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 - Hocher, Berthold T1 - More than genes: the advanced fetal programming hypothesis JF - Journal of reproductive immunology : the international journal for experimental and clinical reproductive immunobiology N2 - Many lines of data, initial epidemiologic studies as well as subsequent extensive experimental studies, indicate that early-life events play a powerful role in influencing later suceptibility to certain chronic diseases. Such events might be over- or undernutrition, exposure to environmental toxins, but also changes in hormones, in particular stress hormones. Typically, those events are triggered by the environmental challenges of the mother. However, recent studies have shown that paternal environmental or nutritional factors affect the phenotype of the offspring as well. The maternal and paternal environmental factors act on the phenotype of the offspring via epigenetic modification of its genome. The advanced fetal programming hypothesis proposes an additional non-environmentally driven mechanism: maternal and also paternal genes may influence the maturating sperm, the oocyte, and later the embryo/fetus, leading to their epigenetic alteration. Thus, the observed phenotype of the offspring may be altered by maternal/paternal genes independent of the fetal genome. Meanwhile, several independent association studies in humans dealing with metabolic and neurological traits also suggest that maternal genes might affect the offspring phenotype independent of the transmission of that particular gene to the offspring. Considering the implications of this hypothesis, some conclusions drawn from transgenic or knockout animal models and based on the causality between a genetic alteration and a phenotype, need to be challenged. Possible implications for the development, diagnostic and therapy of human genetic diseases have to be investigated. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Fetal programming KW - Advanced fetal programming hypothesis Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jri.2014.03.001 SN - 0165-0378 VL - 104 SP - 8 EP - 11 PB - Elsevier CY - Clare ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Hocher, Berthold A1 - Reichetzeder, Christoph A1 - von Websky, Karoline A1 - Tsuprykov, Oleg A1 - Klein, T. T1 - Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibition in a rat model of ischaemia-reperfusion injury may accelerate tubular regeneration but does not improve glomerular filtration rate T2 - Diabetologia : journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Y1 - 2014 SN - 0012-186X SN - 1432-0428 VL - 57 SP - S538 EP - S538 PB - Springer CY - New York 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 - TY - JOUR A1 - Liang, Xu-Jing A1 - Huang, Si-Min A1 - Li, Jian-Ping A1 - Zhu, Xian-Nv A1 - Lu, Yong-Ping A1 - Hocher, Berthold A1 - Chen, You-Peng T1 - Hepatic impairment induced by scrub typhus is associated with new onset of renal dysfunction JF - Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion N2 - Background: Scrub typhus is a potentially fatal infectious disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. There is little attention given to hepatic impairment in the adults with scrub typhus. This study investigated the incidence and the prognostic implications of hepatic impairment in patients with scrub typhus. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a total of 143 adult patients with scrub typhus who were admitted between January 1999 and December 2010 in Guangdong province, China. The patients were divided into three groups, e.g., normal, mild, and moderate to severe groups based on the elevated serum ALT and/or total bilirubin levels. Furthermore, clinical characteristics and prognosis of the patient groups were compared. Results: 109 patients (76.2%) had abnormal liver function. Among the patients with hepatic impairment 45 cases (31.4%), 54 cases (37.8%), and 10 cases (7.0%) had mild, moderate, and severe hepatic damage, respectively. The moderate to severe hepatic impairment group had higher levels of serum creatinine compared with that of normal hepatic function. The incidence of new onset of renal dysfunction - defined as peak serum creatinine >= 176 mu mol/L during hospital stay with no evidence of renal disease prior hospitalization - was 0% in the mild hepatic impairment group, 8.9% in the moderate hepatic impairment group, and 21.9% in the severe hepatic impairment group, (p = 0.005 for trend). Additionally, the patients with hepatic impairment (n = 109) had higher incidences of episodes of thrombocytopenia (45.9% vs. 8.82%, p < 0.001), hypoalbuminemia (50.5% vs. 11.8%, p < 0.001), new onset of renal dysfunction (16.5% vs. 0.0%, p = 0.011), and electrocardiogram abnormality (28.4% vs. 8.82%, p = 0.019) than the patients without hepatic impairment. Conclusions: The degree of hepatic impairment induced by scrub typhus is associated with new onset of renal dysfunction. KW - hepatic impairment KW - renal dysfunction KW - complication KW - outcome KW - scrub typhus Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.7754/Clin.Lab.2013.121203 SN - 1433-6510 VL - 60 IS - 1 SP - 63 EP - 68 PB - Clin Lab Publ., Verl. Klinisches Labor CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lu, Yong-Ping A1 - Lung, Xu-Jing A1 - Xiao, Xiao-Min A1 - Huang, Si-Min A1 - Liu, Zhi-Wei A1 - Li, Jian A1 - Hocher, Berthold A1 - Chen, You-Peng T1 - Telbivudine during the second and third trimester of pregnancy interrupts HBV intrauterine transmission: a systematic review and meta-analysis JF - Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion N2 - Beckground: Evaluate the efficacy and safety of telbivudine during the 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy in intrauterine transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Based on the principle of Cochrane systematic reviews, a database was constructed from Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, the US National Science Digital Library (NSDL), the China Biological Medicine Database (CBM-disc), and contact with Chinese experts in the field from November 2006 to February 2013. Results: Either the Mantel-Haenszel or Inverse Variance fixed-effects model or Mantel-Haenszel or Inverse Variance random-effects model was applied for all analyses indicated by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). The meta-analysis based on new onset of HBsAg seropositivity of infants at 6 - 12 months postpartum revealed that the control group had an intrauterine transmission rate of 8.25 - 42.31%. This rate was reduced to 0 - 14.29% in the telbivudine treatment group (OR 0.09, 95% CI 0.04 - 0.22, including seven trials, p < 0.001). The rates of intrauterine transmission based on new onset of HBV DNA seropositivity of infants at 6 - 12 months postpartum were 8.25 - 19.23% in the control group and 0 - 3.57% in the treatment group (OR 0.07, 95% CI 0.02 - 0.22, p < 0.001, including only five trials, since two trials had no data on HBV DNA in infants). With the exception of CK elevations, adverse effect frequencies were similar in both groups. Conclusions: Telbivudine is an effective and safe drug for preventing intrauterine transmission of HBV. KW - telbivudine KW - meta-analysis KW - intrauterine KW - transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) KW - clinical studies KW - safety efficacy Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.7754/Clin.Lab.2013.130408 SN - 1433-6510 VL - 60 IS - 4 SP - 571 EP - 586 PB - Clin Lab Publ., Verl. Klinisches Labor CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chaykovska, Lyubov A1 - Zientara, Alicja A1 - Reser, Diana A1 - Weise, Alexander A1 - Reichert, Wolfgang A1 - Hocher, Berthold T1 - Development and validation of a macroarray system - MutaCHIP (R) ARTERO - for the detection of genetic variants involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis JF - Clinical laboratory : the peer reviewed journal for clinical laboratories and laboratories related to blood transfusion N2 - Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in developed countries. The underlying mechanism is often atherosclerotic remodeling of blood vessels in organs such as heart, kidney, brain, and large arteries in case of peripheral arterial disease. Beside environmental and behavioral factors such as smoking or lack of physical activity, genetic variants in genes involved in lipid metabolism, blood pressure regulation, oxidative stress, and coagulation play a prominent role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Methods: Thus, we developed and validated for clinical use and research a macroarray system for the simultaneous detection of key genetic variants in genes involved in lipid metabolism, blood pressure regulation, oxidative stress, and coagulation. Results: When compared with standard PCR technologies to determine all these genetic variants in parallel, the macroarray system (MutaCHIP (R) ARTERO) was as accurate but faster, cheaper, and easier to handle compared to classical real time PCR based technologies. Conclusions: MutaCHIP (R) ARTERO is a gene chip for diagnostics of a complex genetic panel involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. This method is as sensitive and precise as real time PCR and is able to replicate real time PCR data previously validated in evaluation studies. KW - cardiovascular disease KW - atherosclerosis KW - genes KW - rapid detection method KW - macroarray Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.7754/Clin.Lab.2014.140104 SN - 1433-6510 VL - 60 IS - 5 SP - 873 EP - 878 PB - Clin Lab Publ., Verl. Klinisches Labor CY - Heidelberg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sharkovska, Yuliya A1 - Reichetzeder, Christoph A1 - Alter, Markus L. A1 - Tsuprykov, Oleg A1 - Bachmann, Sebastian A1 - Secher, Thomas A1 - Klein, Thomas A1 - Hocher, Berthold T1 - Blood pressure and glucose independent renoprotective effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibition in a mouse model of type-2 diabetic nephropathy JF - Journal of hypertension N2 - Background: Despite the beneficial effects of type 4 dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP-4) inhibitors on glucose levels, its effects on diabetic nephropathy remain unclear. Method: This study examined the long-term renoprotective effects of DPP-4 inhibitor linagliptin in db/db mice, a model of type 2 diabetes. Results were compared with the known beneficial effects of renin-angiotensin system blockade by enalapril. Ten-week-old male diabetic db/db mice were treated for 3 months with either vehicle (n = 10), 3 mg linagliptin/kg per day (n = 8), or 20 mg enalapril/kg per day (n = 10). Heterozygous db/m mice treated with vehicle served as healthy controls (n = 8). Results: Neither linagliptin nor enalapril had significant effects on the parameters of glucose metabolism or blood pressure in diabetic db/db mice. However, linagliptin treatment reduced albuminuria and attenuated kidney injury. In addition, expression of podocyte marker podocalyxin was normalized. We also analysed DPP-4 expression by immunofluorescence in human kidney biopsies and detected upregulation of DPP-4 in the glomeruli of patients with diabetic nephropathy, suggesting that our findings might be of relevance for human kidney disease as well. Conclusion: Treatment with DPP-4 inhibitor linagliptin delays the progression of diabetic nephropathy damage in a glucose-independent and blood-pressure-independent manner. The observed effects may be because of the attenuation of podocyte injury and inhibition of myofibroblast transformation. KW - diabetic nephropathy KW - DPP-4 inhibitors KW - linagliptin Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1097/HJH.0000000000000328 SN - 0263-6352 SN - 1473-5598 VL - 32 IS - 11 SP - 2211 EP - 2223 PB - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins CY - Philadelphia 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 - JOUR A1 - Li, Jian A1 - Chen, You-Peng A1 - Dong, Yun-Peng A1 - Yu, Cal-Hong A1 - Lu, Yong-Ping A1 - Xiao, Xiao-Min A1 - Hocher, Berthold T1 - The impact of umbilical blood flow regulation on fetal development differs in diabetic and non-diabetic pregnancy JF - Kidney & blood pressure research : official organ of the Gesellschaft für Nephrologie N2 - Background/Aims: Diabetes is well-known to influence endothelial function. Endothelial function and blood flow regulation might be different in diabetic and non-diabetic pregnancy. However, the impact of umbilical blood flow regulation in gestational diabetes on fetal development is unknown so far. Methods: In a prospective birth cohort study, we analyzed the association of the umbilical artery Doppler indices (pulsatility index, resistance index and systolic/diastolic ratio) and fetal size measures (biparietal diameter, head circumference, abdominal circumference, femur length and birth weight) in 519 non-gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancies (controls) and 226 gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancies in middle (day 160.32 +/- 16.29 of gestation) and late (day 268.12 +/- 13.04 of gestation) pregnancy. Results: Multiple regression analysis considering confounding factors (gestational day of ultrasound examination, offspring sex, maternal body mess index before pregnancy, maternal age at delivery, maternal body weight at delivery and maternal hypertension) showed that umbilical artery Doppler indices (pulsatility index, resistance index and systolic/diastolic ratio) were associated with fetal head circumference and femur length in middle gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy but not in non-gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy. Head circumference, biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference and femur length in mid gestation were smaller in fetus of gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy versus non-gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy. In contrast to non-gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy in late gestation, umbilical artery Doppler indices in gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy were not associated with ultrasound measures of fetal growth. Birth weight was slightly increased in gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy as compared to non-gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy. Conclusions: The impact of umbilical blood flow on fetal growth is time dependent in human gestational diabetes mellitus and non-gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy. In gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy umbilical blood flow is critical for organ development in much earlier stages of pregnancy as compared to non-gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy. The physiological and molecular pathways why there is a catch up growth in later times of gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancy resulting in larger gestational diabetes mellitus babies at birth needs to be addressed in further studies. KW - Umbilical artery Doppler KW - Blood flow resistance KW - Gestational diabetes mellitus KW - Fetal development Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1159/000355815 SN - 1420-4096 SN - 1423-0143 VL - 39 IS - 4 SP - 369 EP - 377 PB - Karger CY - Basel ER -