Paving the way of systems biology and precision medicine in allergic diseases: the MeDALL success story: Mechanisms of the Development of ALLergy; EU FP7-CP-IP; Project No: 261357; 2010-2015

MeDALL (Mechanisms of the Development of ALLergy; EU FP7-CP-IP; Project No: 261357; 2010-2015) has proposed an innovative approach to develop early indicators for the prediction, diagnosis, prevention and targets for therapy. MeDALL has linked epidemiological, clinical and basic research using a stepwise, large-scale and integrative approach: MeDALL data of precisely phenotyped children followed in 14 birth cohorts spread across Europe were combined with systems biology (omics, IgE measurement using microarrays) and environmental data. Multimorbidity in the same child is more common than expected by chance alone, suggesting that these diseases share causal mechanisms irrespective of IgE sensitization. IgE sensitization should be considered differently in monosensitized and polysensitized individuals. Allergic multimorbidities and IgE polysensitization are often associated with the persistence or severity of allergic diseases. Environmental exposures are relevant for the development of allergy-related diseases. To complement the population-based studies in children, MeDALL included mechanistic experimental animal studies and in vitro studies in humans. The integration of multimorbidities and polysensitization has resulted in a new classification framework of allergic diseases that could help to improve the understanding of genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of allergy as well as to better manage allergic diseases. Ethics and gender were considered. MeDALL has deployed translational activities within the EU agenda.

A New Approach to Examine the Relationship between Functional Preparedness and Electrogenesis in the Athletes Using the Etalon Cardiocycle

In modern sport, the result depends on many aspects, including technical, tactical, physical, physiological and psychological factors, as well as heredity and fitness athletes. Diagnostics functional status and identification of mechanisms of formation of the adaptive response of the organism to the load allows to analyzing these factors for individual components. Well known, the myocardium is sensitive the indicator´s ability to consume oxygen, which can be a limiting factor in aerobic functional capacities and reserves not only of the heart muscle, but also the entire body. With this increasing needs of the myocardium in oxygen, including under increasing load, lead to ischemic disorders, in the event which suffer all the processes of membrane electrogenesis: excitability of myocardial cells, bioelectric automaticity processes in the myocardium, including the processes of de - and repolarization. It is found that the original features of the reference cardiocycle (EC) single-channel ECG that can be computed in hardware-software complex FAZAGRAF® with finger electrodes have an additional diagnostic value in quantifying the level of the functional state of the myocardium EC, which is formed in the time domain to the coordinates of the averaged phase trajectory and main traditional ECG signs doesn’t depend on the lead systems may reflect the characteristics of electrogenesis. The high degree of single-channel correlation indices EC ECG with quantitative values ​​of functional training athletes (power, economy and effectiveness) allows to use EC in the diagnosis of functional disorders of cardiac hemodynamic to identify units in need of rehabilitation, correction and optimization.

The influence of dimensionality on the behavior of magnetic dipolar soft spheres: calculation of the pressure

We investigate the influence of dimensionality of a sample on the properties of magnetic dipolar soft spheres. Molecular dynamics simulations and diagram expansion are employed to analyze the pressure and microscopic structure of model monodisperse magnetic fluids in a bulk and in a monolayer. We found that, for a broad range of densities and dipolar interaction strengths, strong geometrical confinement weakens the influence of the dipole-dipole interaction on the pressure and, as a result, steric repulsion of dipolar particles provides the main contribution to the thermodynamic properties of ferrofluids in strong confinement.

n-p short-range correlations from (p,2p+n) measurements

We studied the 12C(p,2p+n) reaction at beam momenta of 5.9, 8.0, and 9.0 GeV/c. For quasielastic (p,2p) events p(f), the momentum of the knocked-out proton before the reaction, was compared (event by event) with p(n), the coincident neutron momentum. For |p(n)|>k(F)=0.220 GeV/c (the Fermi momentum) a strong back-to-back directional correlation between p(f) and p(n) was observed, indicative of short-range n-p correlations. From p(n) and p(f) we constructed the distributions of c.m. and relative motion in the longitudinal direction for correlated pairs. We also determined that 49+/-13% of events with |p(f)|>k(F) had directionally correlated neutrons with |p(n)|>k(F).

Energy dependence of nuclear transparency in C (p,2p) scattering

The transparency of carbon for (p,2p) quasielastic events was measured at beam momenta ranging from 5.9 to 14.5 GeV/c at 90 degrees c.m. The four-momentum transfer squared (Q2) ranged from 4.7 to 12.7 (GeV/c)(2). We present the observed beam momentum dependence of the ratio of the carbon to hydrogen cross sections. We also apply a model for the nuclear momentum distribution of carbon to obtain the nuclear transparency. We find a sharp rise in transparency as the beam momentum is increased to 9 GeV/c and a reduction to approximately the Glauber level at higher energies.

BMP and Ihh/PTHrP signaling interact to coordinate chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation

During endochondral ossification, two secreted signals, Indian hedgehog (Ihh) and parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP), have been shown to form a negative feedback loop regulating the onset of hypertrophic differentiation of chondrocytes. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), another family of secreted factors regulating bone formation, have been implicated as potential interactors of the Ihh/PTHrP feedback loop. To analyze the relationship between the two signaling pathways, we used an organ culture system for limb explants of mouse and chick embryos. We manipulated chondrocyte differentiation by supplementing these cultures either with BMP2, PTHrP and Sonic hedgehog as activators or with Noggin and cyclopamine as inhibitors of the BMP and Ihh/PTHrP signaling systems. Overexpression of Ihh in the cartilage elements of transgenic mice results in an upregulation of PTHrP expression and a delayed onset of hypertrophic differentiation. Noggin treatment of limbs from these mice did not antagonize the effects of Ihh overexpression. Conversely, the promotion of chondrocyte maturation induced by cyclopamine, which blocks Ihh signaling, could not be rescued with BMP2. Thus BMP signaling does not act as a secondary signal of Ihh to induce PTHrP expression or to delay the onset of hypertrophic differentiation. Similar results were obtained using cultures of chick limbs.

We further investigated the role of BMP signaling in regulating proliferation and hypertrophic differentiation of chondrocytes and identified three functions of BMP signaling in this process. First we found that maintaining a normal proliferation rate requires BMP and Ihh signaling acting in parallel. We further identified a role for BMP signaling in modulating the expression of Ihh. Finally, the application of Noggin to mouse limb explants resulted in advanced differentiation of terminally hypertrophic cells, implicating BMP signaling in delaying the process of hypertrophic differentiation itself. This role of BMP signaling is independent of the Ihh/PTHrP pathway.