B cell-mediated CD4 T-cell costimulation via CD86 exacerbates pro-inflammatory cytokine production during autoimmune intestinal inflammation

Dysregulated B cell responses have been described in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients; however, the role of B cells in IBD pathology remained incompletely understood. We here provide evidence for the detrimental role of activated B cells during the onset of autoimmune intestinal inflammation. Using Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome interacting protein deficient (Wipf1-/-) mice as a mouse model of chronic colitis, we identified clusters of differentiation (CD)86 expression on activated B cells as a crucial factor exacerbating pro-inflammatory cytokine production of intestinal CD4 T cells. Depleting B cells through anti-CD20 antibody treatment or blocking costimulatory signals mediated by CD86 through cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4-immunoglobulin (CTLA-4-Ig) diminished intestinal inflammation in our mouse model of chronic IBD at the onset of disease. This was due to a reduction in aberrant humoral immune responses and reduced CD4 T cell pro-inflammatory cytokine production, especially interferon-g (IFN-g) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Interestingly, in addition to B cells isolated from the inflamed colon of Wipf1-/- mice, we also found CD86 mRNA and protein expression upregulated on activated B cells isolated from inflamed tissue of human patients with IBD. B cell activation and CD86 expression were boosted by soluble CD40L in vitro, which we found in the serum of mice and human patients with IBD. In summary, our data provides detailed insight into the contribution of B cells to intestinal inflammation, with implications for the treatment of IBD.

Flavonoid-Phenolic Acid Hybrids Are Potent Inhibitors of Ferroptosis via Attenuation of Mitochondrial Impairment

Cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, and the flavonoids quercetin and taxifolin (dihydroquercetin) are naturally occurring compounds found in plants. They are often referred to as polyphenols and are known, among others, for their pharmacological effects supporting health through the inhibition of aging processes and oxidative stress. To improve their bioavailability, pharmacological activities, and safety, the creation of novel flavonoid-phenolic acid hybrids is an area of active research. Previous work showed that such hybridization products of phenolic acids and flavonoids enhanced the resilience of neuronal cells against oxidative stress in vitro, and attenuated cognitive impairment in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in vivo. Notably, the therapeutic effects of the hybrid compounds we obtained were more pronounced than the protective activities of the respective individual components. The underlying mechanisms mediated by the flavonoid-phenolic acid hybrids, however, remained unclear and may differ from the signaling pathways activated by the originating structures of the respective individual phenolic acids or flavonoids. In this study, we characterized the effects of four previously described potent flavonoid-phenolic acid hybrids in models of oxidative cell death through ferroptosis. Ferroptosis is a type of iron-dependent regulated cell death characterized by lipid peroxidation and mitochondrial ROS generation and has been linked to neurodegenerative conditions. In models of ferroptosis induced by erastin or RSL3, we analyzed mitochondrial (lipid) peroxidation, mitochondrial membrane integrity, and Ca2+ regulation. Our results demonstrate the strong protective effects of the hybrid compounds against ROS formation in the cytosol and mitochondria. Importantly, these protective effects against ferroptosis were not mediated by radical scavenging activities of the phenolic hybrid compounds but through inhibition of mitochondrial complex I activity and reduced mitochondrial respiration. Our data highlight the effects of flavonoid-phenolic acid hybrids on mitochondrial metabolism and further important mitochondrial parameters that collectively determine the health and functionality of mitochondria with a high impact on the integrity and survival of the neuronal cells.

Cough-induced chylothorax in a two-year-old boy - case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Chylothorax is a very rare form of pleural effusion in children, especially after the neonatal period, and predominantly occurs secondary to cardiothoracic surgery. It can lead to significant respiratory distress, immunodeficiency, and malnutrition. Effective treatment strategies are therefore required to reduce morbidity.

CASE PRESENTATION

A previously healthy two-year old boy was admitted with history of heavy coughing followed by progressive dyspnea. The chest X-ray showed an extensive opacification of the right lung. Ultrasound studies revealed a large pleural effusion of the right hemithorax. Pleural fluid analysis delivered the unusual diagnosis of chylothorax, most likely induced by preceded excessive coughing. After an unsuccessful treatment attempt with a fat-free diet and continuous pleural drainage for two weeks, therapy with octreotide was initiated. This led to complete and permanent resolution of his pleural effusion within 15 days, without any side effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Severe cough may be a rare cause of chylothorax in young children. Octreotide seems to be an effective and safe treatment of spontaneous or traumatic chylothorax in children. There is, however, a lack of comprehensive studies for chylothorax in children and many issues concerning diagnostic strategies and treatment algorithms remain.

Dual-Acting Small Molecules: Subtype-Selective Cannabinoid Receptor 2 Agonist/Butyrylcholinesterase Inhibitor Hybrids Show Neuroprotection in an Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Model

We present the synthesis and characterization of merged human butyrylcholinesterase (hBChE) inhibitor/cannabinoid receptor 2 (hCB₂R) ligands for the treatment of neurodegeneration. In total, 15 benzimidazole carbamates were synthesized and tested for their inhibition of human cholinesterases, also with regard to their pseudoirreversible binding mode and affinity toward both cannabinoid receptors in radioligand binding studies. After evaluation in a calcium mobilization assay as well as a β-arrestin 2 (βarr2) recruitment assay, two compounds with balanced activities on both targets were tested for their immunomodulatory effect on microglia activation and regarding their pharmacokinetic properties and blood-brain barrier penetration. Compound 15d, containing a dimethyl carbamate motif, was further evaluated in vivo, showing prevention of Aβ_25-35-induced learning impairments in a pharmacological mouse model of Alzheimer's disease for both short- and long-term memory responses. Additional combination studies proved a synergic effect of BChE inhibition and CB₂R activation in vivo.

Immune cell dynamics deconvoluted by single-cell RNA sequencing in normothermic machine perfusion of the liver

Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) has emerged as an innovative organ preservation technique. Developing an understanding for the donor organ immune cell composition and its dynamic changes during NMP is essential. We aimed for a comprehensive characterization of immune cell (sub)populations, cell trafficking and cytokine release during liver NMP. Single-cell transcriptome profiling of human donor livers prior to, during NMP and after transplantation shows an abundance of CXC chemokine receptor 1⁺/2⁺ (CXCR1⁺/CXCR2⁺) neutrophils, which significantly decreased during NMP. This is paralleled by a large efflux of passenger leukocytes with neutrophil predominance in the perfusate. During NMP, neutrophils shift from a pro-inflammatory state towards an aged/chronically activated/exhausted phenotype, while anti-inflammatory/tolerogenic monocytes/macrophages are increased. We herein describe the dynamics of the immune cell repertoire, phenotypic immune cell shifts and a dominance of neutrophils during liver NMP, which potentially contribute to the inflammatory response. Our findings may serve as resource to initiate future immune-interventional studies.

Novel benzimidazole-based pseudo-irreversible butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors with neuroprotective activity in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model

As levels of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) decrease while levels of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) increase in later stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD), BChE stands out as a promising target for treatment of AD. Therefore, several benzimidazole-carbamates were designed based on docking studies to inhibit BChE selectively over AChE, while retaining a reasonable solubility. Synthesized molecules exhibit IC50 values from 2.4 μM down to 3.7 nM with an overall highly hBChE-selective profile of the designed compound class. After evaluation of potential neurotoxicity, the most promising compound was further investigated in vivo. Compound 11d attenuates Aβ25-35-induced learning impairments in both spontaneous alternation and passive avoidance responses at a very low dosage of 0.03 mg kg-1, proving selective BChE inhibition to lead to effective neuroprotectivity in AD.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Flavonoid‐Cinnamic Acid Amide Hybrids with Distinct Activity against Neurodegeneration in Vitro and in Vivo

Flavonoids are polyphenolic natural products and have shown significant potential as disease‐modifying agents against neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease (AD), with activities even in vivo. Hybridization of the natural products taxifolin and silibinin with cinnamic acid led to an overadditive effect of these compounds in several phenotypic screening assays related to neurodegeneration and AD. Therefore, we have exchanged the flavonoid part of the hybrids with different flavonoids, which show higher efficacy than taxifolin or silibinin, to improve the activity of the respective hybrids. Chemical connection between the flavonoid and cinnamic acid was realized by an amide instead of a labile ester bond to improve stability towards hydrolysis. To investigate the influence of a double bond at the C‐ring of the flavonoid, the dehydro analogues of the respective hybrids were also synthesized. All compounds obtained show neuroprotection against oxytosis, ferroptosis and ATP‐depletion, respectively, in the murine hippocampal cell line HT22. Interestingly, the taxifolin and the quercetin derivatives are the most active compounds, whereby the quercetin derivate shows even more pronounced activity than the taxifolin one in all assays applied. As aimed for, no hydrolysis product was found in cellular uptake experiments after 4 h whereas different metabolites were detected. Furthermore, the quercetin‐cinnamic acid amide showed pronounced activity in an in vivo AD mouse model at a remarkably low dose of 0.3 mg/kg.

Process Behavior of Special Mixing Elements in Twin-screw Extruders

Tightly intermeshing, co-rotating twin-screw extruders are commonly employed for tasks requiring good mixing. The modular structure of both barrel and screw makes it possible to optimize the extruder configuration for a given task. Increasing demands on polymers have resulted in the development of more sophisticated mixing elements. In the framework of this investigation we looked at the pressure-throughput behavior of mixing elements in a conveying, reconveying and conveying-reconveying configuration. Furthermore, the local residence time distribution within those elements was investigated. We developed physical-mathematical models to describe the pressure – throughput behavior observed in the experimental investigations.

Melt Conveying in Co-rotating Twin Screw Extruders

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based on a finite-volume method was used to simulate three-dimensional pressure and velocity fields for non-Newtonian fluids in fully filled screw elements in a co-rotating twin screw extruder. The employed method also allows the calculation of temperature fields for non-isothermal flow which requires a non-steady state calculation.

The CFD code was first evaluated on simple flow cases such as flow of a Newtonian or non-Newtonian fluid through a cylindrical die or flow in single screw extruders equipped with different screws. The results agreed very well with analytical calculations (die flow) and experimental results (single screw extruder). In a next step, we wanted to establish the reliability of the numerical results for twin screw extruders by performing experiments on a 40 mm and a 58 mm screw diameter machine. Temperature and pressure distribution along the screw in the fully filled section in front of the die were measured. Melt conveying in several screw elements (different pitches) was studied for different materials (amorphous polystyrene and partially crystalline polypropylene) at various flow rates and screw speeds. It was attempted to measure axial pressure build-up for flow rates from nearly zero to beyond the drag capacity of the specific element. The measured bulk values of pressure were then compared to the corresponding values extracted from the CFD simulation results. So far, only isothermal calculations (at different temperatures) have been performed. The temperature profile along the screw was determined by calculating the energy dissipation in isothermal slices and converting the dissipated energy into internal energy (temperature increase, neglecting heat losses at the wall). General agreement between experimental and numerical results is good.

Partial-Brain Radiation-Induced Microvascular Cognitive Impairment in Juvenile Murine Unilateral Hippocampal Synaptic Plasticity

PURPOSE

Radiation-induced cognitive deficits have a severe negative impact on pediatric brain tumor patients. The severity of cognitive symptoms is related to the age of the child when radiation was applied, with the most severe effects seen in the youngest. Previous studies using whole-brain irradiation in mice confirmed these findings. To understand ipsilateral and contralateral changes in the hippocampus after partial-brain radiation therapy (PBRT) of the left hemisphere, we assessed the neuroplasticity and changes in the microvasculature of the irradiated and nonirradiated hippocampus in juvenile mice.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

The left hemispheres of 5-week-old mice were irradiated with 2, 8, and 20 Gy and a fractionated dose of 8 Gy in 2 fractions using a computed tomography image guided small animal radiation research platform. Long-term potentiation (LTP) has been monitored ex vivo in the hippocampal cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) region and was assessed 3 days and 5 and 10 weeks after PBRT in both hemispheres and compared to a sham group. Irradiation effects on the hippocampus microvasculature were quantified by efficient tissue clearing and multiorgan volumetric imaging.

RESULTS

LTP in irradiated hippocampal slices of juvenile mice declines 3 days after radiation, lasts up to 10 weeks in the irradiated part of the hippocampus, and correlates with a significantly reduced microvasculature length. Specifically, LTP inhibition is sustained in the irradiated (20 Gy, 8 Gy in 2 fractions, 8 Gy, 2 Gy) hippocampus, whereas the contralateral hippocampus remains unaffected after PBRT. LTP inhibition in the irradiated hemisphere after PBRT might be associated with an impaired microvascular network.

CONCLUSION

PBRT induces a long-lasting impairment in neuroplasticity and the microvessel network of the irradiated hippocampus, whereas the contralateral hippocampus remains unaffected. These findings provide insight into the design of PBRT strategies to better protect the young developing brain from cognitive decline.

Tissue clearing and 3D imaging - putting immune cells into context

A better understanding of cell-cell and cell-niche interactions is crucial to comprehend the complexity of inflammatory or pathophysiological scenarios such as tissue damage during viral infections, the tumour microenvironment and neuroinflammation. Optical clearing and 3D volumetric imaging of large tissue pieces or whole organs is a rapidly developing methodology that holds great promise for the in-depth study of cells in their natural surroundings. These methods have mostly been applied to image structural components such as endothelial cells and neuronal architecture. Recent work now highlights the possibility of studying immune cells in detail within their respective immune niches. This Review summarizes recent developments in tissue clearing methods and 3D imaging, with a focus on the localization and quantification of immune cells. We first provide background to the optical challenges involved and their solutions before discussing published protocols for tissue clearing, the limitations of 3D imaging of immune cells and image analysis. Furthermore, we highlight possible applications for tissue clearing and propose future developments for the analysis of immune cells within homeostatic or inflammatory immune niches.

Azobioisosteres of Curcumin with Pronounced Activity against Amyloid Aggregation, Intracellular Oxidative Stress, and Neuroinflammation

Many (poly-)phenolic natural products, for example, curcumin and taxifolin, have been studied for their activity against specific hallmarks of neurodegeneration, such as amyloid-β 42 (Aβ42) aggregation and neuroinflammation. Due to their drawbacks, arising from poor pharmacokinetics, rapid metabolism, and even instability in aqueous medium, the biological activity of azobenzene compounds carrying a pharmacophoric catechol group, which have been designed as bioisoteres of curcumin has been examined. Molecular simulations reveal the ability of these compounds to form a hydrophobic cluster with Aβ42, which adopts different folds, affecting the propensity to populate fibril-like conformations. Furthermore, the curcumin bioisosteres exceeded the parent compound in activity against Aβ42 aggregation inhibition, glutamate-induced intracellular oxidative stress in HT22 cells, and neuroinflammation in microglial BV-2 cells. The most active compound prevented apoptosis of HT22 cells at a concentration of 2.5 μm (83 % cell survival), whereas curcumin only showed very low protection at 10 μm (21 % cell survival).

Molecular detection of cosaviruses in a patient with acute flaccid paralysis and in sewage samples in Germany

Cosaviruses (CoSV) were first identified in stool samples collected from non-polio acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases and their healthy contacts in Pakistan in 2003. The clinical importance of CoSV remains unclear as data on epidemiology are scarce and no routine diagnostic testing is done. In this study, we characterized human CoSV (HCoSV) in a child with non-polio AFP and in sewage samples collected in Berlin, Germany. Using unbiased high-throughput sequencing and specific PCR, we characterized a HCoSV-D in stool samples of a three-year-old child hospitalized in Germany with non-polio AFP and travel history to Pakistan. The shedding pattern and absence of other relevant pathogens suggests that HCoSV-D may have been involved in the genesis of AFP. The HCoSV-RNA concentration was high, with 2.57 × 10⁶ copies per mL fecal/suspension, decreasing in follow-up samples. To investigate the possibility of local circulation of HCoSV, we screened Berlin sewage samples collected between 2013 and 2018. Molecular testing of sewage samples has shown the presence of CoSV in several parts of the world, but until now not in Germany. Of our sewage samples, 54.3 % were positive for CoSV, with up to three viral species identified in samples. Phylogenetically, the German sequences clustered intermixed with sequences obtained globally. Together, these findings emphasize the need for further clinical, epidemiological, environmental, pathogenicity and phylogenetic studies of HCoSV.

Efficient Tissue Clearing and Multi-Organ Volumetric Imaging Enable Quantitative Visualization of Sparse Immune Cell Populations During Inflammation

Spatial information of cells in their tissue microenvironment is necessary to understand the complexity of pathophysiological processes. Volumetric imaging of cleared organs provides this information; however, current protocols are often elaborate, expensive, and organ specific. We developed a simplified, cost-effective, non-hazardous approach for efficient tissue clearing and multi-organ volumetric imaging (EMOVI). EMOVI enabled multiplexed antibody-based immunolabeling, provided adequate tissue transparency, maintained cellular morphology and preserved fluorochromes. Exemplarily, EMOVI allowed the detection and quantification of scarce cell populations during pneumonitis. EMOVI also permitted histo-cytometric analysis of MHC-II expressing cells, revealing distinct populations surrounding or infiltrating glomeruli of nephritic kidneys. Using EMOVI, we found widefield microscopy with real-time computational clearing as a valuable option for rapid image acquisition and detection of rare cellular events in cleared organs. EMOVI has the potential to make tissue clearing and volumetric imaging of immune cells applicable for a broad audience by facilitating flexibility in organ, fluorochrome and microscopy usage.

A 6-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of weekly exenatide in adolescents with obesity

BACKGROUND

Pharmacological treatment options for adolescents with obesity are very limited. Glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist could be a treatment option for adolescent obesity.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of exenatide extended release on body mass index (BMI)-SDS as primary outcome, and glucose metabolism, cardiometabolic risk factors, liver steatosis, and other BMI metrics as secondary outcomes, and its safety and tolerability in adolescents with obesity.

METHODS

Six-month, randomized, double-blinded, parallel, placebo-controlled clinical trial in patients (n = 44, 10-18 years, females n = 22) with BMI-SDS > 2.0 or age-adapted-BMI > 30 kg/m² according to WHO were included. Patients received lifestyle intervention and were randomized to exenatide extended release 2 mg (n = 22) or placebo (n = 22) subcutaneous injections given once weekly. Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were conducted at the beginning and end of the intervention.

RESULTS

Exenatide reduced (P < .05) BMI-SDS (-0.09; -0.18, 0.00), % BMI 95th percentile (-2.9%; -5.4, -0.3), weight (-3 kg; -5.8, -0.1), waist circumference (-3.2 cm; -5.8, -0.7), subcutaneous adipose tissue (-552 cm³ ; -989, -114), 2-hour-glucose during OGTT (-15.3 mg/dL; -27.5, -3.1), total cholesterol (11.6 mg/dL; -21.7, -1.5), and BMI (-0.83 kg/m² ; -1.68, 0.01) without significant change in liver fat content (-1.36; -3.12, 0.4; P = .06) in comparison to placebo. Safety and tolerability profiles were comparable to placebo with the exception of mild adverse events being more frequent in exenatide-treated patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Treatment of adolescents with severe obesity with extended-release exenatide is generally well tolerated and leads to a modest reduction in BMI metrics and improvement in glucose tolerance and cholesterol. The study indicates that the treatment provides additional beneficial effects beyond BMI reduction for the patient group.

Sterubin: Enantioresolution and Configurational Stability, Enantiomeric Purity in Nature, and Neuroprotective Activity in Vitro and in Vivo

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurological disorder with still no preventive or curative treatment. Flavonoids are phytochemicals with potential therapeutic value. Previous studies described the flavanone sterubin isolated from the Californian plant Eriodictyon californicum as a potent neuroprotectant in several in vitro assays. Herein, the resolution of synthetic racemic sterubin (1) into its two enantiomers, (R)-1 and (S)-1, is described, which has been performed on a chiral chromatographic phase, and their stereochemical assignment online by HPLC-ECD coupling. (R)-1 and (S)-1 showed comparable neuroprotection in vitro with no significant differences. While the pure stereoisomers were configurationally stable in methanol, fast racemization was observed in the presence of culture medium. We also established the occurrence of extracted sterubin as its pure (S)-enantiomer. Moreover, the activity of sterubin (1) was investigated for the first time in vivo, in an AD mouse model. Sterubin (1) showed a significant positive impact on short- and long-term memory at low dosages.

Humulene Diepoxides from the Australian Arid Zone Herb Dysphania: Assignment of Aged Hops Constituents

Dysphania is an abundant genus of plants, many of which are endemic to the Australian continent, occurring primarily in arid and temperate zones. Despite their prevalence, very few investigations into the phytochemistry of native Dysphania have been undertaken. Described herein, is the isolation and elucidation of two enantiomeric diastereomers of humulene diepoxide C from D. kalpari and D. rhadinostachya, of which unassigned diastereomers of humulene diepoxide C have been previously reported as components in beer brewed from aged hops. In addition, two (+)-humulene diepoxiols (humulene diepoxiol C-I and C-II) were isolated from D. rhadinostachya. Analysis of Chinook hops oil confirmed the presence of both humulene diepoxide C-I and C-II as trace components, and in turn enabled GC-MS peak assignment to the relative stereochemistry. Anticancer assays did not reveal any significant activity for the (+)-humulene diepoxides. Antifungal assays showed good activity against a drug-resistant strain of C. auris, with MIC₅₀ values of 8.53 and 4.91 μm obtained for (+)-humulene diepoxide C-I and C-II, respectively.

Computed tomography textural analysis for the differentiation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and diffuse large B cell lymphoma of Richter syndrome

OBJECTIVE

To test the hypothesis that both indolent and aggressive chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) can be differentiated from diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) of Richter syndrome (RS) by CT texture analysis (CTTA) of involved lymph nodes.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We retrospectively included 52 patients with indolent CLL (26/52), aggressive CLL (8/52), and DLBCL of RS (18/52), who underwent standardized contrast-enhanced CT. In main lymphoma tissue, VOIs were generated from which CTTA features including first-, second-, and higher-order textural features were extracted. CTTA features were compared between the entire CLL group, the indolent CLL subtype, the aggressive CLL subtype, and DLBCL using a Kruskal-Wallis test. All p values were adjusted after the Bonferroni correction. ROC analyses for significant CTTA features were performed to determine cut-off values for differentiation between the groups.

RESULTS

Compared with DLBCL of RS, CTTA of the entire CLL group showed significant differences of entropy heterogeneity (p < 0.001), mean intensity (p < 0.001), mean average (p = 0.02), and number non-uniformity gray-level dependence matrix (NGLDM) (p = 0.03). Indolent CLL significantly differed for entropy (p < 0.001), uniformity of heterogeneity (p = 0.02), mean intensity (p < 0.001), and mean average (p = 0.01). Aggressive CLL showed significant differences in mean intensity (p = 0.04). For differentiation between CLL and DLBCL of RS, cut-off values for mean intensity and entropy of heterogeneity were defined (e.g., 6.63 for entropy heterogeneity [aggressive CLL vs. DLBCL]; sensitivity 0.78; specificity 0.63).

CONCLUSIONS

CTTA features of ultrastructure and vascularization significantly differ in CLL compared with that in DLBCL of Richter syndrome, allowing complementary to visual features for noninvasive differentiation by contrast-enhanced CT.

KEY POINTS

• Richter transformation of CLL into DLBCL results in structural changes in lymph node architecture and vascularization that can be detected by CTTA. • First-order CT textural features including intensity and heterogeneity significantly differ between both indolent CLL and aggressive CLL and DLBCL of Richter syndrome. • CT texture analysis allows for noninvasive detection of Richter syndrome which is of prognostic value.

Calpastatin ablation aggravates the molecular phenotype in cell and animal models of Huntington disease

Deciphering the molecular pathology of Huntington disease is of particular importance, not only for a better understanding of this neurodegenerative disease, but also to identify potential therapeutic targets. The polyglutamine-expanded disease protein huntingtin was shown to undergo proteolysis, which results in the accumulation of toxic and aggregation-prone fragments. Amongst several classes of proteolytic enzymes responsible for huntingtin processing, the group of calcium-activated calpains has been found to be a significant mediator of the disease protein toxicity. To confirm the impact of calpain-mediated huntingtin cleavage in Huntington disease, we analysed the effect of depleting or overexpressing the endogenous calpain inhibitor calpastatin in HEK293T cells transfected with wild-type or polyglutamine-expanded huntingtin. Moreover, we crossbred huntingtin knock-in mice with calpastatin knockout animals to assess its effect not only on huntingtin cleavage and aggregation but also additional molecular markers. We demonstrated that a reduced or ablated expression of calpastatin triggers calpain overactivation and a consequently increased mutant huntingtin cleavage in cells and in vivo. These alterations were accompanied by an elevated formation of predominantly cytoplasmic huntingtin aggregates. On the other hand, overexpression of calpastatin in cells attenuated huntingtin fragmentation and aggregation. In addition, we observed an enhanced cleavage of DARPP-32, p35 and synapsin-1 in neuronal tissue upon calpain overactivation. Our results corroborate the important role of calpains in the molecular pathogenesis of Huntington disease and endorse targeting these proteolytic enzymes as a therapeutic approach.

Effects of Enhanced Flexibility and Pore Size Distribution on Adsorption-Induced Deformation of Mesoporous Materials

Here, we present a new model of adsorption-induced deformation of mesoporous solids. The model is based on a simplified version of local density functional theory in the framework of solvation free energy. Instead of density, which is treated as constant here, we used film thickness and pore radius as order parameters. This allows us to obtain a self-consistent system of equations describing simultaneously the processes of gas adsorption and adsorbent deformation, as well as conditions for capillary condensation and evaporation. In the limit of infinitely rigid pore walls, when the film becomes several monolayers thick, the model reduces to the well-known Derjaguin-Broekhoff-de Boer theory for pores with cylindrical geometry. We have investigated the effects of enhanced flexibility of the solid as well as the influence of pore size distribution on the adsorption/deformation process. The formulation of the theory allows to determine the average pore size and its width from the desorption branch of the strain isotherm only. The model reproduces the nonmonotonic behavior of the strain isotherm at low relative pressure. Furthermore, we discuss the effect of rigidity of the adsorbent on the pore size distribution, showing qualitatively different results of the adsorption isotherms for rigid and highly flexible materials, in particular, the shift of evaporation pressure to lower values and the absence of a limiting value of the loading at high relative pressure. We also discuss the results of the theory with respect to experimental data obtained from the literature.

Common and well-documented HLA alleles over all of Europe and within European sub-regions: A catalogue from the European Federation for Immunogenetics

BACKGROUND

A catalogue of common and well-documented (CWD) human leukocyte antigen (HLA), previously established by the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI), is widely used as indicator for typing ambiguities to be resolved in tissue transplantation or for checking the universality of any HLA allele in the world. However, European population samples, which are characterized by a substantial level of genetic variation, are underrepresented in the ASHI catalogue. Therefore, the Population Genetics Working Group of the European Federation for Immunogenetics (EFI) has facilitated data collection for an European CWD catalogue.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To this end, 2nd-field HLA-A, -B, -C,- DRB1,- DQA1,- DQB1 and -DPB1 data of 77 to 121 European population samples (21 571-3 966 984 individuals) from 3 large databases, HLA-net/Gene[VA], allelefrequencies.net and DKMS, were analysed.

RESULTS

The total number of CWD alleles is similar in the EFI (N = 1048) and ASHI (N = 1031) catalogues, but the former counts less common (N = 236 vs 377) and more well-documented (N = 812 vs 654) alleles than the latter, possibly reflecting differences in sample numbers and sizes. Interestingly, approximately half of the CWD alleles reported by EFI were not reported by ASHI and vice-versa, underlining the distinct features of the two catalogues. Also, although 78 common alleles are widely distributed across Europe, some alleles are only common within specific sub-regions, showing regional variability.

CONCLUSION

Although the definition of CWD alleles itself is affected by different parameters, calling for current updates of the list, the EFI CWD catalogue provides new insights into European population genetics and will be a very useful tool for tissue-typing laboratories in and beyond Europe.

Ion mobility separation of deprotonated oligosaccharide isomers - evidence for gas-phase charge migration

There has been increasing evidence that certain isomeric glycans can be separated efficiently by ion mobility-mass spectrometry when deprotonated ions are analyzed. To better understand the fundamentals behind these separations, we here investigate the impact of ionisation mode and adduct formation using IM-MS, density-functional theory and ab initio molecular dynamics.

Linking site-specific loss of histone acetylation to repression of gene expression by the mycotoxin ochratoxin A

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a potent renal carcinogen but its mechanism has not been fully resolved. In vitro and in vivo gene expression studies consistently revealed down-regulation of gene expression as the predominant transcriptional response to OTA. Based on the importance of specific histone acetylation marks in regulating gene transcription and our recent finding that OTA inhibits histone acetyltransferases (HATs), leading to loss of acetylation of histones and non-histone proteins, we hypothesized that OTA-mediated repression of gene expression may be causally linked to HAT inhibition and loss of histone acetylation. In this study, we used a novel mass spectrometry approach employing chemical ¹³C-acetylation of unmodified lysine residues for quantification of post-translational acetylation sites to identify site-specific alterations in histone acetylation in human kidney epithelial cells (HK-2) exposed to OTA. These results showed OTA-mediated hypoacetylation at almost all lysine residues of core histones, including loss of acetylation at H3K9 and H3K14, which are hallmarks of gene activation. ChIP-qPCR used to establish a possible link between H3K9 or H3K14 hypoacetylation and OTA-mediated down-regulation of selected genes (AMIGO2, CLASP2, CTNND1) confirmed OTA-mediated H3K9 hypoacetylation at promoter regions of these genes. Integrated analysis of OTA-mediated genome-wide changes in H3K9 acetylation identified by ChIP-Seq with published gene expression data further demonstrated that among OTA-responsive genes almost 80% of hypoacetylated genes were down-regulated, thus confirming an association between H3K9 acetylation status and gene expression of these genes. However, only 7% of OTA repressed genes showed loss of H3K9 acetylation within promoter regions. Interestingly, however, GO analysis and functional enrichment of down-regulated genes showing loss of H3K9 acetylation at their respective promoter regions revealed enrichment of genes involved in the regulation of transcription, including a number of transcription factors that are predicted to directly or indirectly regulate the expression of 98% of OTA repressed genes. Thus, it is possible that histone acetylation changes in a fairly small set of genes but with key function in transcriptional regulation may trigger a cascade of events that may lead to overall repression of gene expression. Taken together, our data provide evidence for a mechanistic link between loss of H3K9 acetylation as a consequence of OTA-mediated inhibition of HATs and repression of gene expression by OTA, thereby affecting cellular processes critical to tumorigenesis.

Steep rise in norovirus cases and emergence of a new recombinant strain GII.P16-GII.2, Germany, winter 2016

Since early November 2016, the number of laboratory-confirmed norovirus infections reported in Germany has been increasing steeply. Here, we report the detection and genetic characterisation of an emerging norovirus recombinant, GII.P16-GII.2. This strain was frequently identified as the cause of sporadic cases as well as outbreaks in nine federal states of Germany. Our findings suggest that the emergence of GII.P16-GII.2 contributed to rising case numbers of norovirus gastroenteritis in Germany.

Distinguishing N-acetylneuraminic acid linkage isomers on glycopeptides by ion mobility-mass spectrometry

Differentiating the structure of isobaric glycopeptides represents a major challenge for mass spectrometry-based characterisation techniques. Here we show that the regiochemistry of the most common N-acetylneuraminic acid linkages of N-glycans can be identified in a site-specific manner from individual glycopeptides using ion mobility-mass spectrometry analysis of diagnostic fragment ions.

Brincidofovir clearance of acyclovir-resistant herpes simplex virus-1 and adenovirus infection after stem cell transplantation

Infections with adenovirus (AdV) and herpesviruses can result in considerable morbidity and mortality in pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant (SCT) recipients. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) reactivations are usually prevented by acyclovir (ACV) prophylaxis, whereas cidofovir (CDV) has been used off indication to manage AdV infections. We report a child with myelodysplastic syndrome undergoing multiple SCT, who experienced HSV-1 disease including severe mucositis and herpetic whitlow, as well as high viral load AdV DNAemia. Both ACV and CDV were ineffective; however, viral loads were decreased with brincidofovir, resulting in viral clearance. A subsequent Epstein-Barr virus disease with relevant meningoencephalitis responded to rituximab.

Acute Graft Dysfunction 17 Years After Liver Transplant: A Challenging Clinical and Histologic Manifestation of Hepatitis E

Acute hepatitis E virus infection after liver transplant is a challenging clinical phenomenon. Due to its unspecific clinical and histological presentation, the diagnosis of acute or chronic hepatitis E virus infection can be difficult in unclear cases of elevated liver enzymes. Here, we report the case of a 56-year-old male patient who presented to our center for 17-year follow-up after liver transplant with α1-antitrypsin deficiency. The patient was asymptomatic but had remarkably increased transaminases and cholestasis parameters. Blood levels for immunosuppressives were in the normal range, and cholestasis and deteriorated liver perfusion were excluded by ultrasonographic examination. A liver biopsy was performed that was histologically interpreted as acute cellular rejection grade I. Accordingly, the patient was treated with 5-day high-dose intravenous steroids and increased doses of the maintenance immunosuppressive agents, resulting in the slow normalization of the liver enzymes. Extended laboratory examinations revealed presence of acute hepatitis E virus infection, and a retrospectively immunohistologic staining of the liver biopsy was positive for hepatitis E virus antigen. Acute hepatitis E virus infection can be a reason for acute allograft dysfunction after liver transplant. This differential diagnosis should be kept in mind, especially when graft dysfunction occurs long after transplant.

Human genome meeting 2016 : Houston, TX, USA. 28 February - 2 March 2016

O1 The metabolomics approach to autism: identification of biomarkers for early detection of autism spectrum disorder A. K. Srivastava, Y. Wang, R. Huang, C. Skinner, T. Thompson, L. Pollard, T. Wood, F. Luo, R. Stevenson O2 Phenome-wide association study for smoking- and drinking-associated genes in 26,394 American women with African, Asian, European, and Hispanic descents R. Polimanti, J. Gelernter O3 Effects of prenatal environment, genotype and DNA methylation on birth weight and subsequent postnatal outcomes: findings from GUSTO, an Asian birth cohort X. Lin, I. Y. Lim, Y. Wu, A. L. Teh, L. Chen, I. M. Aris, S. E. Soh, M. T. Tint, J. L. MacIsaac, F. Yap, K. Kwek, S. M. Saw, M. S. Kobor, M. J. Meaney, K. M. Godfrey, Y. S. Chong, J. D. Holbrook, Y. S. Lee, P. D. Gluckman, N. Karnani, GUSTO study group O4 High-throughput identification of specific qt interval modulating enhancers at the SCN5A locus A. Kapoor, D. Lee, A. Chakravarti O5 Identification of extracellular matrix components inducing cancer cell migration in the supernatant of cultivated mesenchymal stem cells C. Maercker, F. Graf, M. Boutros O6 Single cell allele specific expression (ASE) IN T21 and common trisomies: a novel approach to understand DOWN syndrome and other aneuploidies G. Stamoulis, F. Santoni, P. Makrythanasis, A. Letourneau, M. Guipponi, N. Panousis, M. Garieri, P. Ribaux, E. Falconnet, C. Borel, S. E. Antonarakis O7 Role of microRNA in LCL to IPSC reprogramming S. Kumar, J. Curran, J. Blangero O8 Multiple enhancer variants disrupt gene regulatory network in Hirschsprung disease S. Chatterjee, A. Kapoor, J. Akiyama, D. Auer, C. Berrios, L. Pennacchio, A. Chakravarti O9 Metabolomic profiling for the diagnosis of neurometabolic disorders T. R. Donti, G. Cappuccio, M. Miller, P. Atwal, A. Kennedy, A. Cardon, C. Bacino, L. Emrick, J. Hertecant, F. Baumer, B. Porter, M. Bainbridge, P. Bonnen, B. Graham, R. Sutton, Q. Sun, S. Elsea O10 A novel causal methylation network approach to Alzheimer’s disease Z. Hu, P. Wang, Y. Zhu, J. Zhao, M. Xiong, David A Bennett O11 A microRNA signature identifies subtypes of triple-negative breast cancer and reveals MIR-342-3P as regulator of a lactate metabolic pathway A. Hidalgo-Miranda, S. Romero-Cordoba, S. Rodriguez-Cuevas, R. Rebollar-Vega, E. Tagliabue, M. Iorio, E. D’Ippolito, S. Baroni O12 Transcriptome analysis identifies genes, enhancer RNAs and repetitive elements that are recurrently deregulated across multiple cancer types B. Kaczkowski, Y. Tanaka, H. Kawaji, A. Sandelin, R. Andersson, M. Itoh, T. Lassmann, the FANTOM5 consortium, Y. Hayashizaki, P. Carninci, A. R. R. Forrest O13 Elevated mutation and widespread loss of constraint at regulatory and architectural binding sites across 11 tumour types C. A. Semple O14 Exome sequencing provides evidence of pathogenicity for genes implicated in colorectal cancer E. A. Rosenthal, B. Shirts, L. Amendola, C. Gallego, M. Horike-Pyne, A. Burt, P. Robertson, P. Beyers, C. Nefcy, D. Veenstra, F. Hisama, R. Bennett, M. Dorschner, D. Nickerson, J. Smith, K. Patterson, D. Crosslin, R. Nassir, N. Zubair, T. Harrison, U. Peters, G. Jarvik, NHLBI GO Exome Sequencing Project O15 The tandem duplicator phenotype as a distinct genomic configuration in cancer F. Menghi, K. Inaki, X. Woo, P. Kumar, K. Grzeda, A. Malhotra, H. Kim, D. Ucar, P. Shreckengast, K. Karuturi, J. Keck, J. Chuang, E. T. Liu O16 Modeling genetic interactions associated with molecular subtypes of breast cancer B. Ji, A. Tyler, G. Ananda, G. Carter O17 Recurrent somatic mutation in the MYC associated factor X in brain tumors H. Nikbakht, M. Montagne, M. Zeinieh, A. Harutyunyan, M. Mcconechy, N. Jabado, P. Lavigne, J. Majewski O18 Predictive biomarkers to metastatic pancreatic cancer treatment J. B. Goldstein, M. Overman, G. Varadhachary, R. Shroff, R. Wolff, M. Javle, A. Futreal, D. Fogelman O19 DDIT4 gene expression as a prognostic marker in several malignant tumors L. Bravo, W. Fajardo, H. Gomez, C. Castaneda, C. Rolfo, J. A. Pinto O20 Spatial organization of the genome and genomic alterations in human cancers K. C. Akdemir, L. Chin, A. Futreal, ICGC PCAWG Structural Alterations Group O21 Landscape of targeted therapies in solid tumors S. Patterson, C. Statz, S. Mockus O22 Genomic analysis reveals novel drivers and progression pathways in skin basal cell carcinoma S. N. Nikolaev, X. I. Bonilla, L. Parmentier, B. King, F. Bezrukov, G. Kaya, V. Zoete, V. Seplyarskiy, H. Sharpe, T. McKee, A. Letourneau, P. Ribaux, K. Popadin, N. Basset-Seguin, R. Ben Chaabene, F. Santoni, M. Andrianova, M. Guipponi, M. Garieri, C. Verdan, K. Grosdemange, O. Sumara, M. Eilers, I. Aifantis, O. Michielin, F. de Sauvage, S. Antonarakis O23 Identification of differential biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma via transcriptome microarray meta-analysis S. Likhitrattanapisal O24 Clinical validity and actionability of multigene tests for hereditary cancers in a large multi-center study S. Lincoln, A. Kurian, A. Desmond, S. Yang, Y. Kobayashi, J. Ford, L. Ellisen O25 Correlation with tumor ploidy status is essential for correct determination of genome-wide copy number changes by SNP array T. L. Peters, K. R. Alvarez, E. F. Hollingsworth, D. H. Lopez-Terrada O26 Nanochannel based next-generation mapping for interrogation of clinically relevant structural variation A. Hastie, Z. Dzakula, A. W. Pang, E. T. Lam, T. Anantharaman, M. Saghbini, H. Cao, BioNano Genomics O27 Mutation spectrum in a pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) cohort and identification of associated truncating mutations in TBX4 C. Gonzaga-Jauregui, L. Ma, A. King, E. Berman Rosenzweig, U. Krishnan, J. G. Reid, J. D. Overton, F. Dewey, W. K. Chung O28 NORTH CAROLINA macular dystrophy (MCDR1): mutations found affecting PRDM13 K. Small, A. DeLuca, F. Cremers, R. A. Lewis, V. Puech, B. Bakall, R. Silva-Garcia, K. Rohrschneider, M. Leys, F. S. Shaya, E. Stone O29 PhenoDB and genematcher, solving unsolved whole exome sequencing data N. L. Sobreira, F. Schiettecatte, H. Ling, E. Pugh, D. Witmer, K. Hetrick, P. Zhang, K. Doheny, D. Valle, A. Hamosh O30 Baylor-Johns Hopkins Center for Mendelian genomics: a four year review S. N. Jhangiani, Z. Coban Akdemir, M. N. Bainbridge, W. Charng, W. Wiszniewski, T. Gambin, E. Karaca, Y. Bayram, M. K. Eldomery, J. Posey, H. Doddapaneni, J. Hu, V. R. Sutton, D. M. Muzny, E. A. Boerwinkle, D. Valle, J. R. Lupski, R. A. Gibbs O31 Using read overlap assembly to accurately identify structural genetic differences in an ashkenazi jewish trio S. Shekar, W. Salerno, A. English, A. Mangubat, J. Bruestle O32 Legal interoperability: a sine qua non for international data sharing A. Thorogood, B. M. Knoppers, Global Alliance for Genomics and Health - Regulatory and Ethics Working Group O33 High throughput screening platform of competent sineups: that can enhance translation activities of therapeutic target H. Takahashi, K. R. Nitta, A. Kozhuharova, A. M. Suzuki, H. Sharma, D. Cotella, C. Santoro, S. Zucchelli, S. Gustincich, P. Carninci O34 The undiagnosed diseases network international (UDNI): clinical and laboratory research to meet patient needs J. J. Mulvihill, G. Baynam, W. Gahl, S. C. Groft, K. Kosaki, P. Lasko, B. Melegh, D. Taruscio O36 Performance of computational algorithms in pathogenicity predictions for activating variants in oncogenes versus loss of function mutations in tumor suppressor genes R. Ghosh, S. Plon O37 Identification and electronic health record incorporation of clinically actionable pharmacogenomic variants using prospective targeted sequencing S. Scherer, X. Qin, R. Sanghvi, K. Walker, T. Chiang, D. Muzny, L. Wang, J. Black, E. Boerwinkle, R. Weinshilboum, R. Gibbs O38 Melanoma reprogramming state correlates with response to CTLA-4 blockade in metastatic melanoma T. Karpinets, T. Calderone, K. Wani, X. Yu, C. Creasy, C. Haymaker, M. Forget, V. Nanda, J. Roszik, J. Wargo, L. Haydu, X. Song, A. Lazar, J. Gershenwald, M. Davies, C. Bernatchez, J. Zhang, A. Futreal, S. Woodman O39 Data-driven refinement of complex disease classification from integration of heterogeneous functional genomics data in GeneWeaver E. J. Chesler, T. Reynolds, J. A. Bubier, C. Phillips, M. A. Langston, E. J. Baker O40 A general statistic framework for genome-based disease risk prediction M. Xiong, L. Ma, N. Lin, C. Amos O41 Integrative large-scale causal network analysis of imaging and genomic data and its application in schizophrenia studies N. Lin, P. Wang, Y. Zhu, J. Zhao, V. Calhoun, M. Xiong O42 Big data and NGS data analysis: the cloud to the rescue O. Dobretsberger, M. Egger, F. Leimgruber O43 Cpipe: a convergent clinical exome pipeline specialised for targeted sequencing S. Sadedin, A. Oshlack, Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance O44 A Bayesian classification of biomedical images using feature extraction from deep neural networks implemented on lung cancer data V. A. A. Antonio, N. Ono, Clark Kendrick C. Go O45 MAV-SEQ: an interactive platform for the Management, Analysis, and Visualization of sequence data Z. Ahmed, M. Bolisetty, S. Zeeshan, E. Anguiano, D. Ucar O47 Allele specific enhancer in EPAS1 intronic regions may contribute to high altitude adaptation of Tibetans C. Zeng, J. Shao O48 Nanochannel based next-generation mapping for structural variation detection and comparison in trios and populations H. Cao, A. Hastie, A. W. Pang, E. T. Lam, T. Liang, K. Pham, M. Saghbini, Z. Dzakula O49 Archaic introgression in indigenous populations of Malaysia revealed by whole genome sequencing Y. Chee-Wei, L. Dongsheng, W. Lai-Ping, D. Lian, R. O. Twee Hee, Y. Yunus, F. Aghakhanian, S. S. Mokhtar, C. V. Lok-Yung, J. Bhak, M. Phipps, X. Shuhua, T. Yik-Ying, V. Kumar, H. Boon-Peng O50 Breast and ovarian cancer prevention: is it time for population-based mutation screening of high risk genes? I. Campbell, M.-A. Young, P. James, Lifepool O53 Comprehensive coverage from low DNA input using novel NGS library preparation methods for WGS and WGBS C. Schumacher, S. Sandhu, T. Harkins, V. Makarov O54 Methods for large scale construction of robust PCR-free libraries for sequencing on Illumina HiSeqX platform H. DoddapaneniR. Glenn, Z. Momin, B. Dilrukshi, H. Chao, Q. Meng, B. Gudenkauf, R. Kshitij, J. Jayaseelan, C. Nessner, S. Lee, K. Blankenberg, L. Lewis, J. Hu, Y. Han, H. Dinh, S. Jireh, K. Walker, E. Boerwinkle, D. Muzny, R. Gibbs O55 Rapid capture methods for clinical sequencing J. Hu, K. Walker, C. Buhay, X. Liu, Q. Wang, R. Sanghvi, H. Doddapaneni, Y. Ding, N. Veeraraghavan, Y. Yang, E. Boerwinkle, A. L. Beaudet, C. M. Eng, D. M. Muzny, R. A. Gibbs O56 A diploid personal human genome model for better genomes from diverse sequence data K. C. C. Worley, Y. Liu, D. S. T. Hughes, S. C. Murali, R. A. Harris, A. C. English, X. Qin, O. A. Hampton, P. Larsen, C. Beck, Y. Han, M. Wang, H. Doddapaneni, C. L. Kovar, W. J. Salerno, A. Yoder, S. Richards, J. Rogers, J. R. Lupski, D. M. Muzny, R. A. Gibbs O57 Development of PacBio long range capture for detection of pathogenic structural variants Q. Meng, M. Bainbridge, M. Wang, H. Doddapaneni, Y. Han, D. Muzny, R. Gibbs O58 Rhesus macaques exhibit more non-synonymous variation but greater impact of purifying selection than humans R. A. Harris, M. Raveenedran, C. Xue, M. Dahdouli, L. Cox, G. Fan, B. Ferguson, J. Hovarth, Z. Johnson, S. Kanthaswamy, M. Kubisch, M. Platt, D. Smith, E. Vallender, R. Wiseman, X. Liu, J. Below, D. Muzny, R. Gibbs, F. Yu, J. Rogers O59 Assessing RNA structure disruption induced by single-nucleotide variation J. Lin, Y. Zhang, Z. Ouyang P1 A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of mitochondrial dna copy number A. Moore, Z. Wang, J. Hofmann, M. Purdue, R. Stolzenberg-Solomon, S. Weinstein, D. Albanes, C.-S. Liu, W.-L. Cheng, T.-T. Lin, Q. Lan, N. Rothman, S. Berndt P2 Missense polymorphic genetic combinations underlying down syndrome susceptibility E. S. Chen P4 The evaluation of alteration of ELAM-1 expression in the endometriosis patients H. Bahrami, A. Khoshzaban, S. Heidari Keshal P5 Obesity and the incidence of apolipoprotein E polymorphisms in an assorted population from Saudi Arabia population K. K. R. Alharbi P6 Genome-associated personalized antithrombotical therapy for patients with high risk of thrombosis and bleeding M. Zhalbinova, A. Akilzhanova, S. Rakhimova, M. Bekbosynova, S. Myrzakhmetova P7 Frequency of Xmn1 polymorphism among sickle cell carrier cases in UAE population M. Matar P8 Differentiating inflammatory bowel diseases by using genomic data: dimension of the problem and network organization N. Mili, R. Molinari, Y. Ma, S. Guerrier P9 Vulnerability of genetic variants to the risk of autism among Saudi children N. Elhawary, M. Tayeb, N. Bogari, N. Qotb P10 Chromatin profiles from ex vivo purified dopaminergic neurons establish a promising model to support studies of neurological function and dysfunction S. A. McClymont, P. W. Hook, L. A. Goff, A. McCallion P11 Utilization of a sensitized chemical mutagenesis screen to identify genetic modifiers of retinal dysplasia in homozygous Nr2e3^rd7 mice Y. Kong, J. R. Charette, W. L. Hicks, J. K. Naggert, L. Zhao, P. M. Nishina P12 Ion torrent next generation sequencing of recessive polycystic kidney disease in Saudi patients B. M. Edrees, M. Athar, F. A. Al-Allaf, M. M. Taher, W. Khan, A. Bouazzaoui, N. A. Harbi, R. Safar, H. Al-Edressi, A. Anazi, N. Altayeb, M. A. Ahmed, K. Alansary, Z. Abduljaleel P13 Digital expression profiling of Purkinje neurons and dendrites in different subcellular compartments A. Kratz, P. Beguin, S. Poulain, M. Kaneko, C. Takahiko, A. Matsunaga, S. Kato, A. M. Suzuki, N. Bertin, T. Lassmann, R. Vigot, P. Carninci, C. Plessy, T. Launey P14 The evolution of imperfection and imperfection of evolution: the functional and functionless fractions of the human genome D. Graur P16 Species-independent identification of known and novel recurrent genomic entities in multiple cancer patients J. Friis-Nielsen, J. M. Izarzugaza, S. Brunak P18 Discovery of active gene modules which are densely conserved across multiple cancer types reveal their prognostic power and mutually exclusive mutation patterns B. S. Soibam P19 Whole exome sequencing of dysplastic leukoplakia tissue indicates sequential accumulation of somatic mutations from oral precancer to cancer D. Das, N. Biswas, S. Das, S. Sarkar, A. Maitra, C. Panda, P. Majumder P21 Epigenetic mechanisms of carcinogensis by hereditary breast cancer genes J. J. Gruber, N. Jaeger, M. Snyder P22 RNA direct: a novel RNA enrichment strategy applied to transcripts associated with solid tumors K. Patel, S. Bowman, T. Davis, D. Kraushaar, A. Emerman, S. Russello, N. Henig, C. Hendrickson P23 RNA sequencing identifies gene mutations for neuroblastoma K. Zhang P24 Participation of SFRP1 in the modulation of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion gene in prostate cancer cell lines M. Rodriguez-Dorantes, C. D. Cruz-Hernandez, C. D. P. Garcia-Tobilla, S. Solorzano-Rosales P25 Targeted Methylation Sequencing of Prostate Cancer N. Jäger, J. Chen, R. Haile, M. Hitchins, J. D. Brooks, M. Snyder P26 Mutant TPMT alleles in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia from México City and Yucatán, Mexico S. Jiménez-Morales, M. Ramírez, J. Nuñez, V. Bekker, Y. Leal, E. Jiménez, A. Medina, A. Hidalgo, J. Mejía P28 Genetic modifiers of Alström syndrome J. Naggert, G. B. Collin, K. DeMauro, R. Hanusek, P. M. Nishina P31 Association of genomic variants with the occurrence of angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor (ACEI)-induced coughing among Filipinos E. M. Cutiongco De La Paz, R. Sy, J. Nevado, P. Reganit, L. Santos, J. D. Magno, F. E. Punzalan , D. Ona , E. Llanes, R. L. Santos-Cortes , R. Tiongco, J. Aherrera, L. Abrahan, P. Pagauitan-Alan; Philippine Cardiogenomics Study Group P32 The use of “humanized” mouse models to validate disease association of a de novo GARS variant and to test a novel gene therapy strategy for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2D K. H. Morelli, J. S. Domire, N. Pyne, S. Harper, R. Burgess P34 Molecular regulation of chondrogenic human induced pluripotent stem cells M. A. Gari, A. Dallol, H. Alsehli, A. Gari, M. Gari, A. Abuzenadah P35 Molecular profiling of hematologic malignancies: implementation of a variant assessment algorithm for next generation sequencing data analysis and clinical reporting M. Thomas, M. Sukhai, S. Garg, M. Misyura, T. Zhang, A. Schuh, T. Stockley, S. Kamel-Reid P36 Accessing genomic evidence for clinical variants at NCBI S. Sherry, C. Xiao, D. Slotta, K. Rodarmer, M. Feolo, M. Kimelman, G. Godynskiy, C. O’Sullivan, E. Yaschenko P37 NGS-SWIFT: a cloud-based variant analysis framework using control-accessed sequencing data from DBGAP/SRA C. Xiao, E. Yaschenko, S. Sherry P38 Computational assessment of drug induced hepatotoxicity through gene expression profiling C. Rangel-Escareño, H. Rueda-Zarate P40 Flowr: robust and efficient pipelines using a simple language-agnostic approach;ultraseq; fast modular pipeline for somatic variation calling using flowr S. Seth, S. Amin, X. Song, X. Mao, H. Sun, R. G. Verhaak, A. Futreal, J. Zhang P41 Applying “Big data” technologies to the rapid analysis of heterogenous large cohort data S. J. Whiite, T. Chiang, A. English, J. Farek, Z. Kahn, W. Salerno, N. Veeraraghavan, E. Boerwinkle, R. Gibbs P42 FANTOM5 web resource for the large-scale genome-wide transcription start site activity profiles of wide-range of mammalian cells T. Kasukawa, M. Lizio, J. Harshbarger, S. Hisashi, J. Severin, A. Imad, S. Sahin, T. C. Freeman, K. Baillie, A. Sandelin, P. Carninci, A. R. R. Forrest, H. Kawaji, The FANTOM Consortium P43 Rapid and scalable typing of structural variants for disease cohorts W. Salerno, A. English, S. N. Shekar, A. Mangubat, J. Bruestle, E. Boerwinkle, R. A. Gibbs P44 Polymorphism of glutathione S-transferases and sulphotransferases genes in an Arab population A. H. Salem, M. Ali, A. Ibrahim, M. Ibrahim P46 Genetic divergence of CYP3A5*3 pharmacogenomic marker for native and admixed Mexican populations J. C. Fernandez-Lopez, V. Bonifaz-Peña, C. Rangel-Escareño, A. Hidalgo-Miranda, A. V. Contreras P47 Whole exome sequence meta-analysis of 13 white blood cell, red blood cell, and platelet traits L. Polfus, CHARGE and NHLBI Exome Sequence Project Working Groups P48 Association of adipoq gene with type 2 diabetes and related phenotypes in african american men and women: The jackson heart study S. Davis, R. Xu, S. Gebeab, P Riestra, A Gaye, R. Khan, J. Wilson, A. Bidulescu P49 Common variants in casr gene are associated with serum calcium levels in koreans S. H. Jung, N. Vinayagamoorthy, S. H. Yim, Y. J. Chung P50 Inference of multiple-wave population admixture by modeling decay of linkage disequilibrium with multiple exponential functions Y. Zhou, S. Xu P51 A Bayesian framework for generalized linear mixed models in genome-wide association studies X. Wang, V. Philip, G. Carter P52 Targeted sequencing approach for the identification of the genetic causes of hereditary hearing impairment A. A. Abuzenadah, M. Gari, R. Turki, A. Dallol P53 Identification of enhancer sequences by ATAC-seq open chromatin profiling A. Uyar, A. Kaygun, S. Zaman, E. Marquez, J. George, D. Ucar P54 Direct enrichment for the rapid preparation of targeted NGS libraries C. L. Hendrickson, A. Emerman, D. Kraushaar, S. Bowman, N. Henig, T. Davis, S. Russello, K. Patel P56 Performance of the Agilent D5000 and High Sensitivity D5000 ScreenTape assays for the Agilent 4200 Tapestation System R. Nitsche, L. Prieto-Lafuente P57 ClinVar: a multi-source archive for variant interpretation M. Landrum, J. Lee, W. Rubinstein, D. Maglott P59 Association of functional variants and protein physical interactions of human MUTY homolog linked with familial adenomatous polyposis and colorectal cancer syndrome Z. Abduljaleel, W. Khan, F. A. Al-Allaf, M. Athar , M. M. Taher, N. Shahzad P60 Modification of the microbiom constitution in the gut using chicken IgY antibodies resulted in a reduction of acute graft-versus-host disease after experimental bone marrow transplantation A. Bouazzaoui, E. Huber, A. Dan, F. A. Al-Allaf, W. Herr, G. Sprotte, J. Köstler, A. Hiergeist, A. Gessner, R. Andreesen, E. Holler P61 Compound heterozygous mutation in the LDLR gene in Saudi patients suffering severe hypercholesterolemia F. Al-Allaf, A. Alashwal, Z. Abduljaleel, M. Taher, A. Bouazzaoui, H. Abalkhail, A. Al-Allaf, R. Bamardadh, M. Athar

Watt-level second-harmonic generation at 589 nm with a PPMgO:LN ridge waveguide crystal pumped by a DBR tapered diode laser

A DBR tapered diode laser in continuous wave operation was used to generate second-harmonic radiation at 589 nm in a PPMgO:LN ridge waveguide crystal. An optical output power of 0.86 W at an optical-to-optical and an electrical-to-optical efficiency of 42% and 11%, respectively, was achieved. The visible radiation was characterized by a spectral bandwidth Δν_FWHM of 230 MHz and a beam propagation parameter M1/e²2 better than 1.1. The integration of such a system into a housing of a small footprint will enable a portable and highly efficient module featuring a visible output power in the watt-level range.

Variability in lateralised blood flow response to language is associated with language development in children aged 1-5 years

The developmental trajectory of language lateralisation over the preschool years is unclear. We explored the relationship between lateralisation of cerebral blood flow velocity response to object naming and cognitive performance in children aged 1-5 years. Functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound was used to record blood flow velocity bilaterally from middle cerebral arteries during a naming task in 58 children (59% male). At group level, the Lateralisation Index (LI) revealed a greater relative increase in cerebral blood flow velocity within the left as compared to right middle cerebral artery. After controlling for maternal IQ, left-lateralised children displayed lower expressive language scores compared to right- and bi-lateralised children, and reduced variability in LI. Supporting this, greater variability in lateralised response, rather than mean response, was indicative of greater expressive language ability. Findings suggest that a delayed establishment of language specialisation is associated with better language ability in the preschool years.

Coordination Chemistry of Perhalogenated Cyclopentadienes and Alkynes, XXXII [1]. Hydrolysis of Cymantrenyl-chlorosilanes [C5X5-n(SiMe2Cl)n]Mn(CO)3 (n ≥ 3) and Formation of Cyclopentadienyl-annelated 1,2,5-Oxadisiloles

When cymantrenyl-chlorosilanes [C5X5-n(SiMe2Cl)n]Mn(CO)3 (X=H: n=4; X=Br: n= 3 - 5; 1a-d) come in contact with moist solvents, hydrolysis of two vicinal SiMe2Cl groups occurs with condensation to give 1,2,5-oxadisiloles. With n=3, only one oxadisilole ring is formed, while with n=4 or 5 the formation of one and=or two oxadisiloles is observed. Similar reactions occur, when 1a-d are treated with MeMgCl or MeOH. The molecular structures of two products, [C5Br2(SiMe2Cl)(Si2Me4O)]Mn(CO)3 and [C5(SiMe2OMe)(Si2Me4O)2]Mn(CO)3, are reported.

An ORF1-rearranged hepatitis E virus derived from a chronically infected patient efficiently replicates in cell culture

Hepatitis E is an increasingly reported disease in industrialized countries. Studies on the replication cycle of hepatitis E virus (HEV) are hampered due to the lack of efficient and robust cell culture systems for this virus. We describe the successful isolation of HEV derived from a chronically infected kidney transplant patient held under immunosuppressive therapy. Inoculation of serum sample 47832 onto the human lung carcinoma cell line A549 resulted in the replication of the virus as shown by RT-qPCR. This novel human-derived HEV strain is closely related to a wild boar-derived genotype 3 strain, which did not replicate in A549 cells. It carries a 186 nucleotide insertion in the hypervariable ORF1-region, derived from two parts of its ORF1. By passaging of the infected cells, a cell line continuously producing HEV particles was generated as demonstrated by RT-qPCR, immuno-electron microscopy, density gradient centrifugation and immunohistochemistry. Replication of the produced virus was demonstrated after its inoculation onto fresh A549 cells and two consecutive passages, whereas heating at 65 °C for 2 min abolished its infectivity. Several point mutations scattered along the whole genome were present in the HEV strain from the second passage; however, the ORF1 insertion was still present. Previously, cell culture isolation of two other HEV strains carrying insertions in their hypervariable regions, but originating from human ribosomal protein genes, has been described. The findings may indicate that cell culture adaptation of is mostly dependent on the length and position of the insertion, rather than from the sequence itself.

Hantavirus disease in Germany due to infection with Dobrava-Belgrade virus genotype Kurkino

Members of the Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV) species are hantaviruses carried by different Apodemus mice as reservoir hosts and causing haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in humans. In Central Europe, the Kurkino genotype of DOBV, associated with the striped field mouse, Apodemus agrarius, is prevalent. This paper presents the first extensive study of the serological and molecular diagnostics, epidemiology and clinics of DOBV-Kurkino infections in Central Europe. Serum samples from 570 German patients living in the habitat of A. agrarius (north and northeast Germany) and exhibiting febrile disease, were analysed. All samples were tested by ELISA, subsets of samples were also analysed by immunoblot, neutralization assay, and RT-PCR. A group of 86 individuals was confirmed as DOBV-infected. The virus neutralization assay allowed a reliable identification of DOBV antibodies during both acute and convalescent phases of infection. However, differentiation of relevant DOBV genotypes was not possible by neutralization test but required molecular analysis. Whereas DOBV IgM antibodies tend to persist in the infected organism, RNAaemia seems to be short. Nucleotide sequences were amplified from four patients, and their analysis demonstrated infection by DOBV-Kurkino. With respect to the initial results, the high degree of identity of local patient-derived and A. agrarius-derived virus sequences may allow a closer allocation of the geographical place where the human infection occurred. In contrast to moderate/severe HFRS caused by the DOBV genotypes Dobrava or Sochi, all available data showed a mild clinical course of HFRS caused by DOBV-Kurkino infection without lethal outcomes.

Combination of immunoglobulins and natural killer cells in the context of CMV and EBV infection

Cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific hyperimmunoglobulin (CMV-HIG) is used to treat and prevent CMV infection in immunocompromised patients, and anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody is successfully used in the treatment for post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Two immunological approaches have been suggested to further improve the control of viral reproduction in patients with active disease: first, the use of monoclonal antibodies with specificity against viral epitopes and second, coadministration of cells with the capacity to promote antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Here, we have evaluated the effectiveness of these strategies in vitro (alone and in combination) with neutralization and cytotoxicity assays. Our results indicate that monoclonal antibodies (in particular SM5-1) can be as effective as CMV-HIG in neutralizing-cell-free CMV. Moreover, our data indicate that antibody-mediated elimination (either by moAb or by HIG) of EBV-infected cells can be significantly enhanced by NK cells. Using human NK cells that have been purified, cultured and expanded under GMP conditions, we were able to demonstrate that the combination of NK cells and antibodies could represent a feasible and highly effective clinical approach to achieve control of EBV infections. Especially in leukopenic patients with low numbers of ADCC-promoting cells, the combination of adoptively transferred NK cells and antiviral antibodies offers a promising strategy that should be tested in clinical trials.