A deleterious mutation in SAMD9 causes normophosphatemic familial tumoral calcinosis

Familial tumoral calcinosis (FTC) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by the progressive deposition of calcified masses in cutaneous and subcutaneous tissues, which results in painful ulcerative lesions and severe skin and bone infections. Two major types of FTC have been recognized: hyperphosphatemic FTC (HFTC) and normophosphatemic FTC (NFTC). HFTC was recently shown to result from mutations in two different genes: GALNT3, which codes for a glycosyltransferase, and FGF23, which codes for a potent phosphaturic protein. To determine the molecular cause of NFTC, we performed homozygosity mapping in five affected families of Jewish Yemenite origin and mapped NFTC to 7q21-7q21.3. Mutation analysis revealed a homozygous mutation in the SAMD9 gene (K1495E), which was found to segregate with the disease in all families and to interfere with the protein expression. Our data suggest that SAMD9 is involved in the regulation of extraosseous calcification, a process of considerable importance in a wide range of diseases as common as atherosclerosis and autoimmune disorders.     

Polymyxin B and Related Cyclic Peptides Facilitate Leanness and Reduce Fat Mass and Triglyceride Content in Ageing Rats: Potential Prototype Drugs Against Obesity

Polymyxin B (PMXB) blocks the action of insulin on glucose uptake in vitro. In vivo, it reverses hypoglycemia induced by exogenous insulin. Here we have treated mature male rats daily with PMXB over a period of two weeks. This therapy has decreased body weight by 11%, adipose fat mass by 46% and triglyceride levels by 39%, with no indication of liver or kidney toxicity. Two suboptimal parameters, however, were a decrease in food intake in the first week of treatment and some increase in fasting glucose levels. We have screened for PMXB-analogs having less associating affinity with rat-muscle phospholipids, and revealed that the same therapy using PMXB-derived peptide (nona-PMXB) is most optimal. This PMXB-analog is devoid of antibacterial activity and is four times less toxic than PMXB. Nona-PMXB therapy lower by 10, 32, 35 and 6% body weight gain, fat mass, circulating triglycerides and fasting glucose levels, respectively, in spite of normal or even elevated food intake in nona-PMXB treated rats. In summary, we found that nona-PMXB therapy is capable if inducing leanness in mature rats, particularly at the expense of decreasing fat-mass in adipose tissue. By and large, we suggest that lowering the action of insulin, on fat build-up solely, may be a therapeutically feasible task to fight with human adiposity in the future.     

Three-dimensional mechanical properties of porcine coronary arteries: a validated two-layer model

The normal coronary artery consists of two mechanically distinct layers: intima-media and adventitia. The objective of this study is to establish a two-layer three-dimensional (3-D) stress-strain relation of porcine coronary arteries. Experimental measurements were made by a series of biaxial tests (inflation and axial extension) of intact coronary arteries and, subsequently, their corresponding intima-media or adventitia layer. The Fung-type exponential strain energy function was used to describe the 3-D strain-stress relation for each layer and the intact wall. A genetic algorithm was used to determine the material constants in the Fung-type constitutive equation by curve fitting the experimental data. Because one layer must be sacrificed before the other layer can be tested, the material property of the missing layer was computed from the material constants of the intact vessel and the tested layer. A total of 20 porcine hearts were used: one group of 10 hearts for the left anterior descending artery and another group of 10 hearts for the right coronary artery. Each group was further divided into two subgroups of five specimens tested for the intact wall and the intima-media layer and for the intact wall and the adventitia layer. Our results show statistically significant differences in the material properties of the two layers. The mathematical model was validated by experimental stress-strain data for individual layers. The validated 3-D constitutive model will serve as a foundation for formulation of layer-specific boundary value problems in coronary physiology and cardiology.     

Formation of elongated giant mitochondria in DFO-induced cellular senescence: involvement of enhanced fusion process through modulation of Fis1

Enlarged or giant mitochondria have often been documented in aged tissues although their role and underlying mechanism remain unclear. We report here how highly elongated giant mitochondria are formed in and related to the senescent arrest. The mitochondrial morphology was progressively changed to a highly elongated form during deferoxamine (DFO)-induced senescent arrest of Chang cells, accompanied by increase of intracellular ROS level and decrease of mtDNA content. Interestingly, under exposure to subcytotoxic doses of H2O2 (200 microM), about 65% of Chang cells harbored elongated mitochondria with senescent phenotypes whereas ethidium bromide (EtBr) (50 ng/ml) only reformed the cristae structure. Elongated giant mitochondria were also observed in TGF beta1- or H2O2-induced senescent Mv1Lu cells and in old human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs). In all senescent progresses employed in this study Fis1 protein, a mitochondrial fission modulator, was commonly downexpressed. Overexpression of YFP-Fis1 reversed both mitochondrial elongation and appearance of senescent phenotypes induced by DFO, implying its critical involvement in the arrest. Finally, we found that direct induction of mitochondrial elongation by blocking mitochondrial fission process with Fis1-DeltaTM or Drp1-K38A was sufficient to develop senescent phenotypes with increased ROS production. These data suggest that mitochondrial elongation may play an important role as a mediator in stress-induced premature senescence.     

Mutation parameters from DNA sequence data using graph theoretic measures on lineage trees

MOTIVATION: B cells responding to antigenic stimulation can fine-tune their binding properties through a process of affinity maturation composed of somatic hypermutation, affinity-selection and clonal expansion. The mutation rate of the B cell receptor DNA sequence, and the effect of these mutations on affinity and specificity, are of critical importance for understanding immune and autoimmune processes. Unbiased estimates of these properties are currently lacking due to the short time-scales involved and the small numbers of sequences available. RESULTS: We have developed a bioinformatic method based on a maximum likelihood analysis of phylogenetic lineage trees to estimate the parameters of a B cell clonal expansion model, which includes somatic hypermutation with the possibility of lethal mutations. Lineage trees are created from clonally related B cell receptor DNA sequences. Important links between tree shapes and underlying model parameters are identified using mutual information. Parameters are estimated using a likelihood function based on the joint distribution of several tree shapes, without requiring a priori knowledge of the number of generations in the clone (which is not available for rapidly dividing populations in vivo). A systematic validation on synthetic trees produced by a mutating birth-death process simulation shows that our estimates are precise and robust to several underlying assumptions. These methods are applied to experimental data from autoimmune mice to demonstrate the existence of hypermutating B cells in an unexpected location in the spleen.     

A transversely isotropic viscoelastic constitutive equation for brainstem undergoing finite deformation

The objective of this study was to define the constitutive response of brainstem undergoing finite shear deformation. Brainstem was characterized as a transversely isotropic viscoelastic material and the material model was formulated for numerical implementation. Model parameters were fit to shear data obtained in porcine brainstem specimens undergoing finite shear deformation in three directions: parallel, perpendicular, and cross sectional to axonal fiber orientation and determined using a combined approach of finite element analysis (FEA) and a genetic algorithm (GA) optimizing method. The average initial shear modulus of brainstem matrix of 4-week old pigs was 12.7 Pa, and therefore the brainstem offers little resistance to large shear deformations in the parallel or perpendicular directions, due to the dominant contribution of the matrix in these directions. The fiber reinforcement stiffness was 121.2 Pa, indicating that brainstem is anisotropic and that axonal fibers have an important role in the cross-sectional direction. The first two leading relative shear relaxation moduli were 0.8973 and 0.0741, respectively, with corresponding characteristic times of 0.0047 and 1.4538 s, respectively, implying rapid relaxation of shear stresses. The developed material model and parameter estimation technique are likely to find broad applications in neural and orthopaedic tissues.     

Body size changes among otters, Lutra lutra, in Norway: the possible effects of food availability and global warming

Using museum data of adult specimens whose sex, age, and locality are known, we studied temporal and geographical body size trends among the otter, Lutra lutra, in Norway. We found that body size of the otters increased during the last quarter of the twentieth century, and suggest that this trend is related to increased food availability from fish farming and possibly also to energy saving due to elevated sea temperatures. Birth year and death year explained 38.8 and 43.5%, respectively, of the variation in body size. Body size of otters was positively related to latitude, thus conforming to Bergmann’s rule.     

Recent changes in body weight and wing length among some British passerine birds

We tested the prediction that global warming has caused recent decreases in body weight (Bergmann's rule) and increases in wing length (Allen's rule) in 14 species of passerine birds at two localities in England: Wicken Fen (1968–2003) and Treswell Wood (1973–2003).
Predicted long-term linear decreases in residual body weight occurred in four species: dunnocks (Wicken Fen), and great tits, blue tits and bullfinches (Treswell Wood). Non-linear decreases also occurred in reed warblers and blackcaps at Wicken Fen, which also had a surprising linear increase in residual body weight in blackbirds.
Residual wing lengths increased linearly, as predicted, in six of seven species at Wicken Fen. Whereas there were non-linear long-term increases in wrens, dunnocks and blackbirds in Treswell Wood. Unexpected linear decreases also occurred in residual wing lengths in willow warblers (Wicken Fen), and blue tits, great tits and chaffinches (Treswell Wood).
The most parsimonious explanation for such long-term changes in body weight is global warming, as predicted by Bergmann's rule. Greater site and species-specific effects on wing length (e.g. non-linear changes plus shorter wings in the woodland habitat) suggest a less straightforward conclusion concerning Allen's rule, probably because wing length involved variation in both bone and feather growth.
Changes in residual body weights and wing lengths often differed between species and were sometimes non-linear, perhaps reflecting short-term modifications in selection pressures. Human-induced influences are discussed, such as avian predator population densities and land-use change. Short-term variation in temperature had little effect, but rainfall did explain the unusual increase in blackbird body weight, possibly as a result of improving food (earthworm) availability.     

Symmetry breaking and convergent extension in early chordate development

The initiation of axis, polarity, cell differentiation, and gastrulation in the very early chordate development is due to the breaking of radial symmetry. It is believed that this occurs by an external signal. We suggest instead spontaneous symmetry breaking through the agency of the Turing-Child field. Increased size or decreased diffusivity, both brought about by mitotic activity, cause the spontaneous loss of stability of the homogeneous state and the evolution of the metabolic pattern during development. The polar metabolic pattern is the cause of polar gene expression, polar morphogenesis (gastrulation), and polar mitotic activity. The Turing-Child theory explains not only the spontaneous formation of the invagination in gastrulation but also the coherent cell movement observed in convergence and extension during gastrulation and neurulation. The theory is demonstrated with respect to experimental observations on the early development of fish, amphibian, and the chick. The theory can explain a multitude of experimental details. For example, it explains the splayed polar progression of reduction in the fish blastoderm. Reduction starts on that side of the blastoderm margin, which will initiate invagination several hours later. It progresses toward the blastoderm center and somewhat laterally from this future "dorsal lip". This is precisely as predicted by a Turing-Child system in a circle. And for a fish like zebrafish with a blastoderm that is slightly oval, reduction is observed to progress along the long axis of the ellipse, which is what Turing-Child theory predicts. In general the shape and the chemical nature of the experimental patterns are the same as predicted by the Turing couple (cAMP, ATP). Embryological polarity and convergent extension are based on polar eigenfunction and saddle-shaped eigenfunction, respectively.