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- Bar, N., et al.
(author)
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A reference map of potential determinants for the human serum metabolome
- 2020
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In: Nature. - : Nature Research. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 588:7836, s. 135-140
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The serum metabolome contains a plethora of biomarkers and causative agents of various diseases, some of which are endogenously produced and some that have been taken up from the environment1. The origins of specific compounds are known, including metabolites that are highly heritable2,3, or those that are influenced by the gut microbiome4, by lifestyle choices such as smoking5, or by diet6. However, the key determinants of most metabolites are still poorly understood. Here we measured the levels of 1,251 metabolites in serum samples from a unique and deeply phenotyped healthy human cohort of 491 individuals. We applied machine-learning algorithms to predict metabolite levels in held-out individuals on the basis of host genetics, gut microbiome, clinical parameters, diet, lifestyle and anthropometric measurements, and obtained statistically significant predictions for more than 76% of the profiled metabolites. Diet and microbiome had the strongest predictive power, and each explained hundreds of metabolites—in some cases, explaining more than 50% of the observed variance. We further validated microbiome-related predictions by showing a high replication rate in two geographically independent cohorts7,8 that were not available to us when we trained the algorithms. We used feature attribution analysis9 to reveal specific dietary and bacterial interactions. We further demonstrate that some of these interactions might be causal, as some metabolites that we predicted to be positively associated with bread were found to increase after a randomized clinical trial of bread intervention. Overall, our results reveal potential determinants of more than 800 metabolites, paving the way towards a mechanistic understanding of alterations in metabolites under different conditions and to designing interventions for manipulating the levels of circulating metabolites.
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- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(author)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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- Lazar, Tamas, et al.
(author)
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PED in 2021 : A major update of the protein ensemble database for intrinsically disordered proteins
- 2021
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In: Nucleic Acids Research. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0305-1048 .- 1362-4962. ; 49:D1, s. 404-411
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Protein Ensemble Database (PED) (https://proteinensemble.org), which holds structural ensembles of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), has been significantly updated and upgraded since its last release in 2016. The new version, PED 4.0, has been completely redesigned and reimplemented with cutting-edge technology and now holds about six times more data (162 versus 24 entries and 242 versus 60 structural ensembles) and a broader representation of state of the art ensemble generation methods than the previous version. The database has a completely renewed graphical interface with an interactive feature viewer for region-based annotations, and provides a series of descriptors of the qualitative and quantitative properties of the ensembles. High quality of the data is guaranteed by a new submission process, which combines both automatic and manual evaluation steps. A team of biocurators integrate structured metadata describing the ensemble generation methodology, experimental constraints and conditions. A new search engine allows the user to build advanced queries and search all entry fields including cross-references to IDP-related resources such as DisProt, MobiDB, BMRB and SASBDB. We expect that the renewed PED will be useful for researchers interested in the atomic-level understanding of IDP function, and promote the rational, structure-based design of IDP-targeting drugs.
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- Gepner, B. D., et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of GHBMC, THUMS and SAFER Human Body Models in Frontal Impacts in Reclined Postures
- 2022
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In: Conference proceedings International Research Council on the Biomechanics of Injury, IRCOBI. - 2235-3151. ; 2022-September, s. 116-143
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Virtual tools, such as human body models (HBMs), can support advances in vehicle development and restraint system design. The goal of this study is to evaluate selected HBMs against data from recent reclined post-mortem human subject (PMHS) tests. Three HBMs - the Global Human Body Modelling Consortium detailed model v.6.0, Total Human Model for Safety v.6.0, and SAFER HBM v.10 - were used in this study. The models were positioned with respect to the average PMHS position and utlised a previously developed environment model. The HBMs were evaluated comparing belt engagement, boundary forces and displacements (in the seat and belt), and the trajectories of the head, T1, T8, T11, L1, L3, and pelvis. The HBMs' belt engagement, boundary forces and displacements, and X-direction (fore-aft) trajectories were all generally consistent with the PMHS. All HBMs predicted more downward motion of the head and T1 compared to the PMHS. The HBMs also showed rearward pelvis pitch at peak lap belt force, opposite to the PMHS. Some of these differences were associated with differences in flexion of the lumbar spine. This is the first study to provide an in-depth evaluation of multiple reclined HBMs in frontal crashes compared to reclined PMHS.
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- Murphy, M. P., et al.
(author)
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Guidelines for measuring reactive oxygen species and oxidative damage in cells and in vivo
- 2022
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In: Nature Metabolism. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2522-5812. ; 4:6, s. 651-662
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Multiple roles of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their consequences for health and disease are emerging throughout biological sciences. This development has led researchers unfamiliar with the complexities of ROS and their reactions to employ commercial kits and probes to measure ROS and oxidative damage inappropriately, treating ROS (a generic abbreviation) as if it were a discrete molecular entity. Unfortunately, the application and interpretation of these measurements are fraught with challenges and limitations. This can lead to misleading claims entering the literature and impeding progress, despite a well-established body of knowledge on how best to assess individual ROS, their reactions, role as signalling molecules and the oxidative damage that they can cause. In this consensus statement we illuminate problems that can arise with many commonly used approaches for measurement of ROS and oxidative damage, and propose guidelines for best practice. We hope that these strategies will be useful to those who find their research requiring assessment of ROS, oxidative damage and redox signalling in cells and in vivo. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have important roles in health and disease, but are chemically complex and difficult to measure accurately. This consensus statement proposes guidelines and best practices on the nomenclature and assessment of ROS, oxidative reactions and oxidative damage in cells, tissues and in vivo.
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