1. |
- Clark, Andrew G., et al.
(author)
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Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny
- 2007
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 450:7167, s. 203-218
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Comparative analysis of multiple genomes in a phylogenetic framework dramatically improves the precision and sensitivity of evolutionary inference, producing more robust results than single-genome analyses can provide. The genomes of 12 Drosophila species, ten of which are presented here for the first time (sechellia, simulans, yakuba, erecta, ananassae, persimilis, willistoni, mojavensis, virilis and grimshawi), illustrate how rates and patterns of sequence divergence across taxa can illuminate evolutionary processes on a genomic scale. These genome sequences augment the formidable genetic tools that have made Drosophila melanogaster a pre-eminent model for animal genetics, and will further catalyse fundamental research on mechanisms of development, cell biology, genetics, disease, neurobiology, behaviour, physiology and evolution. Despite remarkable similarities among these Drosophila species, we identified many putatively non-neutral changes in protein-coding genes, non-coding RNA genes, and cis-regulatory regions. These may prove to underlie differences in the ecology and behaviour of these diverse species.
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2. |
- Liu, Kui, et al.
(author)
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Kallikrein genes are associated with lupus and glomerular basement membrane-specific antibody-induced nephritis in mice and humans
- 2009
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In: Journal of Clinical Investigation. - 0021-9738 .- 1558-8238. ; 119:4, s. 911-923
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Immune-mediated nephritis contributes to disease in systemic lupus erythematosus, Goodpasture syndrome (caused by antibodies specific for glomerular basement membrane [anti-GBM antibodies]), and spontaneous lupus nephritis. Inbred mouse strains differ in susceptibility to anti-GBM antibody-induced and spontaneous lupus nephritis. This study sought to clarify the genetic and molecular factors that maybe responsible for enhanced immune-mediated renal disease in these models. When the kidneys of 3 mouse strains sensitive to anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis were compared with those of 2 control strains using microarray analysis, one-fifth of the underexpressed genes belonged to the kallikrein gene family,which encodes serine esterases. Mouse strains that upregulated renal and urinary kallikreins exhibited less evidence of disease. Antagonizing the kallikrein pathway augmented disease, while agonists dampened the severity of anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis. In addition, nephritis-sensitive mouse strains had kallikrein haplotypes that were distinct from those of control strains, including several regulatory polymorphisms,some of which were associated with functional consequences. Indeed, increased susceptibility to anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis and spontaneous lupus nephritis was achieved by breeding mice with a genetic interval harboring the kallikrein genes onto a disease-resistant background. Finally, both human SLE and spontaneous lupus nephritis were found to be associated with kallikrein genes, particularly KLK1 and the KLK3 promoter, when DNA SNPs from independent cohorts of SLE patients and controls were compared. Collectively, these studies suggest that kallikreins are protective disease-associated genes in anti-GBM antibody-induced nephritis and lupus.
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3. |
- Lu, R, et al.
(author)
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Genetic associations of LYN with systemic lupus erythematosus
- 2009
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In: Genes and Immunity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1466-4879 .- 1476-5470. ; 10:5, s. 397-403
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We targeted LYN, a src-tyosine kinase involved in B-cell activation, in case-control association studies using populations of European-American, African-American and Korean subjects. Our combined European-derived population, consisting of 2463 independent cases and 3131 unrelated controls, shows significant association with rs6983130 in a female-only analysis with 2254 cases and 2228 controls (P=1.1 x 10(-4), odds ratio (OR)=0.81 (95% confidence interval: 0.73-0.90)). This single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is located in the 5' untranslated region within the first intron near the transcription initiation site of LYN. In addition, SNPs upstream of the first exon also show weak and sporadic association in subsets of the total European-American population. Multivariate logistic regression analysis implicates rs6983130 as a protective factor for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility when anti-dsDNA, anti-chromatin, anti-52 kDa Ro or anti-Sm autoantibody status were used as covariates. Subset analysis of the European-American female cases by American College of Rheumatology classification criteria shows a reduction in the risk of hematological disorder with rs6983130 compared with cases without hematological disorders (P=1.5 x 10(-3), OR=0.75 (95% CI: 0.62-0.89)). None of the 90 SNPs tested show significant association with SLE in the African American or Korean populations. These results support an association of LYN with European-derived individuals with SLE, especially within autoantibody or clinical subsets.
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4. |
- Douglas, K. B., et al.
(author)
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Complement receptor 2 polymorphisms associated with systemic lupus erythematosus modulate alternative splicing
- 2009
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In: Genes and Immunity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1466-4879 .- 1476-5470. ; 10:5, s. 457-469
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genetic factors influence susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A recent family-based analysis in Caucasian and Chinese populations provided evidence for association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the complement receptor 2 (CR2/CD21) gene with SLE. Here we confirmed this result in a case-control analysis of an independent European-derived population including 2084 patients with SLE and 2853 healthy controls. A haplotype formed by the minor alleles of three CR2 SNPs (rs1048971, rs17615, rs4308977) showed significant association with decreased risk of SLE (30.4% in cases vs 32.6% in controls, P=0.016, OR=0.90 (0.82-0.98)). Two of these SNPs are in exon 10, directly 5' of an alternatively spliced exon preferentially expressed in follicular dendritic cells (FDC), and the third is in the alternatively spliced exon. Effects of these SNPs and a fourth SNP in exon 11 (rs17616) on alternative splicing were evaluated. We found that the minor alleles of these SNPs decreased splicing efficiency of exon 11 both in vitro and ex vivo. These findings further implicate CR2 in the pathogenesis of SLE and suggest that CR2 variants alter the maintenance of tolerance and autoantibody production in the secondary lymphoid tissues where B cells and FDCs interact.
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5. |
- Richards, Stephen, et al.
(author)
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The genome of the model beetle and pest Tribolium castaneum.
- 2008
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In: Nature. - 1476-4687. ; 452:7190, s. 949-55
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Tribolium castaneum is a representative of earth’s most numerous eukaryotic order, a powerful model organism for the study of generalized insect development, and also an important pest of stored agricultural products. We describe its genome sequence here. This omnivorous beetle has evolved an ability to interact with a diverse chemical environment as evidenced by large expansions in odorant and gustatory receptors, as well as p450 and other detoxification enzymes. Developmental patterns in Tribolium are more representative of other arthropods than those found in Drosophila, a fact represented in gene content and function. For one, Tribolium has retained more ancestral genes involved in cell-cell communication than Drosophila, and some are expressed in the growth zone crucial for axial elongation in short germ development. Systemic RNAi in T. castaneum appears to use mechanisms distinct from those found in C. elegans, but nevertheless offers similar power for the elucidation of gene function and identification of targets for selective insect control.
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6. |
- Harley, John B., et al.
(author)
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Genome-wide association scan in women with systemic lupus erythematosus identifies susceptibility variants in ITGAM, PXK, KIAA1542 and other loci
- 2008
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 40:2, s. 204-10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a common systemic autoimmune disease with complex etiology but strong clustering in families (lambda(S) = approximately 30). We performed a genome-wide association scan using 317,501 SNPs in 720 women of European ancestry with SLE and in 2,337 controls, and we genotyped consistently associated SNPs in two additional independent sample sets totaling 1,846 affected women and 1,825 controls. Aside from the expected strong association between SLE and the HLA region on chromosome 6p21 and the previously confirmed non-HLA locus IRF5 on chromosome 7q32, we found evidence of association with replication (1.1 x 10(-7) < P(overall) < 1.6 x 10(-23); odds ratio = 0.82-1.62) in four regions: 16p11.2 (ITGAM), 11p15.5 (KIAA1542), 3p14.3 (PXK) and 1q25.1 (rs10798269). We also found evidence for association (P < 1 x 10(-5)) at FCGR2A, PTPN22 and STAT4, regions previously associated with SLE and other autoimmune diseases, as well as at > or =9 other loci (P < 2 x 10(-7)). Our results show that numerous genes, some with known immune-related functions, predispose to SLE.
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7. |
- Gateva, Vesela, et al.
(author)
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A large-scale replication study identifies TNIP1, PRDM1, JAZF1, UHRF1BP1 and IL10 as risk loci for systemic lupus erythematosus
- 2009
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 41:11, s. 1228-1233
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genome-wide association studies have recently identified at least 15 susceptibility loci for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). To confirm additional risk loci, we selected SNPs from 2,466 regions that showed nominal evidence of association to SLE (P < 0.05) in a genome-wide study and genotyped them in an independent sample of 1,963 cases and 4,329 controls. This replication effort identified five new SLE susceptibility loci (P < 5 x 10(-8)): TNIP1 (odds ratio (OR) = 1.27), PRDM1 (OR = 1.20), JAZF1 (OR = 1.20), UHRF1BP1 (OR = 1.17) and IL10 (OR = 1.19). We identified 21 additional candidate loci with P< or = 1 x 10(-5). A candidate screen of alleles previously associated with other autoimmune diseases suggested five loci (P < 1 x 10(-3)) that may contribute to SLE: IFIH1, CFB, CLEC16A, IL12B and SH2B3. These results expand the number of confirmed and candidate SLE susceptibility loci and implicate several key immunologic pathways in SLE pathogenesis.
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8. |
- Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin, et al.
(author)
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Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog.
- 2005
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 438:7069, s. 803-19
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Here we report a high-quality draft genome sequence of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris), together with a dense map of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across breeds. The dog is of particular interest because it provides important evolutionary information and because existing breeds show great phenotypic diversity for morphological, physiological and behavioural traits. We use sequence comparison with the primate and rodent lineages to shed light on the structure and evolution of genomes and genes. Notably, the majority of the most highly conserved non-coding sequences in mammalian genomes are clustered near a small subset of genes with important roles in development. Analysis of SNPs reveals long-range haplotypes across the entire dog genome, and defines the nature of genetic diversity within and across breeds. The current SNP map now makes it possible for genome-wide association studies to identify genes responsible for diseases and traits, with important consequences for human and companion animal health.
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9. |
- Petri, Michelle, et al.
(author)
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Systemic lupus international collaborating clinics renal activity/response exercise - Development of a renal activity score and renal response index
- 2008
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In: Arthritis and Rheumatism. - : Wiley. - 1529-0131 .- 0004-3591. ; 58:6, s. 1784-1788
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective. To develop a measure of renal activity in systemic lupus erythematosus and use it to develop a renal response index. Methods. Abstracted data from the medical records of 215 patients with lupus nephritis were sent to 8 nephrologists and 29 rheumatologists for rating. Seven nephrologists and 22 rheumatologists completed the ratings. Each physician rated each patient visit with respect to renal disease activity (none, mild, moderate, or severe). Using the most commonly selected rating for each patient as the gold standard, stepwise regression modeling was performed to identify the variables most related to renal disease activity, and these variables were then used to create an activity score. This activity score could then be applied to 2 consecutive visits to define a renal response index. Results. The renal activity score was computed as follows: proteinuria 0.5-1 gm/day (3 points), proteinuria >1-3 gm/day (5 points), proteinuria >3 gm/day (11 points), urine red blood cell count > 10/high-power field (3 points), and urine white blood cell count >10/high-power field (I point). The chance-adjusted agreement between the renal response index derived from the activity score applied to the paired visits and the plurality physician response rating was 0.69 (95% confidence interval 0.59-0.79). Conclusion. Ratings derived from this index for rating of renal response showed reasonable agreement with physician ratings in a pilot study. The index will require further refinement, testing, and validation. A data-driven approach to create renal activity and renal response indices will be useful in both clinical care and research settings.
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10. |
- Bäckstrand, Kristina, 1979-
(author)
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Carbon gas biogeochemistry of a northern peatland - in a dynamic permafrost landscape
- 2008
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis is about biogeochemical processes of a northern peatland and their importance as a link between the climate and the terrestrial system. Increased temperatures on a global level, and particularly in the Arctic, have led to melting permafrost and changes in hydrology. In turn, this affect the natural exchange of radiatively important trace gases between land and atmosphere that may reinforce climate change. The aim of this thesis is to increase the understanding about the exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) occurring in northern peatlands, to decrease uncertainty about their future carbon (C) balance. In order to pursue this aim, we designed a study that allowed measuring the C exchange at a subarctic peatland, accounting for spatial and temporal analysis at several levels. The field site was the Stordalen mire, northern Sweden. Exchange rates of CO2, and total hydrocarbons (THCs; CH4 and NMVOCs) were measured using an automatic chamber system for up to six years, at three different types of vegetation communities and permafrost regimes. The gas exchange was found to relate to different environmental and biological variables at different vegetation communities and at different temporal scales. Differences in flux rates and controls between sites could be explained with biological and environmental variables in a better way than the seasonal and interannual variability within a site.Snow season flux measurements were determined to be of high importance regarding the annual C budget. By excluding the snow season, the potential C source strength of a peatland is likely to be underestimated. The importance of combining the THCs with the CO2 to estimate the annual C balance was demonstrated as THC could be sufficient to shift the mire from a sink to a source of C to the atmosphere. Again, the C source strength may be significantly underestimated if only focusing on CO2 fluxes in wet peatland environments.
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