2D and Trap‐Assisted 2D Langevin Recombination in Polymer:Fullerene Blends

The impact of trapping on the recombination dynamics in polymer:fullerene blends is clarified using the highly ordered bulk heterojunction (BHJ) blend poly[2,5‐bis(3‐tetradecylthiophen‐2‐yl)thieno[3,2‐b]thiophene] (PBTTT) and [6,6]‐phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) at different weight ratios as a model system. The recombination dynamics are determined using both transient charge extraction and steady‐state techniques. The results show that both the decay of photogenerated charge and the light ideality factor at a polymer:fullerene weight ratio of 1:4 are fully consistent with 2D Langevin recombination; in the 1:1 case the recombination is seen to be affected by electron trapping. The theory of 2D Langevin recombination is extended to the case with high trap density in agreement with the observations in the 1:1 case. The recombination capture coefficients are derived both for trap‐assisted and band‐to‐band recombination and it can be seen that anisotropic charge transport reduces the capture coefficients in both cases resulting in a reduced overall recombination.     

Model-Based Quantification of the Systemic Interplay between Glucose and Fatty Acids in the Postprandial State

In metabolic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, the systemic regulation of postprandial metabolite concentrations is disturbed. To understand this dysregulation, a quantitative and temporal understanding of systemic postprandial metabolite handling is needed. Of particular interest is the intertwined regulation of glucose and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), due to the association between disturbed NEFA metabolism and insulin resistance. However, postprandial glucose metabolism is characterized by a dynamic interplay of simultaneously responding regulatory mechanisms, which have proven difficult to measure directly. Therefore, we propose a mathematical modelling approach to untangle the systemic interplay between glucose and NEFA in the postprandial period. The developed model integrates data of both the perturbation of glucose metabolism by NEFA as measured under clamp conditions, and postprandial time-series of glucose, insulin, and NEFA. The model can describe independent data not used for fitting, and perturbations of NEFA metabolism result in an increased insulin, but not glucose, response, demonstrating that glucose homeostasis is maintained. Finally, the model is used to show that NEFA may mediate up to 30–45% of the postprandial increase in insulin-dependent glucose uptake at two hours after a glucose meal. In conclusion, the presented model can quantify the systemic interactions of glucose and NEFA in the postprandial state, and may therefore provide a new method to evaluate the disturbance of this interplay in metabolic disease.     

Quantitative Changes in Gimap3 and Gimap5 Expression Modify Mitochondrial DNA Segregation in Mice

Mammalian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a high-copy maternally inherited genome essential for aerobic energy metabolism. Mutations in mtDNA can lead to heteroplasmy, the co-occurence of two different mtDNA variants in the same cell, which can segregate in a tissue-specific manner affecting the onset and severity of mitochondrial dysfunction. To investigate mechanisms regulating mtDNA segregation we use a heteroplasmic mouse model with two polymorphic neutral mtDNA haplotypes (NZB and BALB) that displays tissue-specific and age-dependent selection for mtDNA haplotypes. In the hematopoietic compartment there is selection for the BALB mtDNA haplotype, a phenotype that can be modified by allelic variants of Gimap3. Gimap3 is a tail-anchored member of the GTPase of the immunity-associated protein (Gimap) family of protein scaffolds important for leukocyte development and survival. Here we show how the expression of two murine Gimap3 alleles from Mus musculus domesticus and M. m. castaneus differentially affect mtDNA segregation. The castaneus allele has incorporated a uORF (upstream open reading frame) in-frame with the Gimap3 mRNA that impairs translation and imparts a negative effect on the steady-state protein abundance. We found that quantitative changes in the expression of Gimap3 and the paralogue Gimap5, which encodes a lysosomal protein, affect mtDNA segregation in the mouse hematopoietic tissues. We also show that Gimap3 localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum and not mitochondria as previously reported. Collectively these data show that the abundance of protein scaffolds on the endoplasmic reticulum and lysosomes are important to the segregation of the mitochondrial genome in the mouse hematopoietic compartment.     

A large set of estrogen receptor β-interacting proteins identified by tandem affinity purification in hormone-responsive human breast cancer cell nuclei

Estrogen receptors α (ER-α) and β (ER-β) play distinct biological roles in onset and progression of hormone-responsive breast cancer, with ER-β exerting a modulatory activity on ER-α-mediated estrogen signaling and stimulation of cell proliferation by mechanisms still not fully understood. We stably expressed human ER-β fused to a tandem affinity purification-tag in estrogen-responsive MCF-7 cells and applied tandem affinity purification and nanoLC-MS/MS to identify the ER-β interactome of this cell type. Functional annotation by bioinformatics analyses of the 303 proteins that co-purify with ER-β from nuclear extracts identify several new molecular partners of this receptor subtype that represents nodal points of a large protein network controlling multiple processes and functions in breast cancer cells.     

Non-invasive predictors of human cortical bone mechanical properties: T(2)-discriminated H NMR compared with high resolution X-ray

Recent advancements in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have enabled clinical imaging of human cortical bone, providing a potentially powerful new means for assessing bone health with molecular-scale sensitivities unavailable to conventional X-ray-based diagnostics. To this end, (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution X-ray signals from human cortical bone samples were correlated with mechanical properties of bone. Results showed that (1)H NMR signals were better predictors of yield stress, peak stress, and pre-yield toughness than were the X-ray derived signals. These (1)H NMR signals can, in principle, be extracted from clinical MRI, thus offering the potential for improved clinical assessment of fracture risk.     

Anti-transforming growth factor ß antibody treatment rescues bone loss and prevents breast cancer metastasis to bone

Breast cancer often metastasizes to bone causing osteolytic bone resorption which releases active TGFβ. Because TGFβ favors progression of breast cancer metastasis to bone, we hypothesized that treatment using anti-TGFβ antibody may reduce tumor burden and rescue tumor-associated bone loss in metastatic breast cancer. In this study we have tested the efficacy of an anti-TGFβ antibody 1D11 preventing breast cancer bone metastasis. We have used two preclinical breast cancer bone metastasis models, in which either human breast cancer cells or murine mammary tumor cells were injected in host mice via left cardiac ventricle. Using several in vivo, in vitro and ex vivo assays, we have demonstrated that anti-TGFβ antibody treatment have significantly reduced tumor burden in the bone along with a statistically significant threefold reduction in osteolytic lesion number and tenfold reduction in osteolytic lesion area. A decrease in osteoclast numbers (p?=?0.027) in vivo and osteoclastogenesis ex vivo were also observed. Most importantly, in tumor-bearing mice, anti-TGFβ treatment resulted in a twofold increase in bone volume (p<0.01). In addition, treatment with anti-TGFβ antibody increased the mineral-to-collagen ratio in vivo, a reflection of improved tissue level properties. Moreover, anti-TGFβ antibody directly increased mineralized matrix formation in calverial osteoblast (p?=?0.005), suggesting a direct beneficial role of anti-TGFβ antibody treatment on osteoblasts. Data presented here demonstrate that anti-TGFβ treatment may offer a novel therapeutic option for tumor-induced bone disease and has the dual potential for simultaneously decreasing tumor burden and rescue bone loss in breast cancer to bone metastases. This approach of intervention has the potential to reduce skeletal related events (SREs) in breast cancer survivors.     

Anti-Transforming Growth Factor ? Antibody Treatment Rescues Bone Loss and Prevents Breast Cancer Metastasis to Bone

Breast cancer often metastasizes to bone causing osteolytic bone resorption which releases active TGFβ. Because TGFβ favors progression of breast cancer metastasis to bone, we hypothesized that treatment using anti-TGFβ antibody may reduce tumor burden and rescue tumor-associated bone loss in metastatic breast cancer. In this study we have tested the efficacy of an anti-TGFβ antibody 1D11 preventing breast cancer bone metastasis. We have used two preclinical breast cancer bone metastasis models, in which either human breast cancer cells or murine mammary tumor cells were injected in host mice via left cardiac ventricle. Using several in vivo, in vitro and ex vivo assays, we have demonstrated that anti-TGFβ antibody treatment have significantly reduced tumor burden in the bone along with a statistically significant threefold reduction in osteolytic lesion number and tenfold reduction in osteolytic lesion area. A decrease in osteoclast numbers (p = 0.027) in vivo and osteoclastogenesis ex vivo were also observed. Most importantly, in tumor-bearing mice, anti-TGFβ treatment resulted in a twofold increase in bone volume (p<0.01). In addition, treatment with anti-TGFβ antibody increased the mineral-to-collagen ratio in vivo, a reflection of improved tissue level properties. Moreover, anti-TGFβ antibody directly increased mineralized matrix formation in calverial osteoblast (p = 0.005), suggesting a direct beneficial role of anti-TGFβ antibody treatment on osteoblasts. Data presented here demonstrate that anti-TGFβ treatment may offer a novel therapeutic option for tumor-induced bone disease and has the dual potential for simultaneously decreasing tumor burden and rescue bone loss in breast cancer to bone metastases. This approach of intervention has the potential to reduce skeletal related events (SREs) in breast cancer survivors.     

High-Fat Diet Reduces the Formation of Butyrate,but Increases Succinate,Inflammation, Liver Fat and Cholesterol in Rats,while Dietary Fibre Counteracts These Effects

Introduction

Obesity is linked to type 2 diabetes and risk factors associated to the metabolic syndrome. Consumption of dietary fibres has been shown to have positive metabolic health effects, such as by increasing satiety, lowering blood glucose and cholesterol levels. These effects may be associated with short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), particularly propionic and butyric acids, formed by microbial degradation of dietary fibres in colon, and by their capacity to reduce low-grade inflammation.

Objective

To investigate whether dietary fibres, giving rise to different SCFAs, would affect metabolic risk markers in low-fat and high-fat diets using a model with conventional rats for 2, 4 and 6 weeks.

Material and Methods

Conventional rats were administered low-fat or high-fat diets, for 2, 4 or 6 weeks, supplemented with fermentable dietary fibres, giving rise to different SCFA patterns (pectin – acetic acid; guar gum – propionic acid; or a mixture – butyric acid). At the end of each experimental period, liver fat, cholesterol and triglycerides, serum and caecal SCFAs, plasma cholesterol, and inflammatory cytokines were analysed. The caecal microbiota was analysed after 6 weeks.

Results and Discussion

Fermentable dietary fibre decreased weight gain, liver fat, cholesterol and triglyceride content, and changed the formation of SCFAs. The high-fat diet primarily reduced formation of SCFAs but, after a longer experimental period, the formation of propionic and acetic acids recovered. The concentration of succinic acid in the rats increased in high-fat diets with time, indicating harmful effect of high-fat consumption. The dietary fibre partly counteracted these harmful effects and reduced inflammation. Furthermore, the number of Bacteroides was higher with guar gum, while noticeably that of Akkermansia was highest with the fibre-free diet.