TY - THES A1 - Janowski, Marcin Andrzej T1 - Investigating role of the essential GTPase - AtRsgA in the assembly of the small ribosomal subunit in Arabidopsis thaliana chloroplast N2 - Plastid protein biosynthesis occurs on bacterial-type 70S ribosomes consisting of a large (50S) and a small (30S) subunit. However, since many steps of ribosome biogenesis are not thermodynamically favorable at biological conditions, it requires many assembly factors. One group of assembly factors, circularly permuted GTPases, was implicated in 30S subunit maturation in E. coli, by a protein RsgA. RsgA orthologues are present in bacteria and plastid-containing species and in silico analysis revealed presence of a RsgA-like protein in Arabidopsis thaliana. To functionally characterize the Arabidopsis orthologue, two AtRsgA T-DNA insertion lines were analyzed in this study. The exon line (rsgA-e) led to embryo lethality, while the intron line (rsgA-i) caused severe dwarf, pale green phenotype. Further investigation of rsgA-i mutant line revealed defects in chloroplast biogenesis which led to increased number of chloroplasts, decreased chloroplast size, decreased air space between mesophyll cells and smaller shoot apical meristems, which showed unusual proplastid accumulation. Moreover, rsgA-i plants showed reduction in chlorophyll A and B content, decreased electron transport rate and photosynthetic efficiency. Further analyses revealed that the protein is involved in chloroplast 30S subunit maturation. Interestingly, we observed that while chloroplast-targeted and chloroplast-encoded proteins are generally downregulated in the mutant, a contrasting upregulation of the corresponding transcripts is observed, indicating an elaborate compensatory mechanism. To conclude, the study presented here reveals a ribosome assembly factor and a compensatory mechanism activated during impaired chloroplast function. KW - ribosome assembly KW - GTPase KW - chloro-ribosome KW - translation Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Folkesson, Maggie A1 - Vorkapic, Emina A1 - Gulbins, Erich A1 - Japtok, Lukasz A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Welander, Martin A1 - Länne, Toste A1 - Wågsäter, Dick T1 - Inflammatory cells, ceramides, and expression of proteases in perivascular adipose tissue adjacent to human abdominal aortic aneurysms JF - Journal of vascular surgery N2 - Background: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a deadly irreversible weakening and distension of the abdominal aortic wall. The pathogenesis of AAA remains poorly understood. Investigation into the physical and molecular characteristics of perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) adjacent to AAA has not been done before and is the purpose of this study. Methods and Results: Human aortae, periaortic PVAT, and fat surrounding peripheral arteries were collected from patients undergoing elective surgical repair of AAA. Control aortas were obtained from recently deceased healthy organ donors with no known arterial disease. Aorta and PVAT was found in AAA to larger extent compared with control aortas. Immunohistochemistry revealed neutrophils, macrophages, mast cells, and T-cells surrounding necrotic adipocytes. Gene expression analysis showed that neutrophils, mast cells, and T-cells were found to be increased in PVAT compared with AAA as well as cathepsin K and S. The concentration of ceramides in PVAT was determined using mass spectrometry and correlated with content of T-cells in the PVAT. Conclusions: Our results suggest a role for abnormal necrotic, inflamed, proteolytic adipose tissue to the adjacent aneurysmal aortic wall in ongoing vascular damage. Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvs.2015.12.056 SN - 0741-5214 VL - 65 IS - 4 SP - 1171 EP - 1179 PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Henkel, Janin A1 - Coleman, Charles Dominic A1 - Schraplau, Anne A1 - Jöhrens, Korinna A1 - Weber, Daniela A1 - Castro, Jose Pedro A1 - Hugo, Martin A1 - Schulz, Tim Julius A1 - Krämer, Stephanie A1 - Schürmann, Annette A1 - Püschel, Gerhard Paul T1 - Induction of Steatohepatitis (NASH) with Insulin Resistance in Wild-type B6 Mice by a Western-type Diet Containing Soybean Oil and Cholesterol JF - Molecular medicine N2 - Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are hepatic manifestations of the metabolic syndrome. Many currently used animal models of NAFLD/NASH lack clinical features of either NASH or metabolic syndrome such as hepatic inflammation and fibrosis (e.g., high-fat diets) or overweight and insulin resistance (e.g., methionine-choline-deficient diets), or they are based on monogenetic defects (e.g., ob/ob mice). In the current study, a Western-type diet containing soybean oil with high n-6-PUFA and 0.75% cholesterol (SOD + Cho) induced steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis accompanied by hepatic lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress in livers of C57BL/6-mice, which in addition showed increased weight gain and insulin resistance, thus displaying a phenotype closely resembling all clinical features of NASH in patients with metabolic syndrome. In striking contrast, a soybean oil-containing Western-type diet without cholesterol (SOD) induced only mild steatosis but not hepatic inflammation, fibrosis, weight gain or insulin resistance. Another high-fat diet, mainly consisting of lard and supplemented with fructose in drinking water (LAD + Fru), resulted in more prominent weight gain, insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis than SOD + Cho, but livers were devoid of inflammation and fibrosis. Although both LAD + Fru-and SOD + Cho-fed animals had high plasma cholesterol, liver cholesterol was elevated only in SOD + Cho animals. Cholesterol induced expression of chemotactic and inflammatory cytokines in cultured Kupffer cells and rendered hepatocytes more susceptible to apoptosis. In summary, dietary cholesterol in the SOD + Cho diet may trigger hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. SOD + Cho-fed animals may be a useful disease model displaying many clinical features of patients with the metabolic syndrome and NASH. KW - Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) KW - Typical Western Diet KW - Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) KW - Dietary Cholesterol KW - Kupffer Cells Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2119/molmed.2016.00203 SN - 1076-1551 SN - 1528-3658 VL - 23 SP - 70 EP - 82 PB - Feinstein Inst. for Medical Research CY - Manhasset ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heim, Wieland A1 - Trense, Daronja A1 - Sokolova, Galina V. A1 - Kitagawa, Tamaki T1 - Increased populations of endangered cranes after Amur River flood JF - Waterbirds N2 - Dam construction on the Zeya River, which is an important tributary of the Amur River in Far East Russia, has caused significant declines in water levels and frequency of floods in the adjacent floodplains since 1980. However, an extreme flood event occurred in 2013. Populations of six crane species were monitored before and after these drastic water level changes at Muraviovka Park in Far East Russia, an important breeding and stop-over site. Individuals were counted by territory mapping during the breeding season (2000-2015) and by roosting site counts during autumn migration (2006-2015). The objective of this study was to evaluate whether changes in water levels had a significant impact on local and migratory crane populations. We found a positive effect of flooding on numbers of breeding Red-crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis) and White-naped Cranes (Antigone vipio), as well as on numbers of roosting Hooded Cranes (Grus monacha) in autumn. Siberian Cranes (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) were only observed after the wetlands were flooded. The results of this study highlight the importance of elevated Amur River water levels for crane populations of global importance. KW - Antigone vipio KW - cranes KW - dam construction KW - East Asian flyway KW - floodplain KW - Grus japonensis KW - Grus monacha KW - Leucogeranus leucogeranus KW - population trend KW - water level Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1675/063.040.0309 SN - 1524-4695 SN - 1938-5390 VL - 40 SP - 282 EP - 288 PB - Waterbirds SOC CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Haase, Tobias A1 - Krost, Annalena A1 - Sauter, Tilman A1 - Kratz, Karl A1 - Peter, Jan A1 - Kamann, Stefanie A1 - Jung, Friedrich A1 - Lendlein, Andreas A1 - Zohlnhöfer, Dietlind A1 - Rüder, Constantin T1 - In vivo biocompatibility assessment of poly (ether imide) electrospun scaffolds JF - Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine N2 - Poly(ether imide) (PEI), which can be chemically functionalized with biologically active ligands, has emerged as a potential biomaterial for medical implants. Electrospun PEI scaffolds have shown advantageous properties, such as enhanced endothelial cell adherence, proliferation and low platelet adhesion in in vitro experiments. In this study, the in vivo behaviour of electrospun PEI scaffolds and PEI films was examined in a murine subcutaneous implantation model. Electrospun PEI scaffolds and films were surgically implanted subcutaneously in the dorsae of mice. The surrounding subcutaneous tissue response was examined via histopathological examination at 7 and 28days after implantation. No serious adverse events were observed for both types of PEI implants. The presence of macrophages or foreign body giant cells in the vicinity of the implants and the formation of a fibrous capsule indicated a normal foreign body reaction towards PEI films and scaffolds. Capsule thickness and inflammatory infiltration cells significantly decreased for PEI scaffolds during days 7-28 while remaining unchanged for PEI films. The infiltration of cells into the implant was observed for PEI scaffolds 7days after implantation and remained stable until 28days of implantation. Additionally some, but not all, PEI scaffold implants induced the formation of functional blood vessels in the vicinity of the implants. Conclusively, this study demonstrates the in vivo biocompatibility of PEI implants, with favourable properties of electrospun PEI scaffolds regarding tissue integration and wound healing. KW - poly(ether imide) KW - in vivo study KW - electrospun scaffold KW - capsule formation KW - foreign body giant cells KW - vascularization Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/term.2002 SN - 1932-6254 SN - 1932-7005 VL - 11 IS - 4 SP - 1034 EP - 1044 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tritsch, Christian A1 - Martens, Jochen A1 - Sun, Yue-Hua A1 - Heim, Wieland A1 - Strutzenberger, Patrick A1 - Päckert, Martin T1 - Improved sampling at the subspecies level solves a taxonomic dilemma BT - a case study of two enigmatic Chinese tit species (Aves, Passeriformes, Paridae, Poecile) JF - Molecular phylogenetics and evolution N2 - A recent full species-level phylogeny of tits, titmice and chickadees (Paridae) has placed the Chinese endemic black-bibbed tit (Poecile hypermelaenus) as the sister to the Palearctic willow tit (P. montanus). Because this sister-group relationship is in striking disagreement with the traditional affiliation of P. hypermelaenus close to the marsh tit (P. palustris) we tested this phylogenetic hypothesis in a multi locus analysis with an extended taxon sampling including sixteen subspecies of willow tits and marsh tits. As a taxonomic reference we included type specimens in our analysis. The molecular genetic study was complemented with an analysis of biometric data obtained from museum specimens. Our phylogenetic reconstructions, including a comparison of all GenBank data available for our target species, clearly show that the genetic lineage previously identified as P. hypermelaenus actually refers to P. weigoldicus because sequences were identical to that of a syntype of this taxon. The close relationship of P. weigoldicus and P. montanus - despite large genetic distances between the two taxa - is in accordance with current taxonomy and systematics. In disagreement with the previous phylogenetic hypothesis but in accordance with most taxonomic authorities, all our P. hypermelaenus specimens fell in the sister Glade of all western and eastern Palearctic P. palustris. Though shared haplotypes among the Chinese populations of the two latter species might indicate mitochondrial introgression in this part of the breeding range, further research is needed here due to the limitations of our own sampling. KW - Poecile hypermelaenus KW - Poecile weigoldicus KW - Multi-locus phylogeny KW - Phylogeography KW - DNA barcoding Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2016.12.014 SN - 1055-7903 SN - 1095-9513 VL - 107 SP - 538 EP - 550 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Musalek, Martin A1 - Kokstejn, Jakub A1 - Papez, Pavel A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Mumm, Rebekka A1 - Czernitzki, Anna-Franziska A1 - Koziel, Slawomir T1 - Impact of normal weight obesity on fundamental motor skills in pre-school children aged 3 to 6 years JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Normal weight obesity is defined as having excessive body fat, but normal BMI. Even though previous research revealed that excessive body fat in children inhibited their physical activity and decreased motor performance, there has been only little evidence about motor performance of normal weight obese children. This study aims to establish whether normal weight obese pre-school children aged 3-6 years will have a significantly worse level of fundamental motor skills compared to normal weight non-obese counterparts. The research sample consisted of 152 pre-schoolers selected from a specific district of Prague, the Czech Republic. According to values from four skinfolds: triceps, subscapula, suprailiaca, calf, and BMI three categories of children aged 3-6 years were determined: A) normal weight obese n = 51; B) normal weight non-obese n = 52; C) overweight and obese n = 49. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2) was used for the assessment of fundamental motor skills. Normal weight obese children had significantly higher amount of adipose tissue p < 0.001 than normal weight non-obese children but the same average BMI. Moreover, normal weight obese children did not have significantly less amount of subcutaneous fat on triceps and calf compared to their overweight and obese peers. In majority of MABC-2 tests, normal weight obese pre-schoolers showed the poorest performance. Moreover, normal weight obese children had significantly worse total standard score = 38.82 compared to normal weight non-obese peers = 52.27; p < 0.05. In addition, normal weight obese children had a more than three times higher frequency OR = 3.69 CI95% (1.10; 12.35) of severe motor deficit performance <= 5th centile of the MABC-2 norm. These findings are strongly alarming since indices like BMI are not able to identify normal weight obese individual. We recommend verifying real portion of normal weight obese children as they are probably in higher risk of health and motor problems than overweight and obese population due to their low lean mass. KW - normal weight obesity KW - fundamental motor skills KW - MABC-2 KW - performance KW - pre-school children KW - skinfolds KW - adipose tissue KW - lean mass Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2017/0752 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 74 SP - 203 EP - 212 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reinicke, Stefan A1 - Rees, Huw C. A1 - Espeel, Pieter A1 - Vanparijs, Nane A1 - Bisterfeld, Carolin A1 - Dick, Markus A1 - Rosencrantz, Ruben R. A1 - Brezesinski, Gerald A1 - de Geest, Bruno G. A1 - Du Prez, Filip E. A1 - Pietruszka, Jörg A1 - Böker, Alexander T1 - Immobilization of 2-Deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate Aldolase in Polymeric Thin Films via the Langmuir-Schaefer Technique JF - ACS applied materials & interfaces N2 - A synthetic protocol for the fabrication of ultrathin polymeric films containing the enzyme 2-deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase from Escherichia coli (DERA(EC)) is presented. Ultrathin enzymatically active films are useful for applications in which only small quantities of active material are needed and at the same time quick response and contact times without diffusion limitation are wanted. We show how DERA as an exemplary enzyme can be immobilized in a thin polymer layer at the air-water interface and transferred to a suitable support by the Langmuir-Schaefer technique under full conservation of enzymatic activity. The polymer in use is a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-2-thiolactone acrylamide) (P(NIPAAm-co-TlaAm)) statistical copolymer in which the thiolactone units serve a multitude of purposes including hydrophobization of the polymer, covalent binding of the enzyme and the support and finally cross-linking of the polymer matrix. The application of this type of polymer keeps the whole approach simple as additional cocomponents such as cross-linkers are avoided. KW - Langmuir-Schaefer KW - enzyme immobilization KW - 2-deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase KW - polymeric thin film KW - poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) KW - thiolactone Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6b13632 SN - 1944-8244 VL - 9 SP - 8317 EP - 8326 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - THES A1 - Barbirz, Stefanie T1 - Highly specific binders for bacterial polysaccharides BT - bacteriophage tailspike proteins as research models in structural thermodynamics and bacteriophage infection Y1 - 2017 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Hermanussen, Michael T1 - Global effects of income and income inequality on adult height and sexual dimorphism in height JF - American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council N2 - Objectives: Average adult height of a population is considered a biomarker of the quality of the health environment and economic conditions. The causal relationships between height and income inequality are not well understood. We analyze data from 169 countries for national average heights of men and women and national-level economic factors to test two hypotheses: (1) income inequality has a greater association with average adult height than does absolute income; and (2) neither income nor income inequality has an effect on sexual dimorphism in height. Methods: Average height data come from the NCD-RisC health risk factor collaboration. Economic indicators are derived from the World Bank data archive and include gross domestic product (GDP), Gross National Income per capita adjusted for personal purchasing power (GNI_ PPP), and income equality assessed by the Gini coefficient calculated by the Wagstaff method. Results: Hypothesis 1 is supported. Greater income equality is most predictive of average height for both sexes. GNI_ PPP explains a significant, but smaller, amount of the variation. National GDP has no association with height. Hypothesis 2 is rejected. With greater average adult height there is greater sexual dimorphism. Conclusions: Findings support a growing literature on the pernicious effects of inequality on growth in height and, by extension, on health. Gradients in height reflect gradients in social disadvantage. Inequality should be considered a pollutant that disempowers people from the resources needed for their own healthy growth and development and for the health and good growth of their children. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.22980 SN - 1042-0533 SN - 1520-6300 VL - 29 IS - 2 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER -