The Light Skin Allele of SLC24A5 in South Asians and Europeans Shares Identity by Descent

Skin pigmentation is one of the most variable phenotypic traits in humans. A non-synonymous substitution (rs1426654) in the third exon of SLC24A5 accounts for lighter skin in Europeans but not in East Asians. A previous genome-wide association study carried out in a heterogeneous sample of UK immigrants of South Asian descent suggested that this gene also contributes significantly to skin pigmentation variation among South Asians. In the present study, we have quantitatively assessed skin pigmentation for a largely homogeneous cohort of 1228 individuals from the Southern region of the Indian subcontinent. Our data confirm significant association of rs1426654 SNP with skin pigmentation, explaining about 27% of total phenotypic variation in the cohort studied. Our extensive survey of the polymorphism in 1573 individuals from 54 ethnic populations across the Indian subcontinent reveals wide presence of the derived-A allele, although the frequencies vary substantially among populations. We also show that the geospatial pattern of this allele is complex, but most importantly, reflects strong influence of language, geography and demographic history of the populations. Sequencing 11.74 kb of SLC24A5 in 95 individuals worldwide reveals that the rs1426654-A alleles in South Asian and West Eurasian populations are monophyletic and occur on the background of a common haplotype that is characterized by low genetic diversity. We date the coalescence of the light skin associated allele at 22–28 KYA. Both our sequence and genome-wide genotype data confirm that this gene has been a target for positive selection among Europeans. However, the latter also shows additional evidence of selection in populations of the Middle East, Central Asia, Pakistan and North India but not in South India.     

The stn-1 syntrophin gene of C.elegans is functionally related to dystrophin and dystrobrevin

Syntrophins are a family of PDZ domain-containing adaptor proteins required for receptor localization. Syntrophins are also associated with the dystrophin complex in muscles. We report here the molecular and functional characterization of the Caenorhabditis elegans gene stn-1 (F30A10.8), which encodes a syntrophin with homology to vertebrate alpha and beta-syntrophins. stn-1 is expressed in neurons and in muscles of C.elegans. stn-1 mutants resemble dystrophin (dys-1) and dystrobrevin (dyb-1) mutants: they are hyperactive, bend their heads when they move forward, tend to hypercontract, and are hypersensitive to the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor aldicarb. These phenotypes are suppressed when stn-1 is expressed under the control of a muscular promoter, indicating that they are caused by the absence of stn-1 in muscles. These results suggest that the role of syntrophin is linked to dystrophin function in C.elegans.     

Acute Kidney Injury in Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock in Patients with and without Diabetes Mellitus: A Multicenter Study

IntroductionWhether diabetes mellitus increases the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) during sepsis is controversial.ResultsFirst, we compared 451 patients with severe sepsis or septic shock and diabetes to 3,277 controls with severe sepsis or septic shock and without diabetes. Then, we compared 318 cases (with diabetes) to 746 matched controls (without diabetes). Diabetic patients did not have a higher frequency of AKI (hazard ratio [HR], 1.18; P = 0.05]) or RRT (HR, 1.09; P = 0.6). However, at discharge, diabetic patients with severe sepsis or septic shock who experienced acute kidney injury during the ICU stay and were discharged alive more often required RRT (9.5% vs. 4.8%; P = 0.02), had higher serum creatinine values (134 vs. 103 µmoL/L; P<0.001) and had less often recovered a creatinine level less than 1.25 fold the basal creatinine (41.1% vs. 60.5%; P<0.001).ConclusionsIn patients with severe sepsis or septic shock, diabetes is not associated with occurrence of AKI or need for RRT but is an independent risk factor for persistent renal dysfunction in patients who experience AKI during their ICU stay.     

Transient alteration of cellular redox buffering before irradiation triggers apoptosis in head and neck carcinoma stem and non-stem cells

Background

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is an aggressive and recurrent malignancy owing to intrinsic radioresistance and lack of induction of apoptosis. The major focus of this work was to design a transient glutathione depleting strategy during the course of irradiation of HNSCC in order to overcome their radioresistance associated with redox adaptation.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Treatment of SQ20B cells with dimethylfumarate (DMF), a GSH-depleting agent, and L-Buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of GSH biosynthesis 4 h before a 10 Gy irradiation led to the lowering of the endogenous GSH content to less than 10% of that in control cells and to the triggering of radiation-induced apoptotic cell death. The sequence of biochemical events after GSH depletion and irradiation included ASK-1 followed by JNK activation which resulted in the triggering of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway through Bax translocation to mitochondria.

Conclusions

This transient GSH depletion also triggered radiation-induced cell death in SQ20B stem cells, a key event to overcome locoregional recurrence of HNSCC. Finally, our in vivo data highlight the relevance for further clinical trials of endogenous redox modulation to enhance the cytotoxic effects of radiotherapy.     

Homo- and hetero-oligomerization of beta-arrestins in living cells

Arrestins are important proteins, which regulate the function of serpentine heptahelical receptors and contribute to multiple signaling pathways downstream of receptors. The ubiquitous beta-arrestins are believed to function exclusively as monomers, although self-association is assumed to control the activity of visual arrestin in the retina, where this isoform is particularly abundant. Here the oligomerization status of beta-arrestins was investigated using different approaches, including co-immunoprecipitation of epitope-tagged beta-arrestins and resonance energy transfer (BRET and FRET) in living cells. At steady state and at physiological concentrations, beta-arrestins constitutively form both homo- and hetero-oligomers. Co-expression of beta-arrestin2 and beta-arrestin1 prevented beta-arrestin1 accumulation into the nucleus, suggesting that hetero-oligomerization may have functional consequences. Our data clearly indicate that beta-arrestins can exist as homo- and hetero-oligomers in living cells and raise the hypothesis that the oligomeric state may regulate their subcellular distribution and functions.     

Herders of Indian and European cattle share their predominant allele for lactase persistence

Milk consumption and lactose digestion after weaning are exclusively human traits made possible by the continued production of the enzyme lactase in adulthood. Multiple independent mutations in a 100-bp region--part of an enhancer--approximately 14-kb upstream of the LCT gene are associated with this trait in Europeans and pastoralists from Saudi Arabia and Africa. However, a single mutation of purported western Eurasian origin accounts for much of observed lactase persistence outside Africa. Given the high levels of present-day milk consumption in India, together with archaeological and genetic evidence for the independent domestication of cattle in the Indus valley roughly 7,000 years ago, we sought to determine whether lactase persistence has evolved independently in the subcontinent. Here, we present the results of the first comprehensive survey of the LCT enhancer region in south Asia. Having genotyped 2,284 DNA samples from across the Indian subcontinent, we find that the previously described west Eurasian -13910 C>T mutation accounts for nearly all the genetic variation we observed in the 400- to 700-bp LCT regulatory region that we sequenced. Geography is a significant predictor of -13910*T allele frequency, and consistent with other genomic loci, its distribution in India follows a general northwest to southeast declining pattern, although frequencies among certain neighboring populations vary substantially. We confirm that the mutation is identical by descent to the European allele and is associated with the same>1 Mb extended haplotype in both populations.     

Neuroprotective and anticonvulsant effects of organic and conventional purple grape juices on seizures in Wistar rats induced by pentylenetetrazole

Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder worldwide. Studies have shown that recurrent seizures may increase the concentration of reactive oxygen species, which can lead to oxidative stress and neuronal damage. These seizures result in substantial deleterious effects on an individual's health. Organic and conventional grape juices are rich in polyphenols, compounds with important antioxidant activity. However, these juices could have differences in their polyphenol content. The aim of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective and anticonvulsant effects of organic and conventional grape juice treatments in Wistar rats against pentylenetetrazole (a convulsant drug)-induced damage. In addition, we evaluated potential behavioral changes in rats treated with the juices and the polyphenolic profile of those samples. Animals (n=16 in each group) received treatment with saline, organic or conventional grape juice for 17 days. On the eighteenth day, behavioral changes were evaluated by an open field test. Afterwards, half of the rats from each group received pentylenetetrazole and were observed for 30 min to evaluate possible seizure characteristics. The animals were subsequently killed by decapitation and their hippocampus, cerebellum and cerebral cortex tissues were isolated. The results of this study showed that neither organic nor conventional grape juice altered the behavior parameters, and no statistical differences were observed in the seizure characteristics of the groups. Nevertheless, both juice types were able to protect from lipid and protein oxidative damage, decrease nitric oxide content and increase enzymatic (superoxide dismutase and catalase) and non-enzymatic (sulfhydryl protein) antioxidant defenses in brain tissues following pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures. In general, organic juice showed superior results in each test, probably due to its higher polyphenol content relative to conventional juice. These results indicate that grape juices can provide further insight into natural neuroprotective compounds and may lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies for epileptic patients.     

Maternal footprints of Southeast Asians in North India

We have analyzed 7,137 samples from 125 different caste, tribal and religious groups of India and 99 samples from three populations of Nepal for the length variation in the COII/tRNA(Lys) region of mtDNA. Samples showing length variation were subjected to detailed phylogenetic analysis based on HVS-I and informative coding region sequence variation. The overall frequencies of the 9-bp deletion and insertion variants in South Asia were 1.9 and 0.6%, respectively. We have also defined a novel deep-rooting haplogroup M43 and identified the rare haplogroup H14 in Indian populations carrying the 9-bp deletion by complete mtDNA sequencing. Moreover, we redefined haplogroup M6 and dissected it into two well-defined subclades. The presence of haplogroups F1 and B5a in Uttar Pradesh suggests minor maternal contribution from Southeast Asia to Northern India. The occurrence of haplogroup F1 in the Nepalese sample implies that Nepal might have served as a bridge for the flow of eastern lineages to India. The presence of R6 in the Nepalese, on the other hand, suggests that the gene flow between India and Nepal has been reciprocal.