TY - JOUR A1 - Abebe, Zeweter A1 - Haki, Gulelat Desse A1 - Schweigert, Florian J. A1 - Henkel, Ina M. A1 - Baye, Kaleab T1 - Low breastmilk vitamin A concentration is prevalent in rural Ethiopia JF - European journal of clinical nutrition N2 - Background There is scant information on the breastmilk vitamin A (BMVA) concentration of lactating women in developing countries, partly due to lack of methods applicable in-field. Objective To assess BMVA concentrations of samples collected from lactating women of children aged 6-23 months, in Mecha district, Ethiopia. Subjects/methods Data on socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics were collected from randomly selected lactating women (n = 104). Breast milk samples were collected and vitamin A concentrations were analyzed using HPLC and iCheck FLUORO then the two measurements were compared. Results The prevalence of underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m(2)) among lactating women was 17%. Seventy six percent of the BMVA values were < 1.05 mu mol/l and 81% were < 8 mu g/g fat. The mean BMVA concentration accounted to 41% of the estimated average value for mothers in developing countries. The BMVA values from HPLC and iCheck were correlated (r = 0.59, p = < 0.001), but it was not strong. Conclusions The result indicates the low vitamin A status of the lactating women and their children. It further indicates that intake assessments should not use average BMVA composition. The possibility of using iCheck for monitoring interventions designed to improve vitamin A status of lactating women with low BMVA requires further investigation. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0334-4 SN - 0954-3007 SN - 1476-5640 VL - 73 IS - 8 SP - 1110 EP - 1116 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abraham, Klaus T1 - Minimal Inflammation, Acute Phase Response and Avoidance of Misclassification of Vitamin A and Iron Status in Infants-Importance of a High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (CRP) Assay Y1 - 2003 ER - TY - THES A1 - Aga-Barfknecht, Heja T1 - Investigation of the phenotype and genetic variant(s) of the diabetes locus Nidd/DBA N2 - Diabetes is a major public health problem with increasing global prevalence. Type 2 diabetes (T2D), which accounts for 90% of all diagnosed cases, is a complex polygenic disease also modulated by epigenetics and lifestyle factors. For the identification of T2D-associated genes, linkage analyses combined with mouse breeding strategies and bioinformatic tools were useful in the past. In a previous study in which a backcross population of the lean and diabetes-prone dilute brown non-agouti (DBA) mouse and the obese and diabetes-susceptible New Zealand obese (NZO) mouse was characterized, a major diabetes quantitative trait locus (QTL) was identified on chromosome 4. The locus was designated non-insulin dependent diabetes from DBA (Nidd/DBA). The aim of this thesis was (i) to perform a detailed phenotypic characterization of the Nidd/DBA mice, (ii) to further narrow the critical region and (iii) to identify the responsible genetic variant(s) of the Nidd/DBA locus. The phenotypic characterization of recombinant congenic mice carrying a 13.6 Mbp Nidd/DBA fragment with 284 genes presented a gradually worsening metabolic phenotype. Nidd/DBA allele carriers exhibited severe hyperglycemia (~19.9 mM) and impaired glucose clearance at 12 weeks of age. Ex vivo perifusion experiments with islets of 13-week-old congenic mice revealed a tendency towards reduced insulin secretion in homozygous DBA mice. In addition, 16-week-old mice showed a severe loss of β-cells and reduced pancreatic insulin content. Pathway analysis of transcriptome data from islets of congenic mice pointed towards a downregulation of cell survival genes. Morphological analysis of pancreatic sections displayed a reduced number of bi-hormonal cells co-expressing glucagon and insulin in homozygous DBA mice, which could indicate a reduced plasticity of endocrine cells in response to hyperglycemic stress. Further generation and phenotyping of recombinant congenic mice enabled the isolation of a 3.3 Mbp fragment that was still able to induce hyperglycemia and contained 61 genes. Bioinformatic analyses including haplotype mapping, sequence and transcriptome analysis were integrated in order to further reduce the number of candidate genes and to identify the presumable causative gene variant. Four putative candidate genes (Ttc39a, Kti12, Osbpl9, Calr4) were defined, which were either differentially expressed or carried a sequence variant. In addition, in silico ChIP-Seq analyses of the 3.3 Mbp region indicated a high number of SNPs located in active regions of binding sites of β-cell transcription factors. This points towards potentially altered cis-regulatory elements that could be responsible for the phenotype conferred by the Nidd/DBA locus. In summary, the Nidd/DBA locus mediates impaired glucose homeostasis and reduced insulin secretion capacity which finally leads to β-cell death. The downregulation of cell survival genes and reduced plasticity of endocrine cells could further contribute to the β-cell loss. The critical region was narrowed down to a 3.3 Mbp fragment containing 61 genes, of which four might be involved in the development of the diabetogenic Nidd/DBA phenotype. N2 - Die Diabetesprävalenz nimmt seit Jahren weltweit zu, wobei etwa 90% der diagnostizierten Diabeteserkrankungen einem Typ-2-Diabetes (T2D) zuzuordnen sind. T2D ist eine komplexe polygene Stoffwechselerkrankung, die auch durch epigenetische Faktoren und den Lebensstil beeinflusst wird. Die Identifizierung und Untersuchung von Diabetes-assoziierten Genen wird unter anderem durch Kopplungsanalysen und darauf aufbauende zuchtstrategische und bioinformatische Analysen ermöglicht. In einer vorangegangenen Studie wurde der schlanke, Diabetes-anfällige dilute brown non-agouti (DBA)-Mausstamm mit der adipösen und ebenfalls Diabetes-suszeptiblen New Zealand obese (NZO)-Maus verpaart und die erste Rückkreuzungsgeneration einer Kopplungsanalyse unterzogen. Hierbei wurde ein hoch signifikanter quantitative trait locus (QTL) für Diabetes auf Chromosom 4 nachgewiesen. Dieser Locus ist mit erhöhten Blutzuckerwerten, reduzierten Plasmainsulinkonzentrationen und einem niedrigen pankreatischen Insulingehalt assoziiert und wurde als Nidd/DBA (engl. für nicht insulinabhängiger Diabetes von DBA-Allelen) bezeichnet. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, (i) das kritische Fragment des Nidd/DBA-Locus‘ zu verkleinern, (ii) die phänotypische Ausprägung des Nidd/DBA-Locus‘ zu untersuchen sowie (iii) die ursächliche(n) genetische(n) Variante(n) zu identifizieren. Die phänotypische Charakterisierung von kongenen Mäusen mit einem kritischen Fragment von 13.6 Mbp, welches 284 Gene enthält, zeigte bereits im Alter von 12 Wochen eine starke Hyperglykämie (~19.9 mM) und eine unzureichende Glucose-Clearance bei Nidd/DBA-Allelträgern. Ex-vivo Perifusionsversuche mit isolierten Inseln von 13 Wochen alten kongenen Mäusen zeigten eine tendenziell reduzierte Insulinsekretion in homozygoten DBA-Allelträgern. Im Alter von 16 Wochen wiesen die Tiere einen erheblichen Verlust der β-Zellen, sowie eine Abnahme der pankreatischen Insulinkonzentration auf. Transkriptomdaten der Langerhans-Inseln mit anschließender Signalweganalyse deuteten darauf hin, dass Nidd/DBA-Allelträger eine verminderte Expression von Genen aufzeigen, die für das Überleben von Zellen essentiell sind. In homozygoten DBA-Allelträgern wurde eine reduzierte Anzahl von Glucagon/Insulin-bi-hormonellen Zellen nachgewiesen, was auf eine verminderte Plastizität der endokrinen Zellen hinweisen könnte. Die Zucht weiterer kongener Mäuse und ihre Phänotypisierung ermöglichten die Isolierung eines 3.3 Mbp großen Fragments, das 61 Gene enthielt und eine Hyperglykämie auslöste. Bioinformatische Analysen, wie die Kartierung von Haplotypen und Datenbank-, Sequenz- sowie Transkriptomanalysen, wurden integriert, um die Anzahl der Kandidatengene weiter zu reduzieren und die Hyperglykämie auslösende(n) Genvariante(n) zu identifizieren. Es konnten vier potentielle Kandidatengene (Ttc39a, Osbpl9, Kti12, Calr4) definiert werden, die entweder eine differenzielle Expression oder eine Sequenzvariante aufwiesen. Mit Hilfe von in-silico-Analysen von ChIP-Seq-Daten wurden SNPs in aktiven Bindungsstellen von β-Zell-Transkriptionsfaktoren identifiziert. Diese könnten cis-regulatorische Elemente darstellen, die Gene außerhalb dieses 3.3 Mbp großen Fragments beeinflussen und möglichweise für den Phänotyp verantwortlich sind. Zusammenfassend konnte gezeigt werden, dass der Nidd/DBA-Locus für eine beeinträchtigte Glucosehomöostase und eine Verschlechterung der Insulinsekretion verantwortlich ist, welche langfristig zum Verlust von β-Zellen führen. Die bisherigen Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass sowohl die verringerte Expression der für das Zellüberleben essentiellen Gene als auch eine verringerte Plastizität der endokrinen Zellen zum Untergang von Langerhans-Inseln beitragen. Das kritische Fragment wurde auf eine Größe von 3.3 Mbp mit 61 Genen reduziert, von denen vier Gene als verantwortliche Kandidaten für den beschriebenen Nidd/DBA-Phänotyp bedeutsam sein können KW - Diabetes KW - Genetics KW - Glucose intolerance KW - Insulin secretion KW - Susceptibility-genes KW - Diabetes KW - Genetik KW - Glukoseintoleranz KW - Insulinsekretion KW - Suszeptibilitätsgene Y1 - 2021 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Aga-Barfknecht, Heja A1 - Hallahan, Nicole A1 - Gottmann, Pascal A1 - Jähnert, Markus A1 - Osburg, Sophie A1 - Schulze, Gunnar A1 - Kamitz, Anne A1 - Arends, Danny A1 - Brockmann, Gudrun A1 - Schallschmidt, Tanja A1 - Lebek, Sandra A1 - Chadt, Alexandra A1 - Al-Hasani, Hadi A1 - Joost, Hans-Georg A1 - Schürmann, Annette A1 - Vogel, Heike T1 - Identification of novel potential type 2 diabetes genes mediating beta-cell loss and hyperglycemia using positional cloning JF - Frontiers in genetics N2 - Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a complex metabolic disease regulated by an interaction of genetic predisposition and environmental factors. To understand the genetic contribution in the development of diabetes, mice varying in their disease susceptibility were crossed with the obese and diabetes-prone New Zealand obese (NZO) mouse. Subsequent whole-genome sequence scans revealed one major quantitative trait loci (QTL),Nidd/DBAon chromosome 4, linked to elevated blood glucose and reduced plasma insulin and low levels of pancreatic insulin. Phenotypical characterization of congenic mice carrying 13.6 Mbp of the critical fragment of DBA mice displayed severe hyperglycemia and impaired glucose clearance at week 10, decreased glucose response in week 13, and loss of beta-cells and pancreatic insulin in week 16. To identify the responsible gene variant(s), further congenic mice were generated and phenotyped, which resulted in a fragment of 3.3 Mbp that was sufficient to induce hyperglycemia. By combining transcriptome analysis and haplotype mapping, the number of putative responsible variant(s) was narrowed from initial 284 to 18 genes, including gene models and non-coding RNAs. Consideration of haplotype blocks reduced the number of candidate genes to four (Kti12,Osbpl9,Ttc39a, andCalr4) as potential T2D candidates as they display a differential expression in pancreatic islets and/or sequence variation. In conclusion, the integration of comparative analysis of multiple inbred populations such as haplotype mapping, transcriptomics, and sequence data substantially improved the mapping resolution of the diabetes QTLNidd/DBA. Future studies are necessary to understand the exact role of the different candidates in beta-cell function and their contribution in maintaining glycemic control. KW - type 2 diabetes KW - beta-cell loss KW - insulin KW - positional cloning KW - transcriptomics KW - haplotype Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2020.567191 SN - 1664-8021 VL - 11 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Aga-Barfknecht, Heja A1 - Soultoukis, George A. A1 - Stadion, Mandy A1 - Garcia-Carrizo, Francisco A1 - Jähnert, Markus A1 - Gottmann, Pascal A1 - Vogel, Heike A1 - Schulz, Tim Julius A1 - Schürmann, Annette T1 - Distinct adipogenic and fibrogenic differentiation capacities of mesenchymal stromal cells from pancreas and white adipose tissue JF - International journal of molecular sciences N2 - Pancreatic steatosis associates with beta-cell failure and may participate in the development of type-2-diabetes. Our previous studies have shown that diabetes-susceptible mice accumulate more adipocytes in the pancreas than diabetes-resistant mice. In addition, we have demonstrated that the co-culture of pancreatic islets and adipocytes affect insulin secretion. The aim of this current study was to elucidate if and to what extent pancreas-resident mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) with adipogenic progenitor potential differ from the corresponding stromal-type cells of the inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT). miRNA (miRNome) and mRNA expression (transcriptome) analyses of MSCs isolated by flow cytometry of both tissues revealed 121 differentially expressed miRNAs and 1227 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Target prediction analysis estimated 510 DEGs to be regulated by 58 differentially expressed miRNAs. Pathway analyses of DEGs and miRNA target genes showed unique transcriptional and miRNA signatures in pancreas (pMSCs) and iWAT MSCs (iwatMSCs), for instance fibrogenic and adipogenic differentiation, respectively. Accordingly, iwatMSCs revealed a higher adipogenic lineage commitment, whereas pMSCs showed an elevated fibrogenesis. As a low degree of adipogenesis was also observed in pMSCs of diabetes-susceptible mice, we conclude that the development of pancreatic steatosis has to be induced by other factors not related to cell-autonomous transcriptomic changes and miRNA-based signals. KW - MSCs KW - fatty pancreas KW - WAT KW - lineage commitment KW - transcriptomics KW - miRNAs Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23042108 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 23 IS - 4 PB - Molecular Diversity Preservation International CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ahlberg, Sebastian A1 - Rancan, Fiorenza A1 - Epple, Matthias A1 - Loza, Kateryna A1 - Höppe, David A1 - Lademann, Jürgen A1 - Vogt, Annika A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Gerecke, Christian A1 - Meinke, Martina C. T1 - Comparison of different methods to study effects of silver nanoparticles on the pro- and antioxidant status of human keratinocytes and fibroblasts JF - Methods : focusing on rapidly developing techniques KW - Oxidative stress KW - Dichlorofluorescein assay KW - Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy KW - HaCaT cells KW - Glutathione KW - Free radicals Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymeth.2016.05.015 SN - 1046-2023 SN - 1095-9130 VL - 109 SP - 55 EP - 63 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Al Fadel, Frdoos A1 - Fayyaz, Susann A1 - Japtok, Lukasz A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard T1 - Involvement of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate in Palmitate-Induced Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease JF - Cellular physiology and biochemistry : international journal of experimental cellular physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology N2 - Background/Aims: Ectopic lipid accumulation in hepatocytes has been identified as a risk factor for the progression of liver fibrosis and is strongly associated with obesity. In particular, the saturated fatty acid palmitate is involved in initiation of liver fibrosis via formation of secondary metabolites by hepatocytes that in turn activate hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) in a paracrine manner Methods: a-smooth muscle actin-expression (alpha-SMA) as a marker of liver fibrosis was investigated via western blot analysis and immunofluorescence microscopy in HSCs (LX-2). Sphingolipid metabolism and the generation of the bioactive secondary metabolite sphingosine I-phosphate (SIP) in response to palmitate were analyzed by LC-MS/MS in hepatocytes (HepG2). To identify the molecular mechanism involved in the progression of liver fibrosis real-time PCR analysis and pharmacological modulation of SIP receptors were performed. Results: Palmitate oversupply increased intra- and extracellular SIP-concentrations in hepatocytes. Conditioned medium from HepG2 cells initiated fibrosis by enhancing alpha-SMA-expression in LX-2 in a S1P-dependent manner In accordance, fibrotic response in the presence of SIP was also observed in HSCs. Pharmacological inhibition of SIP receptors demonstrated that S1P(3) is the crucial receptor subtype involved in this process. Conclusion: SIP is synthesized in hepatocytes in response to palmitate and released into the extracellular environment leading to an activation of HSCs via the S1P(3) receptor (C) 2016 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel KW - Palmitate KW - Liver fibrosis KW - Sphingosine 1-phosphate KW - Hepatic stellate cells KW - Hepatocytes KW - alpha-SMA Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1159/000453213 SN - 1015-8987 SN - 1421-9778 VL - 40 SP - 1637 EP - 1645 PB - Karger CY - Basel ER - TY - THES A1 - Aleksandrova, Krasimira T1 - Understanding the link between obesity and colorectal cancer BT - the role of biomarkers of iflammation, immunity and metabolic dysfunction Y1 - 2020 ER - TY - THES A1 - Alfine, Eugenia T1 - Investigation of Sirtuin 3 overexpression as a genetic model of fasting in hypothalamic neurons Y1 - 2021 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Alker, Wiebke A1 - Schwerdtle, Tanja A1 - Schomburg, Lutz A1 - Haase, Hajo T1 - A Zinpyr-1-based fluorimetric microassay for free zinc in human serum T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Zinc is an essential trace element, making it crucial to have a reliable biomarker for evaluating an individual’s zinc status. The total serum zinc concentration, which is presently the most commonly used biomarker, is not ideal for this purpose, but a superior alternative is still missing. The free zinc concentration, which describes the fraction of zinc that is only loosely bound and easily exchangeable, has been proposed for this purpose, as it reflects the highly bioavailable part of serum zinc. This report presents a fluorescence-based method for determining the free zinc concentration in human serum samples, using the fluorescent probe Zinpyr-1. The assay has been applied on 154 commercially obtained human serum samples. Measured free zinc concentrations ranged from 0.09 to 0.42 nM with a mean of 0.22 ± 0.05 nM. It did not correlate with age or the total serum concentrations of zinc, manganese, iron or selenium. A negative correlation between the concentration of free zinc and total copper has been seen for sera from females. In addition, the free zinc concentration in sera from females (0.21 ± 0.05 nM) was significantly lower than in males (0.23 ± 0.06 nM). The assay uses a sample volume of less than 10 µL, is rapid and cost-effective and allows us to address questions regarding factors influencing the free serum zinc concentration, its connection with the body’s zinc status, and its suitability as a future biomarker for an individual’s zinc status. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1086 KW - zinc KW - free zinc KW - serum KW - biomarker KW - fluorescent probe KW - Zinypr-1 Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-472833 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1086 ER -