Institut für Biologie

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Bedeutung der c-Abl-Aktivität für die Reaktion auf DNA-Schädigung und für die genetische Stabilität Bcr-Abl-negativer Zellen
(2011) Fanta, Silke; Aulitzky, Walter E.
The launch of Imatinib (Glivec®, Gleevec®, STI571) in August 2001 was an important advancement in the therapy of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The small-molecule inhibitor directly targets the oncogenic tyrosine kinase Bcr-Abl, which has been identified as the central cause for the development of CML. Treatment with Imatinib is the gold standard in the therapy of CML. However, taking the current state of research, an elimination of the malignant Bcr Abl-positive clone cannot be achieved by treatment with Imatinib. Thus, long-term or even lifelong treatment of patients is necessary. As a consequence, it is of great interest to clarify the biological effects of Imatinib on physiologically normal cells. Previous studies of the group showed that Imatinib treatment of Bcr Abl-positive cells leads to a decreased mutation frequency following DNA damage. Within the scope of the present work, evidence for significantly enhanced mutation rates after DNA damage in non-cancerogenic primary human lymphocytes (PBMC) and murine hematopoietic cell lines (32D and BaF3) after Imatinib treatment was obtained for the first time. Thus, Imatinib treatment of Bcr Abl-negative cells shows opposite effect compared to Bcr Abl-positive cells. It was therefore proven that the Imatinib-related inhibition of Bcr Abl as well as the off-target effects in Bcr Abl-negative cells play an important role in the genetic stability. To determine whether an Imatinib-mediated inhibition of c Abl activity is responsible for effects independent of Bcr Abl, genetic c Abl models were used to assess stress-induced mutation frequency. To this, we employed c Abl-knockout-MEFs (embryonic mouse fibroblasts), which were retransfected with wild type c Abl and a kinase-deficient form, respectively. After DNA damage, there was a significant increase in mutation frequency in the kinase-deficient cells (MEF Abl-KD) when compared to the c-Abl wild type (MEF Abl-wt) cells. Consequently, c-Abl activity is of great importance for the maintenance of genetic stability. Several factors can result in an increased mutation frequency in cells. Examples include altered cell proliferation, impaired DNA repair mechanisms or a delayed induction of cell death. In the latter case, DNA damage is not adequately repaired and passed to the daughter cells. In this study, different hematopoietic cell lines were used to show that neither the pharmacological nor the genetic inhibition of c-Abl activity has an influence on induction of cell death, division rate, cloning efficiency and cell cycle distribution. To investigate how far Imatinib influences the kinetics of DNA strand break repair after irradiation, alkaline comet assays were performed. Imatinib treatment of cells had no influence on induction of strand breaks or constitutive strand breaks prior to irradiation. However, cells treated with Imatinib exhibited a significantly delayed repair of DNA strand breaks. This delay was shown in the same manner in hematopoietic cell line models and in primary human lymphocytes, which were treated with Imatinib as well as with Dasatinib, a second generation Abl-inhibitor. Cell line models with different forms of c-Abl were used to provide evidence that this effect is caused by inhibition of the c-Abl kinase activity. The delayed repair of DNA strand breaks was also seen in cells with a kinase-deficient form of c-Abl (MEF Abl KD). But treatment with Imatinib had no effect on the kinetics of DNA repair in cells that expressed an Imatinib-resistant form of c Abl (c Abl T315I). Double- (DSB) as well as single-strand breaks (SSB) are determined in an alkaline comet assay. By applying neutral conditions, this assay can be modified to exclusively analyze DSB repair. As expected, there was a significantly lower induction of DSB after irradiation when compared to the occurrence of SSB. However, Imatinib did neither influence the induction nor the kinetics of DSB repair. Both pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and the quantification of gamma-H2AX were used to confirm that Imatinib does not affect DSB repair. Rather, the delayed repair kinetics are exclusively caused by an Imatinib-dependent interference with SSB repair. Extensive investigations of the molecular signaling pathways of DNA damage repair show that inhibition of c Abl activity does not affect ATM-Chk2-p53 or ATR-Chk1 signaling. Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation of proteins is an early event in the processing of the SSB repair. This modification of proteins by addition of long and branched poly(ADP-ribose) chains (PAR) is an essential part of the SSB repair and base excition repair (BER). Both the synthesis and the cleavage of PAR is mediated by the kinases PARP-1 (poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1) and PARG (poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase). This activity was determined by quantification of PAR and the percentage of cells, which were PAR-positive at a certain time. Possible effects of an Imatinib-induced inhibtion of c-Abl on poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation were investigated. To this, a method for the measurement of PAR events on a single-cell level was established. Poly(ADP-ribose) residues were marked with a PAR-specific antibody and detection followed by means of a fluorochrome-conjugated secondary antibody. The specificity of the method was proven unequivocally by a complete loss of signal when a specific PARP inhibitor (PJ34) was applied prior to irradiation-induced ribosylation. The advantage of this method is that the simultaneous determination of the DNA content in every cell allows the analysis of ribosylation events in correlation with cell cycle distribution. Based on these experiments it was found that in Imatinib-treated cells both the constitutive and the irradiation-induced poly-ribosylation are significantly enhanced. Furthermore, irradiation does not result in poly-ribosylation of all cells at a certain time: A subpopulation of cells, presumably those in the G0 resting phase, remain PAR-negative before and after irradiation. Thus, a novelty of the work at hand lies in the correlation of ribosylation events and cell cycle distribution before and after DNA damage. In this context, the central role of the Imatinib-mediated inhibition of c-Abl could also be established. The inhibited kinase activity of c-Abl seems to cause a delayed degradation of PAR. This is either caused by decreased activity of the PARP-1 antagonist PARG or by increased activity of PARP-1 itself. A disturbance of the spatially and temporally tightly modulated synthesis and degradation of PAR may lead to a prolonged interaction of PARP-1 with proteins related to SSB repair or BER, e.g. XRCC1 and DNA polymerase beta, thus resulting in the observed delay in DNA damage repair. The present study provides new insights into the impact of Imatinib on Bcr Abl-negative cells. The obtained in vitro data suggest that long-term treatment with c-Abl inhibitors may be associated with an increased likelihood of secondary neoplasias. Despite the outstanding success in Imatinib treatment of CML patients in the chronic phase, the complete elimination of the malignant clone should be the primary goal of the treatment of Bcr-Abl-positive leukemias.
Beiträge zur Verbesserung der Analytik von Mutationen im Protoonkogen Kirsten-ras und epigenetische Untersuchungen zur Eignung von DUSP9/MKP4 als CIMP-Marker
(2012) Jenner, Stefan; Preiss, Anette
The present study extends over two different fields of applications, which contribute to improvements for the analysis of colorectal cancers. First, a ligase-based method was developed which allows a quick, inexpensive, specific and highly sensitive detection of point mutations in the mutation hot spot codon12 and codon13 of the K-ras gene. The establishment and validation of the technique was performed on clinical samples, which were present as FFPE tissues and gone through routine diagnostics using conventional molecular biological techniques (microarray analysis, Sanger Sequencing) to determine the K-ras mutation status. In addition, a comparison between the new developed technology and the conventional technologies should be performed. The evaluation of the gLCR approach was done by ABI310er capillary electrophoresis. Among the tested LCR variants the gLCR-monoplex had been the most robust, specific and sensitive technique. The presence of very weak mutations in the samples had been successfully confirmed by gLCR-monoplex, whereas several conventional techniques had to be applied together to detect the mutations unambiguously. The signal strengths for all tested samples were high, coming along with a low standard deviation. The superiority of gLCR-monoplex over the conventional techniques had been further highlighted impressively by performing a comparison of methods on a dilution series. While the mutation detection using Sanger Sequencing or microarray analysis had been successful only up to the 1:10-dilution, or 1:100-dilution, it was possible to detect the K-ras mutation by gLCR-technique up to the 1:1 million-dilution. In routine diagnostics a single monoplex reaction for each possible mutation has to be performed. Therefore the monoplex technique is only suitable as a confirmatory test of weak or doubtful mutation screening results, which had been previously indicated by conventional techniques. A multiplex approach would be desirable to use the gLCR technology as a main detection technique in routine diagnostics. Therefore a single discriminating base at the mutation-specific and color-labeled oligo probe appears to be insufficient. In future studies an additional mismatch should be integrated at position (-3), in relation to the 3'-end of the dye-labeled and mutation-specific oligo probe. In this way it could come to a significant reduction of false-positive signals, thereby gLCR technology could possibly be used as a multiplex approach. In the second part of the work the methylation status of the DUSP9/MKP4 promoter region had been evaluated. By methylation, the accessibility of the promoter, and thus the transcriptional activation of a gene can be reduced. The promoter regions of tumor suppressors are frequently strong methylated in colorectal cancer (CRC). The methylation is resulting in an increased tumorigenesis and cannot be observed in the corresponding normal tissues. This alteration is called CIMP (CpG-island-methylator-phenotype) and is an independent tumor phenotype, which is linked to other clinical aspects. Involved genes are classified as CIMP markers. The DUSP9/MKP4 gene product is a potent tumor suppressor, but it´s suitability as a marker for CIMP in CRC has not been studied so far. In this study, the degree of methylation of 79 colorectal cancer FFPE tissue samples and 22 corresponding normal FFPE tissues was determined quantitatively. A broad variation of methylation strength has been observed in the examined tumor tissues, ranging from nearly unmethylated to nearly completely methylated. Only minor differences between tumor and normal tissues had been detected for the 11 DNA samples with the lowest methylation strength. On the other side, there was a significant correlation with CRC for the 11 strongest methylated DNA samples. About 80% of the DNA from normal tissue showed clearly weaker methylation, leading to the conclusion, that an aberrant DNA methylation status is present in these tumor tissues. Additionally, 9 out of 11 strong methylated DNA samples showed CIMP criteria, which were completely missing at the weakly methylated DNA samples. This work represents, as far as published, the first study that reveals a difference in the methylation pattern of the DUSP9/MKP4 promoter from human colorectal carcinoma and their corresponding normal tissues. Strong methylation could be associated with all tested CIMP criteria. This relationship needs to be confirmed in further studies on a larger sample collective. In addition, the investigations should include the detection of microsatellite instabilities, as an additional CIMP-criterion, and a functional protein detection method should be established.
Central carbon metabolism, sodium-motive electron ransfer, and ammonium formation by the vaginal pathogen Prevotella bivia
(2021) Schleicher, Lena; Herdan, Sebastian; Fritz, Günter; Trautmann, Andrej; Seifert, Jana; Steuber, Julia
Replacement of the Lactobacillus dominated vaginal microbiome by a mixed bacterial population including Prevotella bivia is associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV). To understand the impact of P. bivia on this microbiome, its growth requirements and mode of energy production were studied. Anoxic growth with glucose depended on CO2 and resulted in succinate formation, indicating phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylation and fumarate reduction as critical steps. The reductive branch of fermentation relied on two highly active, membrane-bound enzymes, namely the quinol:fumarate reductase (QFR) and Na+-translocating NADH:quinone oxidoreductase (NQR). Both enzymes were characterized by activity measurements, in-gel fluorography, and VIS difference spectroscopy, and the Na+-dependent build-up of a transmembrane voltage was demonstrated. NQR is a potential drug target for BV treatment since it is neither found in humans nor in Lactobacillus. In P. bivia, the highly active enzymes L-asparaginase and aspartate ammonia lyase catalyze the conversion of asparagine to the electron acceptor fumarate. However, the by-product ammonium is highly toxic. It has been proposed that P. bivia depends on ammonium-utilizing Gardnerella vaginalis, another typical pathogen associated with BV, and provides key nutrients to it. The product pattern of P. bivia growing on glucose in the presence of mixed amino acids substantiates this notion.
Charakterisierung primärer Tumor-assoziierter Fibroblasten und Tumorzellen aus bronchialen Karzinomen und Untersuchung ihrer Reaktion auf zielgerichtete und zytotoxische Therapie
(2013) Schmid, Jens Oliver; Aulitzky, Walter E.
Worldwide lung cancer is the leading cause of death among all malignancies. This is largely due to its high frequency of diagnosis and its poor 5-year survival rate of 15%. As a solid tumor, lung cancer consists of tumor cells and a variable stromal part, that is made up of a cellular and a non-cellular fraction. The stroma influences several processes like growth, invasion of surrounding tissues, metastatic spread as well as tumor supply of oxygen and nutrients. Thereby, the stroma is dominated by the cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), actively shaping the microenvironment through the secretion of soluble factors and the synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) components. While there are several studies with the aim of identifying the differences between CAFs and normal fibroblasts (NAFs) of the breast, there is only little information about those differences in the corresponding cells of the lung. One of the aims of the study was the identification of the molecular differences between CAFs and NAFs derived from lung tissue. A further objective was the investigation of therapy effects under conditions that mimic the situation in vivo. Therefore, an ex vivo-model allowing the culture of primary lung tumor tissue had to be evaluated. Afterwards, the effect of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor Erlotinib on tumor cell proliferation was investigated in this model system. To investigate a response of both, tumor cells and their adjacent CAFs to chemotherapy, lung cancer tissue samples were treated with cisplatin. Finally, owing to their important role in tumors, CAFs were chosen as a target for therapy using small molecule inhibitors, with the aim of inhibiting their stimulatory effect. Molecular comparison of isolated CAFs and the corresponding NAFs of 9 lung cancer patients revealed a significantly different expression of 60 genes. The identification of a set of differentially regulated genes is quite surprising because of the assumable activation of NAFs due to culture conditions. This indicates that CAFs are more than just activated fibroblasts, which are found at sites of tissue injury. Rather, they are a distinct cell type showing parallels to activated fibroblasts. Expression data for 46 of the 60 identified genes were available in a Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer collective comprising of 342 patients. As it turned out, a NAF-like expression of the genes was associated with a significantly better survival prognosis. Another central objective of the work was the investigation of the tumor cell response to therapy in an intact tissue. An already established tissue culture system required initial validation. This was done by comparing the tissue which has been cultivated for 4 days with the corresponding tissue, that has been fixed immediately after surgery. No significant changes in morphology and biological function were detected. Thus the model system adequately mimics the situation in the patient and a negative effect of the culture could be excluded. This makes the system an excellent opportunity to investigate the effect of a drug under in vivo-like conditions. Treatment of tissue samples, characterized for EGFR expression, and EGFR, and KRAS gene status, with the small-molecule inhibitor Erlotinib displayed no effect on the proliferation of the analysed tumor cells.This reflects the situation in the clinics quite adequately where only a small proportion of patients benefits from the treatment with the EGFR-inhibitor Erlotinib. To follow-up, the reaction of CAFs and tumor cells on a chemotherapeutical treatment was investigated under in vivo-like conditions. Interestingly, cisplatin led to a parallel accumulation of p53 and induction of cell death in tumor cells and their adjacent CAFs. Thereby, the p53 accumulation of CAFs seems to be dictated by their tumor cells because the same CAFs which do not accumulate p53 in the tissue, respond to cisplatin with the accumulation of p53 in the isolated state. Therefore, it is tempting to speculate that tumor cells modulate the DNA damage response of their microenvironment, with the objective to raise their own chemoresistance. Inhibiting CAF proliferation was examined as a feasible approach to inhibit their tumor-stimulating properties. Screening of a kinase inhibitor library consisting of 160 small molecule inhibitors resulted in the identification of PDGFR signaling as a promising target. Among the FDA approved PDGFR inhibitors Dasatinib turned out to be the most potent inhibitor of CAF proliferation, resulting in a molecular phenotype comparable to that of normal fibroblasts. Furthermore, the Dasatinib-mediated changes in CAFs led to the secretion of factors, inhibiting the proliferation of lung tumor cells. In contrast, the secreted factors of untreated CAFs stimulated their proliferation. Together, these results indicate that Dasatinib treatment is a promising approach to reduce the tumor promoting capacity of CAFs.
Comparison of five serological methods for the detection of West Nile Virus antibodies
(2024) Girl, Philipp; Euringer, Kathrin; Coroian, Mircea; Mihalca, Andrei Daniel; Borde, Johannes P.; Dobler, Gerhard
The West Nile Virus (WNV), a member of the family Flaviviridae, is an emerging mosquito-borne flavivirus causing potentially severe infections in humans and animals involving the central nervous system (CNS). Due to its emerging tendency, WNV now occurs in many areas where other flaviviruses are co-occurring. Cross-reactive antibodies with flavivirus infections or vaccination (e.g., tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), Usutu virus (USUV), yellow fever virus (YFV), dengue virus (DENV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV)) therefore remain a major challenge in diagnosing flavivirus infections. Virus neutralization tests are considered as reference tests for the detection of specific flavivirus antibodies, but are elaborate, time-consuming and need biosafety level 3 facilities. A simple and straightforward assay for the differentiation and detection of specific WNV IgG antibodies for the routine laboratory is urgently needed. In this study, we compared two commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (anti-IgG WNV ELISA and anti-NS1-IgG WNV), a commercially available indirect immunofluorescence assay, and a newly developed in-house ELISA for the detection of WNV-NS1-IgG antibodies. All four tests were compared to an in-house NT to determine both the sensitivity and specificity of the four test systems. None of the assays could match the specificity of the NT, although the two NS1-IgG based ELISAs were very close to the specificity of the NT at 97.3% and 94.6%. The in-house WNV-NS1-IgG ELISA had the best performance regarding sensitivity and specificity. The specificities of the ELISA assays and the indirect immunofluorescence assays could not meet the necessary specificity and/or sensitivity.
Effects of N-terminal mutations of human androgen receptor on polyglutamine toxicity
(2008) Funderburk, Sarah F.; Cato, Andrew C. B.
Nine neurodegenerative diseases are caused by polyglutamine (polyQ) tract amplification in different proteins. The cytotoxicity of each of these proteins is associated with a misfolding of the mutant protein, resulting in the subsequent alteration of cellular processes and interactions as well as the interrelated formation of insoluble aggregates and other conformationally toxic species. However, the diseases differ in their pathology and tissue specificity of action, which may be due to protein context/regions neighboring the polyQ stretch. For the purpose of the studies presented in ths work, the polyQ containing human androgen receptor (AR) that causes the disorder spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) was used to model polyQ toxicity. In previous investigations, two putative phosphorylation sites of the AR were identified, and it was demonstrated that mutation of these sites appeared to cause conformational change in the protein. Therefore, these N-terminal serine residues were exchanged to alanine in the wild type AR (ARQ22/ARQ22dm) or a receptor with an amplified polyQ stretch (ARQ77/ARQ77dm). These mutants were then used to characterize variance in types of aggregates and the associated toxic profiles due to the different protein conformations that arose from the serine mutations. Evaluating changes in aggregation and toxicity in cultured cells and in a Drosophila model of SBMA, it was found that the effects of the conformational changes differed depending on the length of the polyQ stretch. Mutations in the ARQ22 resulted in a marked increase in aggregation as well as decreased survival rates and altered locomotion behavior in Drosophila. These results were similar but not as severe as the ARQ77/SBMA model. In quite the opposite manner, mutations in the ARQ77 caused a decrease in aggregation and a lessened toxic effect in Drosophila. Moreover, it was found that inhibitor compounds used to ameliorate polyQ toxicity were not as efficient in inhibiting the varied toxicities exhibited by both the ARQ22dm and ARQ77dm. Therefore, two distinct amino acid sites that profoundly modulate polyQ toxicity in the AR have been identified. These results can be further utilized to understand the conformational changes in the AR that lead to aggregation as well as the types of aggregates that lead to toxicity.
The emergence and dynamics of tick-borne Encephalitis Virus in a new endemic region in Southern Germany
(2022) Lang, Daniel; Chitimia-Dobler, Lidia; Bestehorn-Willmann, Malena; Lindau, Alexander; Drehmann, Marco; Stroppel, Gabriele; Hengge, Helga; Mackenstedt, Ute; Kaier, Klaus; Dobler, Gerhard; Borde, Johannes
Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is the most important viral tick-borne infection in Europe and Asia. It is emerging in new areas. The mechanisms of emergence are fairly unknown or speculative. In the Ravensburg district in southern Germany, TBE emerged, mainly over the last five years. Here, we analyzed the underlying epidemiology in humans. The resulting identified natural foci of the causal TBE virus (TBEV) were genetically characterized. We sampled 13 potential infection sites at these foci and detected TBEV in ticks (Ixodes ricinus) at eight sites. Phylogenetic analysis spurred the introduction of at least four distinct TBEV lineages of the European subtype into the Ravensburg district over the last few years. In two instances, a continuous spread of these virus strains over up to 10 km was observed.
Identification of new microfoci and genetic characterization of tick-borne encephalitis virus isolates from Eastern Germany and Western Poland
(2024) Król, Nina; Chitimia-Dobler, Lidia; Dobler, Gerhard; Kiewra, Dorota; Czułowska, Aleksandra; Obiegala, Anna; Zajkowska, Joanna; Juretzek, Thomas; Pfeffer, Martin
(1) Background: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is the most important tick-borne viral disease in Eurasia, although effective vaccines are available. Caused by the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV, syn. Orthoflavivirus encephalitidis), in Europe, it is transmitted by ticks like Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus. TBEV circulates in natural foci, making it endemic to specific regions, such as southern Germany and northeastern Poland. Our study aimed to identify new TBEV natural foci and genetically characterize strains in ticks in previously nonendemic areas in Eastern Germany and Western Poland. (2) Methods: Ticks were collected from vegetation in areas reported by TBE patients. After identification, ticks were tested for TBEV in pools of a maximum of 10 specimens using real-time RT-PCR. From the positive TBEV samples, E genes were sequenced. (3) Results: Among 8400 ticks from 19 sites, I. ricinus (n = 4784; 56.9%) was predominant, followed by D. reticulatus (n = 3506; 41.7%), Haemaphysalis concinna (n = 108; 1.3%), and I. frontalis (n = 2; <0.1%). TBEV was detected in 19 pools originating in six sites. The phylogenetic analyses revealed that TBEV strains from Germany and Poland clustered with other German strains, as well as those from Finland and Estonia. (4) Conclusions: Although there are still only a few cases are reported from these areas, people spending much time outdoors should consider TBE vaccination.
Identification of ZBTB26 as a novel risk factor for congenital hypothyroidism
(2021) Vick, Philipp; Eberle, Birgit; Choukair, Daniela; Weiss, Birgit; Roeth, Ralph; Schneider, Isabelle; Paramasivam, Nagarajan; Bettendorf, Markus; Rappold, Gudrun A.
Congenital primary hypothyroidism (CH; OMIM 218700) is characterized by an impaired thyroid development, or dyshormonogenesis, and can lead to intellectual disability and growth retardation if untreated. Most of the children with congenital hypothyroidism present thyroid dysgenesis, a developmental anomaly of the thyroid. Various genes have been associated with thyroid dysgenesis, but all known genes together can only explain a small number of cases. To identify novel genetic causes for congenital hypothyroidism, we performed trio whole-exome sequencing in an affected newborn and his unaffected parents. A predicted damaging de novo missense mutation was identified in the ZBTB26 gene (Zinc Finger A and BTB Domain containing 26). An additional cohort screening of 156 individuals with congenital thyroid dysgenesis identified two additional ZBTB26 gene variants of unknown significance. To study the underlying disease mechanism, morpholino knock-down of zbtb26 in Xenopus laevis was carried out, which demonstrated significantly smaller thyroid anlagen in knock-down animals at tadpole stage. Marker genes expressed in thyroid tissue precursors also indicated a specific reduction in the Xenopus ortholog of human Paired-Box-Protein PAX8, a transcription factor required for thyroid development, which could be rescued by adding zbtb26. Pathway and network analysis indicated network links of ZBTB26 to PAX8 and other genes involved in thyroid genesis and function. GWAS associations of ZBTB26 were found with height. Together, our study added a novel genetic risk factor to the list of genes underlying congenital primary hypothyroidism and provides additional support that de novo mutations, together with inherited variants, might contribute to the genetic susceptibility to CH.
Increased vaccination diversity leads to higher and less-variable neutralization of TBE viruses of the European subtype
(2023) Bestehorn-Willmann, Malena; Girl, Philipp; Greiner, Franziska; Mackenstedt, Ute; Dobler, Gerhard; Lang, Daniel
Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is an infectious disease of the central nervous system. The causative agent is the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), which is most commonly transmitted by tick bites, but which may also be transmitted through the consumption of raw dairy products or, in rare instances, via infected transfusions, transplants, or the slaughter of infected animals. The only effective preventive option is active immunization. Currently, two vaccines are available in Europe—Encepur® and FSME-IMMUN®. In Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe, isolated TBEV genotypes belong mainly to the European subtype (TBEV-EU). In this study, we investigated the ability of these two vaccines to induce neutralizing antibodies against a panel of diverse natural TBEV-EU isolates from TBE-endemic areas in southern Germany and in regions of neighboring countries. Sera of 33 donors vaccinated with either FSME-IMMUN®, Encepur®, or a mixture of both were tested against 16 TBEV-EU strains. Phylogenetic analysis of the TBEV-EU genomes revealed substantial genetic diversity and ancestry of the identified 13 genotypic clades. Although all sera were able to neutralize the TBEV-EU strains, there were significant differences among the various vaccination groups. The neutralization assays revealed that the vaccination using the two different vaccine brands significantly increased neutralization titers, decreased intra-serum variance, and reduced the inter-virus variation.
Lactic acid induces fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) production in UMR106 osteoblast-like cells
(2021) Alber, Jana; Föller, Michael
Endocrine and paracrine fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a protein predominantly produced by bone cells with strong impact on phosphate and vitamin D metabolism by targeting the kidney. Plasma FGF23 concentration early rises in kidney and cardiovascular diseases correlating with progression and outcome. Lactic acid is generated in anaerobic glycolysis. Lactic acidosis is the consequence of various physiological and pathological conditions and may be fatal. Since FGF23 production is stimulated by inflammation and lactic acid induces pro-inflammatory signaling, we investigated whether and how lactic acid influences FGF23. Experiments were performed in UMR106 osteoblast-like cells, Fgf23 mRNA levels estimated from quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and FGF23 protein determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Lactic acid dose-dependently induced Fgf23 gene expression and up-regulated FGF23 synthesis. Also, Na+-lactate as well as formic acid and acetic acid up-regulated Fgf23. The lactic acid effect was significantly attenuated by nuclear factor kappa-light-chain enhancer of activated B-cells (NFκB) inhibitors wogonin and withaferin A. Lactic acid induces FGF23 production, an effect at least in part mediated by NFκB. Lactic acidosis may, therefore, be paralleled by a surge in plasma FGF23.
Rickettsia spp. in ticks of South Luangwa valley, Eastern Province, Zambia
(2023) Phiri, Bruno S. J.; Kattner, Simone; Chitimia-Dobler, Lidia; Woelfel, Silke; Albanus, Celina; Dobler, Gerhard; Küpper, Thomas
Ticks are important vectors for Rickettsia spp. belonging to the Spotted Fever Group responsible for causing Rickettsiosis worldwide. Rickettsioses pose an underestimated health risk to tourists and local inhabitants. There is evidence of the presence of Rickettsia spp. in Zambia, however there is limited data. A total of 1465 ticks were collected in 20 different locations from dogs and cattle including one cat. Ticks were identified by morphological features or by sequencing of the 16S mitochondrial rRNA gene. Individual ticks were further tested for rickettsiae using a pan-Rickettsia real-time-PCR. Rickettsia species in PCR-positive ticks were identified by sequencing the 23S-5S intergenic spacer region or partial ompA gene, respectively. Seven tick species belonging to three different tick genera were found, namely: Amblyomma variegatum, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, Rhipicephalus simus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Rhipicephalus zambesiensis and Haemaphysalis elliptica. Out of the 1465 ticks collected, 67 (4.6%) tested positive in the pan-Rickettsia PCR. This study provides detailed data about the presence of Rickettsia species in South Luangwa Valley, Eastern Province, Zambia for the first time. High prevalence of Rickettsia africae in Amblyomma variegatum was found, which indicates the potential risk of infection in the investigated area. Furthermore, to our best knowledge, this is the first time Rickettsia massiliae, a human pathogen causing spotted fever, has been detected in Zambia.
Serological protection rates against TBEV infection in blood donors from a highly endemic region in Southern Germany
(2023) Dobler, Gerhard; Euringer, Kathrin; Kaier, Klaus; Borde, Johannes P.
Background: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is the most significant tick-borne disease in Europe and Asia, with more than 10,000 cases per year worldwide. A surge of reported TBE cases can be observed despite the availability of highly efficient vaccines. There is little known about the serological immune protection rate of the population in Germany. The seroprotection rate is defined as the presence of neutralizing antibodies. In contrast, the vaccination rate, as defined by public health agencies, may differ from the true protection rate in a population. Materials and Methods: 2220 blood samples from inhabitants of the county Ortenaukreis in the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg in Germany were included in the study. These were tested for anti-TBEV IgG antibodies by an anti-TBEV-IgG-ELISA. Subsequently, all TBEV-IgG positive samples were confirmed for neutralizing antibodies in the micro serum neutralization assay. Results: From the overall 2220 samples, 2104 were included in the comparison because of the selection of specific age groups (ages 20–69). In our sample size, we found an average serological protection rate (presence of neutralizing antibodies) of 57% (518/908) for the female blood donors and of 52% (632/1196) for the male blood donors. Discussion: In this study, we present new findings on a highly endemic region in southern Germany. Additionally, we present current data regarding the serological TBEV protection rates in the Ortenaukreis in southern Germany and compare these with a dataset published by the RKI, which is based on vaccination reports of the primary care providers and health care insurers, and with a self-reporting study conducted by a vaccine manufacturer. Our results significantly exceed the official numbers of average active vaccination status by 23.2% for females and by 21% for males. This might indicate an even longer persistence of TBE-vaccination-induced antibody titers than previously assumed.
Tachysterol2 increases the synthesis of fibroblast growth factor 23 in bone cells
(2022) Ewendt, Franz; Kotwan, Julia; Ploch, Stefan; Feger, Martina; Hirche, Frank; Föller, Michael; Stangl, Gabriele I.
Tachysterol2 (T2) is a photoisomer of the previtamin D2 found in UV-B-irradiated foods such as mushrooms or baker’s yeast. Due to its structural similarity to vitamin D, we hypothesized that T2 can affect vitamin D metabolism and in turn, fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), a bone-derived phosphaturic hormone that is transcriptionally regulated by the vitamin D receptor (VDR). Initially, a mouse study was conducted to investigate the bioavailability of T2 and its impact on vitamin D metabolism and Fgf23 expression. UMR106 and IDG-SW3 bone cell lines were used to elucidate the effect of T2 on FGF23 synthesis and the corresponding mechanisms. LC-MS/MS analysis found high concentrations of T2 in tissues and plasma of mice fed 4 vs. 0 mg/kg T2 for 2 weeks, accompanied by a significant decrease in plasma 1,25(OH)2D and increased renal Cyp24a1 mRNA abundance. The Fgf23 mRNA abundance in bones of mice fed T2 was moderately higher than that in control mice. The expression of Fgf23 strongly increased in UMR106 cells treated with T2. After Vdr silencing, the T2 effect on Fgf23 diminished. This effect is presumably mediated by single-hydroxylated T2-derivatives, since siRNA-mediated silencing of Cyp27a1, but not Cyp27b1, resulted in a marked reduction in T2-induced Fgf23 gene expression. To conclude, T2 is a potent regulator of Fgf23 synthesis in bone and activates Vdr. This effect depends, at least in part, on the action of Cyp27a1. The potential of oral T2 to modulate vitamin D metabolism and FGF23 synthesis raises questions about the safety of UV-B-treated foods.
Untersuchungen zum molekularen Wirkmechanismus des Radioprotektors O-Phospho L-Tyrosin : Wechselwirkungen von Phosphotyrosin mit Aktivierungsprozessen des epidermalen Wachstumsfaktorrezeptors
(2008) Wanner, Gabriele; Rodemann, H.-Peter
Summary Cancer is, after cardiovascular diseases, the main cause of death in Germany. The five-year-survival-rate averages at 35% to 45% and is supported by tumour treatment with ionizing irradiation. Radiotherapy is among surgical interventions and chemotherapeutical methods one of the most important treatment procedure for oncological diseases. In spite of technical improvements and modern therapy designs the ineluctable damage of the tumour surrounding normal tissue acts dose limiting and may lead to acute and late normal tissue reactions and associated side effects. Radioprotectors are applied to protect healthy tissue in the radiation field, but should not protect tumour tissue against radiation effects. The potential dose escalation due to enhanced radiation-tolerance would be associated with increased tumour control. The intention of this work was to shed light on the molecular mode of action of the radioprotector O-Phospho L-Tyrosine (pTyr) and the associated modulation of radiation-induced effects on signalling cascades. The data presented provide evidence that preincubation of human fibroblasts with pTyr leads to a significant increase of cell survival after irradiation. The pTyr-mediated radioprotection was found to be dependent on the availability of the tumour suppressor TP53. Only cells characterized by a wildtype TP53, but not cells with mutated TP53 cells were protected by a pTyr-treatment. Given that a large proportion of human tumours express a mutated TP53, more than 50% of tumours are considered to be treated with pTyr and irradiation in combination. Preliminary work on the field of pTyr-induced molecular mechanism showed an interaction between pTyr and the EGFR-associated signalling pathway, which positively influences radiation-induced DNA-repair (Dittmann et al., JBC 2005). Based on these data we investigate the influence of pTyr treatment on a molecular level. The following results were obtained: 1.pTyr treatment stimulates accumulation of the EGFR in the nucleus, which is involved in regulation of DNA-PK-dependent DNA-repair (NHEJ). 2.pTyr-mediated stimulation of DSB-DNA-repair processes is dependent on functional tumour suppressor TP53. 3.Ionizing radiation and pTyr are able to modulate the phosphorylation status of nuclear EGFR at the position No. 654. This phosphorylation site plays an important role in accumulation of EGFR in the nucleus. 4.The isoform ε of the protein kinase C family is responsible for the pTyr- and radiation-induced T654 phosphorylation of the EGFR in the nucleus. 5.The kinase activity of the nuclear PKCε is essential for nuclear EGFR accumulation and EGFR-associated stimulation of the DNA-PK-dependent DNA-repair. 6.The considered second messenger in the pTyr- and radiation-induced activation of PKCε is diacylglycerol, which is limited by its regulatory kinase DGK θ. 7. Diacylglycerol is generated by hydrolyzation of phosphoinositol biphosphate, which can be stimulated by pTyr treatment and ionizing irradiation. 8.pTyr enhances complex formation between nuclear EGFR, phosphorylated form of DNA-PK and DNA after irradiation. Aim of this work was to elucidate molecular vertices of a pTyr treatment in order to promote the clinical application of pTyr in the context of radiooncological therapy. From present data we suggest that combined treatment of TP53-mutated tumours with pTyr and irradiation improves survival of tumour surrounding normal tissue by influencing DNA-repair processes positively and therefore takes advantage in radiotherapy-treatment. Furthermore this work gives a better insight into radiation-mediated and radioprotective signalling pathways and helps to achieve a deeper understanding in molecular mechanisms after irradiation and radiation-associated survival signals.
Up-regulation of fibroblast growth factor 23 gene expression in UMR106 osteoblast-like cells with reduced viability
(2021) Münz, Sina; Feger, Martina; Edemir, Bayram; Föller, Michael
Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) controls vitamin D and phosphate homeostasis in the kidney and has additional paracrine effects elsewhere. As a biomarker, its plasma concentration is associated with progression of inflammatory, renal, and cardiovascular diseases. Major stimuli of FGF23 synthesis include active vitamin D and inflammation. Antineoplastic chemotherapy treats cancer by inducing cellular damage ultimately favoring cell death (apoptosis and necrosis) and causing inflammation. Our study explored whether chemotherapeutics and other apoptosis inducers impact on Fgf23 expression. Experiments were performed in osteoblast-like UMR106 cells, Fgf23 gene expression and protein synthesis were determined by qRT-PCR and ELISA, respectively. Viability was assessed by MTT assay and NFκB activity by Western Blotting. Antineoplastic drugs cisplatin and doxorubicin as well as apoptosis inducers procaspase-activating compound 1 (PAC-1), a caspase 3 activator, and serum depletion up-regulated Fgf23 transcripts while reducing cell proliferation and viability. The effect of cisplatin on Fgf23 transcription was paralleled by Il-6 up-regulation and NFκB activation and attenuated by Il-6 and NFκB signaling inhibitors. To conclude, cell viability-decreasing chemotherapeutics as well as apoptosis stimulants PAC-1 and serum depletion up-regulate Fgf23 gene expression. At least in part, Il-6 and NFκB may contribute to this effect.

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