WCM with partly or fully lysed RBCs which oxidized immediately. Intact RBCs also lowered peak peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) with up to 59.5% and 48.1%, respectively. Adding 3% (v/w) blood plasma to RBC-spiked WCM delayed the lipid oxidation onset from 1 to 3–4 days without delaying hemolysis. At pH 6.4 the oxidation onset in RBC-WCM was the same as for pH 6.8 while at pH 7.2–7.6 lipid oxidation was suppressed for 7 days. Micrographs revealed RBC-lysis from day 2 at pH 6.4 but at pH 7.6, RBC stayed intact for ≥ 7 days. Thus, assuring presence of plasma-derived antioxidants and/or elevating muscle pH to avoid hemolysis can aid valorization of blood rich underutilized fish raw materials.
|
|
10. |
- Szekeres, Ferenc L. M., et al.
(author)
-
A small molecule inhibitor of Nox2 and Nox4 improves contractile function after ischemia–reperfusion in the mouse heart
- 2021
-
In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Nature. - 2045-2322. ; 11:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The NADPH oxidase enzymes Nox2 and 4, are important generators of Reactive oxygen species (ROS). These enzymes are abundantly expressed in cardiomyocytes and have been implicated in ischemia–reperfusion injury. Previous attempts with full inhibition of their activity using genetically modified animals have shown variable results, suggesting that a selective and graded inhibition could be a more relevant approach. We have, using chemical library screening, identified a new compound (GLX481304) which inhibits Nox 2 and 4 (with IC50 values of 1.25 µM) without general antioxidant effects or inhibitory effects on Nox 1. The compound inhibits ROS production in isolated mouse cardiomyocytes and improves cardiomyocyte contractility and contraction of whole retrogradely (Langendorff) perfused hearts after a global ischemia period. We conclude that a pharmacological and partial inhibition of ROS production by inhibition of Nox 2 and 4 is beneficial for recovery after ischemia reperfusion and might be a promising venue for treatment of ischemic injury to the heart.
|
|