Seasonality and coronary heart disease deaths in United States firefighters

United States firefighters have a high on-duty fatality rate, and coronary heart disease is the leading cause. Seasonality affects the incidence of cardiovascular events in the general population, but its effects on firefighters are unknown. This study statistically examined the seasonal and annual variation of all on-duty coronary heart disease deaths among US firefighters between 1994 and 2004 using the chi-square distribution and Poisson regression model of the monthly fatality counts. It also examined the effect of ambient temperature (apparent as well as wind chill temperature) on coronary heart disease fatalities during the study span using a time-stratified, case-crossover study design. When grouped by season, we observed the distribution of the 449 coronary heart disease fatalities to show a relative peak in winter (32%) and relative nadir in spring (21%). This pattern was significantly different (p=0.005) from the expected distribution under the null hypothesis of season having no effect. The pattern persisted in additional analyses, stratifying the deaths by the type of duty in which the firefighters were engaged at the time of their deaths. In the Poisson regression model of the monthly fatality counts, the overall goodness-of-fit between the actual and predicted case counts was excellent (χ₄²=16.63; p=0.002). Two distinct peaks were detected: one in January-February and the other in August-September. Overall temperature was not associated with increased risk of on-duty death. After allowing for different effects of temperature in mild/hot versus cold periods, a 1°C increase was not protective in cold weather; nor did it increase the risk of death in warmer weather. The findings of this study reveal statistical evidence for excess coronary heart disease deaths among firefighters during winter; however, the temporal pattern of coronary heart disease deaths was not linked to temperature variation. The seasonal pattern was also found to be independent of duty-related risks.     

Research advances in apoptosis-mediated cancer therapy: a review

Apoptosis (programmed cell death) research has received much attention because of its wide-ranging implications in tissue kinetics. The ability of malignant cells to evade apoptosis is a hallmark of cancer, and their resistance to apoptosis constitutes an important clinical problem. Targeting proteins from the apoptotic signaling pathways for cancer therapy is currently an important research strategy, with some compounds entering clinical trials as novel therapeutic drugs in cancer medicine. These compounds may target the apoptosis machinery or may be inhibitors of growth factors that kill tumor cells via apoptosis. This review summarizes current observations in the literature related to recent research developments in apoptosis-mediated cancer therapy.     

Functional studies of Akt isoform specificity in skeletal muscle in vivo; maintained insulin sensitivity despite reduced insulin receptor substrate-1 expression

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway is thought to be essential for normal insulin action and glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle and has been shown to be dysregulated in insulin resistance. However, the specific roles of and signaling pathways triggered by Akt isoforms have not been fully assessed in muscle in vivo. We overexpressed constitutively active (ca-) Akt-1 or Akt-2 constructs in muscle using in vivo electrotransfer and, after 1 wk, assessed the roles of each isoform on glucose metabolism and fiber growth. We achieved greater than 2.5-fold increases in total Ser473 phosphorylation in muscles expressing ca-Akt-1 and ca-Akt-2, respectively. Both isoforms caused hypertrophy of muscle fibers, consistent with increases in p70S6kinase phosphorylation, and a 60% increase in glycogen accumulation, although only Akt-1 increased glycogen synthase kinase-3beta phosphorylation. Akt-2, but not Akt-1, increased basal glucose uptake (by 33%, P = 0.004) and incorporation into glycogen and lipids, suggesting a specific effect on glucose transport. Consistent with this, short hairpin RNA-mediated silencing of Akt-2 caused reductions in glycogen storage and glucose uptake. Consistent with Akt-mediated insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) degradation, we observed approximately 30% reductions in IRS-1 protein in muscle overexpressing ca-Akt-1 or ca-Akt-2. Despite this, we observed no decrease in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. Furthermore, a 68% reduction in IRS-1 levels induced using short hairpin RNAs targeting IRS-1 also did not affect glucose disposal after a glucose load. These data indicate distinct roles for Akt-1 and Akt-2 in muscle glucose metabolism and that moderate reductions in IRS-1 expression do not result in the development of insulin resistance in skeletal muscle in vivo.     

tSNP-based identification of allelic loss of gene expression in a patient with a balanced chromosomal rearrangement

Identification of genes affected by disease-associated rare chromosomal rearrangements has led to the cloning of several disease genes. Here we have used a simple approach involving allele-specific RT-PCR-based detection of gene expression to identify a gene affected by a balanced autosome;autosome translocation. We identified a transcribed SNP (tSNP), c.68G-->A, present in a novel untranslated exon of the CLDN14 gene in a male patient with mental retardation who had a balanced t(13;21) chromosomal translocation. We determined an allelic loss of expression of the CLDN14 gene isoform at the 21q22.1 chromosomal breakpoint. Although additional work is necessary to explore a possible function of the novel CLDN14 isoform in brain development and function and the potential pathogenic consequences of its disruption in this patient, the result clearly demonstrates the utility of a tSNP-based detection of allelic loss of gene expression in studies involving chromosomal rearrangements.     

The development of the bladder trigone, the center of the anti-reflux mechanism

The urinary tract is an outflow system that conducts urine from the kidneys to the bladder via the ureters that propel urine to the bladder via peristalsis. Once in the bladder, the ureteral valve, a mechanism that is not well understood, prevents backflow of urine to the kidney that can cause severe damage and induce end-stage renal disease. The upper and lower urinary tract compartments form independently, connecting at mid-gestation when the ureters move from their primary insertion site in the Wolffian ducts to the trigone, a muscular structure comprising the bladder floor just above the urethra. Precise connections between the ureters and the trigone are crucial for proper function of the ureteral valve mechanism; however, the developmental events underlying these connections and trigone formation are not well understood. According to established models, the trigone develops independently of the bladder, from the ureters, Wolffian ducts or a combination of both; however, these models have not been tested experimentally. Using the Cre-lox recombination system in lineage studies in mice, we find, unexpectedly, that the trigone is formed mostly from bladder smooth muscle with a more minor contribution from the ureter, and that trigone formation depends at least in part on intercalation of ureteral and bladder muscle. These studies suggest that urinary tract development occurs differently than previously thought, providing new insights into the mechanisms underlying normal and abnormal development.     

Evolution of the dorsal-ventral patterning network in the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae

The dorsal-ventral patterning of the Drosophila embryo is controlled by a well-defined gene regulation network. We wish to understand how changes in this network produce evolutionary diversity in insect gastrulation. The present study focuses on the dorsal ectoderm in two highly divergent dipterans, the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster and the mosquito Anopheles gambiae. In D. melanogaster, the dorsal midline of the dorsal ectoderm forms a single extra-embryonic membrane, the amnioserosa. In A. gambiae, an expanded domain forms two distinct extra-embryonic tissues, the amnion and serosa. The analysis of approximately 20 different dorsal-ventral patterning genes suggests that the initial specification of the mesoderm and ventral neurogenic ectoderm is highly conserved in flies and mosquitoes. By contrast, there are numerous differences in the expression profiles of genes active in the dorsal ectoderm. Most notably, the subdivision of the extra-embryonic domain into separate amnion and serosa lineages in A. gambiae correlates with novel patterns of gene expression for several segmentation repressors. Moreover, the expanded amnion and serosa anlage correlates with a broader domain of Dpp signaling as compared with the D. melanogaster embryo. Evidence is presented that this expanded signaling is due to altered expression of the sog gene.     

Fxna, a novel gene differentially expressed in the rat ovary at the time of folliculogenesis, is required for normal ovarian histogenesis

In rodents, the formation of ovarian follicles occurs after birth. In recent years, several factors required for follicular assembly and the growth of the newly formed follicles have been identified. We now describe a novel gene, Fxna, identified by differential display in the neonatal rat ovary. Fxna encodes an mRNA of 5.4 kb, and a protein of 898 amino acids. Fxna is a transmembrane metallopeptidase from family M28, localized to the endoplasmic reticulum. In the ovary, Fxna mRNA is expressed in granulosa cells; its abundance is maximal 48 hours after birth, i.e. during the initiation of follicular assembly. Reducing Fxna mRNA levels via lentiviral-mediated delivery of short hairpin RNAs to neonatal ovaries resulted in substantial loss of primordial, primary and secondary follicles, and structural disorganization of the ovary, with many abnormal follicles containing more than one oocyte and clusters of somatic cells not associated with any oocytes. These abnormalities were not attributable to either increased apoptosis or decreased proliferation of granulosa cells. The results indicate that Fxna is required for the organization of somatic cells and oocytes into discrete follicular structures. As an endoplasmic reticulum-bound peptidase, Fxna may facilitate follicular organization by processing precursor proteins required for intraovarian cell-to-cell communication.     

And the second shall be first

The retraction of 5 protein crystal structures has held back an entire sub-field for years due to the inordinately persuasive power of the pretty pictures that structural biology produces. All too often the first report is sketchy, superficial in its analysis, and prone to error. The second report is often more thoughtful, more useful, and is essential to the scientific process of validation and self-correction.