TY - JOUR A1 - Neuschaefer-Rube, Frank A1 - Lieske, Stefanie A1 - Kuna, Manuela A1 - Henkel, Janin A1 - Perry, Rachel J. A1 - Erion, Derek M. A1 - Pesta, Dominik A1 - Willmes, Diana M. A1 - Brachs, Sebastian A1 - von Loeffelholz, Christian A1 - Tolkachov, Alexander A1 - Schupp, Michael A1 - Pathe-Neuschaefer-Rube, Andrea A1 - Pfeiffer, Andreas F. H. A1 - Shulman, Gerald I. A1 - Püschel, Gerhard Paul A1 - Birkenfeld, Andreas L. T1 - The mammalian INDY homolog is induced by CREB in a rat model of type 2 diabetes JF - Diabetes : a journal of the American Diabetes Association Y1 - 2014 SN - 0012-1797 SN - 1939-327X VL - 63 IS - 3 SP - 1048 EP - 1057 PB - American Diabetes Association CY - Alexandria ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pastukhov, Oleksandr A1 - Schwalm, Stephanie A1 - Zangemeister-Wittke, Uwe A1 - Fabbro, Doriano A1 - Bornancin, Frederic A1 - Japtok, Lukasz A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Pfeilschifter, Josef A1 - Huwiler, Andrea T1 - The ceramide kinase inhibitor NVP-231 inhibits breast and lung cancer cell proliferation by inducing M phase arrest and subsequent cell death JF - British journal of pharmacology : journal of The British Pharmacological Society N2 - Background and PurposeCeramide kinase (CerK) catalyzes the generation of ceramide-1-phosphate which may regulate various cellular functions, including inflammatory reactions and cell growth. Here, we studied the effect of a recently developed CerK inhibitor, NVP-231, on cancer cell proliferation and viability and investigated the role of cell cycle regulators implicated in these responses. Experimental ApproachThe breast and lung cancer cell lines MCF-7 and NCI-H358 were treated with increasing concentrations of NVP-231 and DNA synthesis, colony formation and cell death were determined. Flow cytometry was performed to analyse cell cycle distribution of cells and Western blot analysis was used to detect changes in cell cycle regulator expression and activation. Key ResultsIn both cell lines, NVP-231 concentration-dependently reduced cell viability, DNA synthesis and colony formation. Moreover it induced apoptosis, as measured by increased DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 and caspase-9 cleavage. Cell cycle analysis revealed that NVP-231 decreased the number of cells in S phase and induced M phase arrest with an increased mitotic index, as determined by increased histone H3 phosphorylation. The effect on the cell cycle was even more pronounced when NVP-231 treatment was combined with staurosporine. Finally, overexpression of CerK protected, whereas down-regulation of CerK with siRNA sensitized, cells for staurosporine-induced apoptosis. Conclusions and ImplicationsOur data demonstrate for the first time a crucial role for CerK in the M phase control in cancer cells and suggest its targeted inhibition, using drugs such as NVP-231, in combination with conventional pro-apoptotic chemotherapy. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.12886 SN - 0007-1188 SN - 1476-5381 VL - 171 IS - 24 SP - 5829 EP - 5844 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pewzner-Jung, Yael A1 - Tabazavareh, Shaghayegh Tavakoli A1 - Grassme, Heike A1 - Becker, Katrin Anne A1 - Japtok, Lukasz A1 - Steinmann, Joerg A1 - Joseph, Tammar A1 - Lang, Stephan A1 - Tuemmler, Burkhard A1 - Schuchman, Edward H. A1 - Lentsch, Alex B. A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Edwards, Michael J. A1 - Futerman, Anthony H. A1 - Gulbins, Erich T1 - Sphingoid long chain bases prevent lung infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa JF - EMBO molecular medicine N2 - Cystic fibrosis patients and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, trauma, burn wound, or patients requiring ventilation are susceptible to severe pulmonary infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Physiological innate defense mechanisms against this pathogen, and their alterations in lung diseases, are for the most part unknown. We now demonstrate a role for the sphingoid long chain base, sphingosine, in determining susceptibility to lung infection by P.aeruginosa. Tracheal and bronchial sphingosine levels were significantly reduced in tissues from cystic fibrosis patients and from cystic fibrosis mouse models due to reduced activity of acid ceramidase, which generates sphingosine from ceramide. Inhalation of mice with sphingosine, with a sphingosine analog, FTY720, or with acid ceramidase rescued susceptible mice from infection. Our data suggest that luminal sphingosine in tracheal and bronchial epithelial cells prevents pulmonary P.aeruginosa infection in normal individuals, paving the way for novel therapeutic paradigms based on inhalation of acid ceramidase or of sphingoid long chain bases in lung infection. KW - cystic fibrosis KW - long chain base KW - lung infection KW - Pseudomonas aeruginosa KW - sphingosine Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.201404075 SN - 1757-4676 SN - 1757-4684 VL - 6 IS - 9 SP - 1205 EP - 1214 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pieper, Imke A1 - Wehe, Christoph A. A1 - Bornhorst, Julia A1 - Ebert, Franziska A1 - Leffers, Larissa A1 - Holtkamp, Michael A1 - Hoeseler, Pia A1 - Weber, Till A1 - Mangerich, Aswin A1 - Buerkle, Alexander A1 - Karst, Uwe A1 - Schwerdtle, Tanja T1 - Mechanisms of Hg species induced toxicity in cultured human astrocytes: genotoxicity and DNA-damage response JF - Metallomics : integrated biometal science N2 - The toxicologically most relevant mercury (Hg) species for human exposure is methylmercury (MeHg). Thiomersal is a common preservative used in some vaccine formulations. The aim of this study is to get further mechanistic insight into the yet not fully understood neurotoxic modes of action of organic Hg species. Mercury species investigated include MeHgCl and thiomersal. Additionally HgCl2 was studied, since in the brain mercuric Hg can be formed by dealkylation of the organic species. As a cellular system astrocytes were used. In vivo astrocytes provide the environment necessary for neuronal function. In the present study, cytotoxic effects of the respective mercuricals increased with rising alkylation level and correlated with their cellular bioavailability. Further experiments revealed for all species at subcytotoxic concentrations no induction of DNA strand breaks, whereas all species massively increased H2O2-induced DNA strand breaks. This co- genotoxic effect is likely due to a disturbance of the cellular DNA damage response. Thus, at nanomolar, sub-cytotoxic concentrations, all three mercury species strongly disturbed poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation, a signalling reaction induced by DNA strand breaks. Interestingly, the molecular mechanism behind this inhibition seems to be different for the species. Since chronic PARP-1 inhibition is also discussed to sacrifice neurogenesis and learning abilities, further experiments on neurons and in vivo studies could be helpful to clarify whether the inhibition of poly(ADP-ribosyl) ation contributes to organic Hg induced neurotoxicity. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c3mt00337j SN - 1756-5901 SN - 1756-591X VL - 6 IS - 3 SP - 662 EP - 671 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pruefer, Jasmin A1 - Schuchardt, Mirjam A1 - Toelle, Markus A1 - Pruefer, Nicole A1 - Hoehne, Matthias A1 - Zidek, Walter A1 - van der Giet, Markus T1 - Harmful effects of the azathioprine metabolite 6-mercaptopurine in vascular cells: Induction of mineralization JF - PLoS one N2 - Vascular mineralization contributes to the high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients who suffer from chronic kidney disease and in individuals who have undergone solid organ transplantation. The immunosuppressive regimen used to treat these patients appears to have an impact on vascular alterations. The effect of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) on vascular calcification has not yet been determined. This study investigates the effect of 6-MP on vascular mineralization by the induction of trans-differentiation of rat vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro. 6-MP not only induces the expression of osteochondrocyte-like transcription factors and proteins but also activates alkaline phosphatase enzyme activity and produces calcium deposition in in vitro and ex vivo models. These processes are dependent on 6-MP-induced production of reactive oxygen species, intracellular activation of mitogen-activated kinases and phosphorylation of the transcription factor Cbfa1. Furthermore, the metabolic products of 6-MP, 6-thioguanine nucleotides and 6-methyl-thio-inosine monophosphate have major impacts on cellular calcification. These data provide evidence for a possible harmful effect of the immunosuppressive drug 6-MP in vascular diseases, such as arteriosclerosis. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101709 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 9 IS - 7 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Putra, Sulistyo Emantoko Dwi A1 - Neuber, Corinna A1 - Reichetzeder, Christoph A1 - Hocher, Berthold A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard T1 - Analysis of genomic DNA methylation levels in human placenta using liquid Chromatography-Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry JF - Cellular physiology and biochemistry : international journal of experimental cellular physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology N2 - Background: DNA-methylation is a common epigenetic tool which plays a crucial role in gene regulation and is essential for cell differentiation and embryonic development. The placenta is an important organ where gene activity can be regulated by epigenetic DNA modifications, including DNA methylation. This is of interest as, the placenta is the interface between the fetus and its environment, the mother. Exposure to environmental toxins and nutrition during pregnancy may alter DNA methylation of the placenta and subsequently placental function and as a result the phenotype of the offspring. The aim of this study was to develop a reliable method to quantify DNA methylation in large clinical studies. This will be a tool to analyze the degree of DNA methylation in the human placenta in relationship to clinical readouts. Methods: Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization/multi-stage mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS/MS) technique was used for the quantification of the 5dmC/dG ratio in placentas from 248 healthy pregnancies. We were able to demonstrate that this method is a reliable and stable way to determine global placental DNA methylation in large clinical trials. Results/Conclusion: The degree of placental DNA methylation seen in our pilot study varies substantially from 2% to 5%. The clinical implications of this variation need to be demonstrated in adequately powered large studies. KW - Pregnancy KW - Placenta KW - Methylation KW - Global KW - LC-MS/MS KW - Fetal programming KW - Clinical Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1159/000358666 SN - 1015-8987 SN - 1421-9778 VL - 33 IS - 4 SP - 945 EP - 952 PB - Karger CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Putra, Sulistyo Emantoko Dwi A1 - Tsuprykov, Oleg A1 - Von Websky, Karoline A1 - Ritter, Teresa A1 - Reichetzeder, Christoph A1 - Hocher, Berthold T1 - Dealing with large sample sizes: comparison of a new one spot dot blot method to western blot JF - Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion N2 - Background: Western blot is the gold standard method to determine individual protein expression levels. However, western blot is technically difficult to perform in large sample sizes because it is a time consuming and labor intensive process. Dot blot is often used instead when dealing with large sample sizes, but the main disadvantage of the existing dot blot techniques, is the absence of signal normalization to a housekeeping protein. Methods: In this study we established a one dot two development signals (ODTDS) dot blot method employing two different signal development systems. The first signal from the protein of interest was detected by horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The second signal, detecting the housekeeping protein, was obtained by using alkaline phosphatase (AP). Results: Inter-assay results variations within ODTDS dot blot and western blot and intra-assay variations between both methods were low (1.04 - 5.71%) as assessed by coefficient of variation. Conclusions: ODTDS dot blot technique can be used instead of western blot when dealing with large sample sizes without a reduction in results accuracy. KW - one dot two development signals (ODTDS) dot blot KW - western blot KW - protein quantification KW - large sample size studies KW - comparison Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.7754/Clin.Lab.2014.140317 SN - 1433-6510 VL - 60 IS - 11 SP - 1871 EP - 1877 PB - Clin Lab Publ., Verl. Klinisches Labor CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Raila, Jens A1 - Schweigert, Florian J. A1 - Kohn, Barbara T1 - Relationship between urinary Tamm-Horsfall protein excretion and renal function in dogs with naturally occurring renal disease JF - Veterinary clinical pathology N2 - Background Tamm-Horsfall protein (THP) is physiologically excreted in urine, but little is known about the role of THP in the diagnosis of renal disease in dogs. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate to which extent naturally occurring renal disease affects the urinary excretion of THP. Methods Dogs were divided into 5 groups according to plasma creatinine concentration, urinary protein-to-creatinine ratio (UP/UC), and exogenous plasma creatinine clearance (P-ClCr) rates: Group A (healthy control dogs; n=8), nonazotemic and nonproteinuric dogs, with P-ClCr rates > 90mL/min/m2; group B (n=25), nonazotemic and nonproteinuric dogs with reduced P-ClCr rates (51-89mL/min/m2); group C (n=7), nonazotemic but proteinuric dogs with P-ClCr rates 53-98mL/min/m2; group D (n=8), azotemic and borderline proteinuric dogs (P-ClCr rates: 22-45mL/min/m2); and group E (n=15), azotemic and proteinuric dogs (not tested for P-ClCr). THP was measured by quantitative Western blot analysis, and the ratio of THP-to-urinary creatinine (THP/UC) was calculated. Results The THP/UC concentrations were not different among dogs of groups A-D, but were reduced in dogs of group E (P<.001). THP/UC correlated negatively with serum creatinine (P<.01) and UP/UC (P<.01), but was not significantly associated with P-ClCr. Conclusions Decreased levels of THP/UC were present in moderately to severely azotemic and proteinuric dogs. This suggests tubular injury in these dogs and that THP might be useful as urinary marker to study the pathogenesis of renal disease. KW - Distal tubules KW - dog KW - kidney KW - lower nephron KW - proteinuria KW - urine Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/vcp.12143 SN - 0275-6382 SN - 1939-165X VL - 43 IS - 2 SP - 261 EP - 265 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reichetzeder, Christoph A1 - Chen, Hong A1 - Foeller, Michael A1 - Slowinski, Torsten A1 - Li, Jian A1 - Chen, You-Peng A1 - Lang, Florian A1 - Hocher, Berthold T1 - Maternal vitamin D deficiency and fetal programming - lessons learned from humans and mice JF - Kidney & blood pressure research : official organ of the Gesellschaft für Nephrologie N2 - Background/Aims: Cardiovascular disease partially originates from poor environmental and nutritional conditions in early life. Lack of micronutrients like 25 hydroxy vitamin D-3 (25OHD) during pregnancy may be an important treatable causal factor. The present study explored the effect of maternal 25OHD deficiency on the offspring. Methods: We performed a prospective observational study analyzing the association of maternal 25OHD deficiency during pregnancy with birth outcomes considering confounding. To show that vitamin D deficiency may be causally involved in the observed associations, mice were set on either 25OHD sufficient or insufficient diets before and during pregnancy. Growth, glucose tolerance and mortality was analyzed in the F1 generation. Results: The clinical study showed that severe 25OHD deficiency was associated with low birth weight and low gestational age. ANCOVA models indicated that established confounding factors such as offspring sex, smoking during pregnancy and maternal BMI did not influence the impact of 25OHD on birth weight. However, there was a significant interaction between 25OHD and gestational age. Maternal 25OHD deficiency was also independently associated with low APGAR scores 5 minutes postpartum. The offspring of 25OHD deficient mice grew slower after birth, had an impaired glucose tolerance shortly after birth and an increased mortality during follow-up. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates an association between maternal 25OHD and offspring birth weight. The effect of 25OHD on birth weight seems to be mediated by vitamin D controlling gestational age. Results from an animal experiment suggest that gestational 25OHD insufficiency is causally linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Since birth weight and prematurity are associated with an adverse cardiovascular outcome in later life, this study emphasizes the need for novel monitoring and treatment guidelines of vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy. KW - Vitamin D KW - Birth weight KW - Preterm delivery KW - Fetal programming KW - Glucose tolerance KW - Cardiovascular diseases Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1159/000355809 SN - 1420-4096 SN - 1423-0143 VL - 39 IS - 4 SP - 315 EP - 329 PB - Karger CY - Basel ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Reichetzeder, Christoph A1 - Pasch, A. A1 - von Websky, Karoline A1 - Tsuprykov, Oleg A1 - Klein, T. A1 - Hocher, Berthold T1 - The DPP-4 inhibitor linagliptin increases plasma fetuin-A concentrations in a rat model of uraemic calcification T2 - Diabetologia : journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Y1 - 2014 SN - 0012-186X SN - 1432-0428 VL - 57 SP - S522 EP - S522 PB - Springer CY - New York ER -