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Almanzar G, Greupner M, Morris P, Hoefner K, El Hajj N, Haaf T, Schmalzing M, Haas J, Tony H, Prelog M. AB0022 Modulation of Treg Stability and Function by Inhibition of IL-1beta. Ann Rheum Dis 2016. [DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-eular.5409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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Mahfouz R, Hoteit R, El Hajj N, Shammaa D, Sharara AI. KIR genotype distribution among symptomatic patients with and without Helicobacter pylori infection: is there any role for the B haplotype? J Clin Pathol 2014; 68:40-3. [PMID: 25352645 DOI: 10.1136/jclinpath-2014-202638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Contact of peripheral blood lymphocytes with Helicobacter pylori was proved to induce non- major histocompatibility complex-restricted cytotoxicity and natural killer cells are thought to play an important role in the immunity against H. pylori. AIMS In this research, we investigated any possible association between killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) genotypes and H. pylori infection. METHODS KIR genotype was analysed in 101 Lebanese symptomatic patients (51 H. pylori positive and 50 H. pylori-negative) using the KIR Genotyping SSP kit. RESULTS Among the H. pylori-positive patients, the AA, AB and BB genotypical frequencies were, respectively, 43.14%, 41.18% and 15.68% with an A:B ratio of 1.76:1. The AA, AB and BB genotypes frequencies for H. pylori-negative individuals were 18%, 62% and 20%, respectively, with an A:B ratio of 0.96:1. No significant difference between patients and controls was detected. CONCLUSIONS We noticed a reduced distribution of A haplotype among the 'H. pylori-negative' patients as compared with the "H. pylori-positive" group. This is the first study in the international literature that targets the correlation between KIR genotypes and H. pylori.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Mahfouz
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - R Hoteit
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - N El Hajj
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - D Shammaa
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - A I Sharara
- Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
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Schraut KG, Jakob SB, Weidner MT, Schmitt AG, Scholz CJ, Strekalova T, El Hajj N, Eijssen LMT, Domschke K, Reif A, Haaf T, Ortega G, Steinbusch HWM, Lesch KP, Van den Hove DL. Prenatal stress-induced programming of genome-wide promoter DNA methylation in 5-HTT-deficient mice. Transl Psychiatry 2014; 4:e473. [PMID: 25335169 PMCID: PMC4350514 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2014.107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2014] [Accepted: 08/25/2014] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT/SLC6A4)-linked polymorphic region has been suggested to have a modulatory role in mediating effects of early-life stress exposure on psychopathology rendering carriers of the low-expression short (s)-variant more vulnerable to environmental adversity in later life. The underlying molecular mechanisms of this gene-by-environment interaction are not well understood, but epigenetic regulation including differential DNA methylation has been postulated to have a critical role. Recently, we used a maternal restraint stress paradigm of prenatal stress (PS) in 5-HTT-deficient mice and showed that the effects on behavior and gene expression were particularly marked in the hippocampus of female 5-Htt+/- offspring. Here, we examined to which extent these effects are mediated by differential methylation of DNA. For this purpose, we performed a genome-wide hippocampal DNA methylation screening using methylated-DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP) on Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Promoter 1.0 R arrays. Using hippocampal DNA from the same mice as assessed before enabled us to correlate gene-specific DNA methylation, mRNA expression and behavior. We found that 5-Htt genotype, PS and their interaction differentially affected the DNA methylation signature of numerous genes, a subset of which showed overlap with the expression profiles of the corresponding transcripts. For example, a differentially methylated region in the gene encoding myelin basic protein (Mbp) was associated with its expression in a 5-Htt-, PS- and 5-Htt × PS-dependent manner. Subsequent fine-mapping of this Mbp locus linked the methylation status of two specific CpG sites to Mbp expression and anxiety-related behavior. In conclusion, hippocampal DNA methylation patterns and expression profiles of female prenatally stressed 5-Htt+/- mice suggest that distinct molecular mechanisms, some of which are promoter methylation-dependent, contribute to the behavioral effects of the 5-Htt genotype, PS exposure and their interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- K G Schraut
- Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Laboratory of Translational Neuroscience, Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - S B Jakob
- Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Laboratory of Translational Neuroscience, Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - M T Weidner
- Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Laboratory of Translational Neuroscience, Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany,Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - A G Schmitt
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Center of Mental Health, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - C J Scholz
- Laboratory for Microarray Applications, Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - T Strekalova
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands,Institute for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, New University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - N El Hajj
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - L M T Eijssen
- Department of Bioinformatics-BiGCaT, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - K Domschke
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Center of Mental Health, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - A Reif
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Center of Mental Health, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - T Haaf
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - G Ortega
- Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Laboratory of Translational Neuroscience, Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - H W M Steinbusch
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - K P Lesch
- Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Laboratory of Translational Neuroscience, Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany,Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands,Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Laboratory of Translational Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, 97080 Wuerzburg, Germany. E-mail:
| | - D L Van den Hove
- Division of Molecular Psychiatry, Laboratory of Translational Neuroscience, Center of Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany,Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Vona B, Neuner C, El Hajj N, Schneider E, Farcas R, Beyer V, Zechner U, Keilmann A, Poot M, Bartsch O, Nanda I, Haaf T. Disruption of the ATE1 and SLC12A1 Genes by Balanced Translocation in a Boy with Non-Syndromic Hearing Loss. Mol Syndromol 2013; 5:3-10. [PMID: 24550759 DOI: 10.1159/000355443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/05/2013] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
We report on a boy with non-syndromic hearing loss and an apparently balanced translocation t(10;15)(q26.13;q21.1). The same translocation was found in the normally hearing brother, father and paternal grandfather; however, this does not exclude its involvement in disease pathogenesis, for example, by unmasking a second mutation. Breakpoint analysis via FISH with BAC clones and long-range PCR products revealed a disruption of the arginyltransferase 1 (ATE1) gene on translocation chromosome 10 and the solute carrier family 12, member 1 gene (SLC12A1) on translocation chromosome 15. SNP array analysis revealed neither loss nor gain of chromosomal regions in the affected child, and a targeted gene enrichment panel consisting of 130 known deafness genes was negative for pathogenic mutations. The expression patterns in zebrafish and humans did not provide evidence for ear-specific functions of the ATE1 and SLC12A1 genes. Sanger sequencing of the 2 genes in the boy and 180 GJB2 mutation-negative hearing-impaired individuals did not detect homozygous or compound heterozygous pathogenic mutations. Our study demonstrates the many difficulties in unraveling the molecular causes of a heterogeneous phenotype. We cannot directly implicate disruption of ATE1 and/or SLC12A1 to the abnormal hearing phenotype; however, mutations in these genes may have a role in polygenic or multifactorial forms of hearing impairment. On the other hand, it is conceivable that our patient carries a disease-causing mutation in a so far unidentified deafness gene. Evidently, disruption of ATE1 and/or SLC12A1 gene function alone does not have adverse effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Vona
- Institute of Human Genetics, Julius Maximilians University, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - C Neuner
- Institute of Human Genetics, Julius Maximilians University, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - N El Hajj
- Institute of Human Genetics, Julius Maximilians University, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - E Schneider
- Institute of Human Genetics, Julius Maximilians University, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - R Farcas
- Institute of Human Genetics, Department of ORL, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
| | - V Beyer
- Institute of Human Genetics, Department of ORL, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
| | - U Zechner
- Institute of Human Genetics, Department of ORL, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
| | - A Keilmann
- Division of Communication Disorders, Department of ORL, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
| | - M Poot
- Department of Medical Genetics, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - O Bartsch
- Institute of Human Genetics, Department of ORL, University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
| | - I Nanda
- Institute of Human Genetics, Julius Maximilians University, Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - T Haaf
- Institute of Human Genetics, Julius Maximilians University, Wuerzburg, Germany
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Schütte B, El Hajj N, Kuhtz J, Nanda I, Gromoll J, Hahn T, Dittrich M, Schorsch M, Müller T, Haaf T. Broad DNA methylation changes of spermatogenesis, inflammation and immune response-related genes in a subgroup of sperm samples for assisted reproduction. Andrology 2013; 1:822-9. [PMID: 23996961 PMCID: PMC4033565 DOI: 10.1111/j.2047-2927.2013.00122.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2013] [Revised: 07/19/2013] [Accepted: 07/22/2013] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Aberrant sperm DNA methylation patterns, mainly in imprinted genes, have been associated with male subfertility and oligospermia. Here, we performed a genome-wide methylation analysis in sperm samples representing a wide range of semen parameters. Sperm DNA samples of 38 males attending a fertility centre were analysed with Illumina HumanMethylation27 BeadChips, which quantify methylation of >27 000 CpG sites in cis-regulatory regions of almost 15 000 genes. In an unsupervised analysis of methylation of all analysed sites, the patient samples clustered into a major and a minor group. The major group clustered with samples from normozoospermic healthy volunteers and, thus, may more closely resemble the normal situation. When correlating the clusters with semen and clinical parameters, the sperm counts were significantly different between groups with the minor group exhibiting sperm counts in the low normal range. A linear model identified almost 3000 CpGs with significant methylation differences between groups. Functional analysis revealed a broad gain of methylation in spermatogenesis-related genes and a loss of methylation in inflammation- and immune response-related genes. Quantitative bisulfite pyrosequencing validated differential methylation in three of five significant candidate genes on the array. Collectively, we identified a subgroup of sperm samples for assisted reproduction with sperm counts in the low normal range and broad methylation changes (affecting approximately 10% of analysed CpG sites) in specific pathways, most importantly spermatogenesis-related genes. We propose that epigenetic analysis can supplement traditional semen parameters and has the potential to provide new insights into the aetiology of male subfertility.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Schütte
- Institute of Human Genetics, Julius Maximilians University, Würzburg, Germany; Department of Bioinformatics, Julius Maximilians University, Würzburg, Germany
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Schneider E, Mayer S, El Hajj N, Jensen LR, Kuss AW, Zischler H, Kondova I, Bontrop RE, Navarro B, Fuchs E, Zechner U, Haaf T. Methylation and expression analyses of the 7q autism susceptibility locus genes MEST , COPG2, and TSGA14 in human and anthropoid primate cortices. Cytogenet Genome Res 2012; 136:278-87. [PMID: 22456293 DOI: 10.1159/000337298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/30/2012] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The autism susceptibility locus on human chromosome 7q32 contains the maternally imprinted MEST and the non-imprinted COPG2 and TSGA14 genes. Autism is a disorder of the 'social brain' that has been proposed to be due to an overbalance of paternally expressed genes. To study regulation of the 7q32 locus during anthropoid primate evolution, we analyzed the methylation and expression patterns of MEST, COPG2, and TSGA14 in human, chimpanzee, Old World monkey (baboon and rhesus macaque), and New World monkey (marmoset) cortices. In all human and anthropoid primate cortices, the MEST promoter was hemimethylated, as expected for a differentially methylated imprinting control region, whereas the COPG2 and TSGA14 promoters were completely demethylated, typical for transcriptionally active non-imprinted genes. The MEST gene also showed comparable mRNA expression levels in all analyzed species. In contrast, COPG2 expression was downregulated in the human cortex compared to chimpanzee, Old and New World monkeys. TSGA14 either showed no differential regulation in the human brain compared to chimpanzee and marmoset or a slight upregulation compared to baboon. The human-specific downregulation supports a role for COPG2 in the development of a 'social brain'. Promoter methylation patterns appear to be more stable during evolution than gene expression patterns, suggesting that other mechanisms may be more important for inter-primate differences in gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Schneider
- Institute of Human Genetics, Julius Maximilians University, Würzburg, Germany
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El Hajj N, Zechner U, Schneider E, Tresch A, Gromoll J, Hahn T, Schorsch M, Haaf T. Methylation Status of Imprinted Genes and Repetitive Elements in Sperm DNA from Infertile Males. Sex Dev 2011; 5:60-9. [DOI: 10.1159/000323806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/13/2010] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
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Trapphoff T, El Hajj N, Zechner U, Haaf T, Eichenlaub-Ritter U. DNA integrity, growth pattern, spindle formation, chromosomal constitution and imprinting patterns of mouse oocytes from vitrified pre-antral follicles. Hum Reprod 2010; 25:3025-42. [DOI: 10.1093/humrep/deq278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
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Chian RC, Yan J, Suzuki JJ, Yu XM, Wang J, Tan SL, Kan FWK, Liu P, Qiao J, Vanderzwalmen P, Wirleitner B, Stecher A, Lejeune B, Puissant F, Vanderzwalmen S, Schwerda D, Baramsai B, Zech NH, Antinori M, Licata E, Dani G, Cerusico F, Versaci C, Antinori S, Menezes J, Sjoblom P, Brask K, Nordqvist S, Wramsby H, Rodriguez-Wallberg KA, Borgstrom B, Sheikhi M, Lundqvist ML, Hovatta O, Trapphoff T, El Hajj N, Haaf T, Eichenlaub-Ritter U, Gomes C, Alegretti JR, Rocha AM, Motta ELA, Serafini P, Hassun PA, Baracat EC, Smith GD. Session 65: Fertility Preservation 3. Hum Reprod 2010. [DOI: 10.1093/humrep/de.25.s1.65] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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