@article{WinkelbeinerWandtEbertetal.2020, author = {Winkelbeiner, Nicola and Wandt, Viktoria K. and Ebert, Franziska and Lossow, Kristina and Bankoglu, Ezgi E. and Martin, Maximilian and Mangerich, Aswin and Stopper, Helga and Bornhorst, Julia and Kipp, Anna P. and Schwerdtle, Tanja}, title = {A multi-endpoint approach to base excision repair incision activity augmented by PARylation and DNA damage levels in mice: impact of sex and age}, series = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, volume = {21}, journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, number = {18}, issn = {1422-0067}, doi = {10.3390/ijms21186600}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-285706}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Investigation of processes that contribute to the maintenance of genomic stability is one crucial factor in the attempt to understand mechanisms that facilitate ageing. The DNA damage response (DDR) and DNA repair mechanisms are crucial to safeguard the integrity of DNA and to prevent accumulation of persistent DNA damage. Among them, base excision repair (BER) plays a decisive role. BER is the major repair pathway for small oxidative base modifications and apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites. We established a highly sensitive non-radioactive assay to measure BER incision activity in murine liver samples. Incision activity can be assessed towards the three DNA lesions 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), 5-hydroxy-2'-deoxyuracil (5-OHdU), and an AP site analogue. We applied the established assay to murine livers of adult and old mice of both sexes. Furthermore, poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation) was assessed, which is an important determinant in DDR and BER. Additionally, DNA damage levels were measured to examine the overall damage levels. No impact of ageing on the investigated endpoints in liver tissue were found. However, animal sex seems to be a significant impact factor, as evident by sex-dependent alterations in all endpoints investigated. Moreover, our results revealed interrelationships between the investigated endpoints indicative for the synergetic mode of action of the cellular DNA integrity maintaining machinery.}, language = {en} } @article{RauBuggischMaussetal.2022, author = {Rau, Monika and Buggisch, Peter and Mauss, Stefan and Boeker, Klaus H. W. and Klinker, Hartwig and M{\"u}ller, Tobias and Stoehr, Albrecht and Schattenberg, J{\"o}rn M. and Geier, Andreas}, title = {Prognostic impact of steatosis in the clinical course of chronic HCV infection-Results from the German Hepatitis C-Registry}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {17}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0264741}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300549}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background Liver steatosis is often observed in chronic HCV infection and associated to genotype or comorbidities. NAFLD is an important risk factor for end-stage liver disease. We aimed to analyse the course of NAFLD as a concomitant disease in a cohort of HCV patients. Methods The German Hepatitis C-Registry is a national multicenter real-world cohort. In the current analysis, 8789 HCV patients were included and separated based on the presence of steatosis on ultrasound and/or histology. Fibrosis progression was assessed by transient elastography (TE), ultrasound or non-invasive surrogate scores. Results At the time of study inclusion 12.3\% (n = 962) of HCV patients presented with steatosis (+S) (higher rate in GT-3). Diabetes mellitus was more frequent in GT-1 patients. HCV patients without steatosis (-S) had a slightly higher rate of fibrosis progression (FP) over time (30.3\%) in contrast to HCV patients +S (26\%). This effect was mainly observed in GT-3 patients (34.4\% vs. 20.6\%). A larger decrease of ALT, AST and GGT from baseline to FU-1 (4-24 weeks after EOT) was found in HCV patients (without FP) +S compared to -S. HCV patients -S and with FP presented more often metabolic comorbidities with a significantly higher BMI (+0.58kg/m\(^{2}\)) compared to patients -S without FP. This was particularly pronounced in patients with abnormal ALT. Conclusion Clinically diagnosed steatosis in HCV patients does not seem to contribute to significant FP in this unique cohort. The low prevalence of steatosis could reflect a lower awareness of fatty liver in HCV patients, as patients -S and with FP presented more metabolic risk factors.}, language = {en} } @article{NandaSteinleinHaafetal.2022, author = {Nanda, Indrajit and Steinlein, Claus and Haaf, Thomas and Buhl, Eva M. and Grimm, Domink G. and Friedman, Scott L. and Meurer, Steffen K. and Schr{\"o}der, Sarah K. and Weiskirchen, Ralf}, title = {Genetic characterization of rat hepatic stellate cell line HSC-T6 for in vitro cell line authentication}, series = {Cells}, volume = {11}, journal = {Cells}, number = {11}, issn = {2073-4409}, doi = {10.3390/cells11111783}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-275178}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Immortalized hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) established from mouse, rat, and humans are valuable in vitro models for the biomedical investigation of liver biology. These cell lines are homogenous, thereby providing consistent and reproducible results. They grow more robustly than primary HSCs and provide an unlimited supply of proteins or nucleic acids for biochemical studies. Moreover, they can overcome ethical concerns associated with the use of animal and human tissue and allow for fostering of the 3R principle of replacement, reduction, and refinement proposed in 1959 by William M. S. Russell and Rex L. Burch. Nevertheless, working with continuous cell lines also has some disadvantages. In particular, there are ample examples in which genetic drift and cell misidentification has led to invalid data. Therefore, many journals and granting agencies now recommend proper cell line authentication. We herein describe the genetic characterization of the rat HSC line HSC-T6, which was introduced as a new in vitro model for the study of retinoid metabolism. The consensus chromosome markers, outlined primarily through multicolor spectral karyotyping (SKY), demonstrate that apart from the large derivative chromosome 1 (RNO1), at least two additional chromosomes (RNO4 and RNO7) are found to be in three copies in all metaphases. Additionally, we have defined a short tandem repeat (STR) profile for HSC-T6, including 31 species-specific markers. The typical features of these cells have been further determined by electron microscopy, Western blotting, and Rhodamine-Phalloidin staining. Finally, we have analyzed the transcriptome of HSC-T6 cells by mRNA sequencing (mRNA-Seq) using next generation sequencing (NGS).}, language = {en} } @article{NandaSchroederSteinleinetal.2022, author = {Nanda, Indrajit and Schr{\"o}der, Sarah K. and Steinlein, Claus and Haaf, Thomas and Buhl, Eva M. and Grimm, Domink G. and Weiskirchen, Ralf}, title = {Rat hepatic stellate cell line CFSC-2G: genetic markers and short tandem repeat profile useful for cell line authentication}, series = {Cells}, volume = {11}, journal = {Cells}, number = {18}, issn = {2073-4409}, doi = {10.3390/cells11182900}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-288067}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are also known as lipocytes, fat-storing cells, perisinusoidal cells, or Ito cells. These liver-specific mesenchymal cells represent about 5\% to 8\% of all liver cells, playing a key role in maintaining the microenvironment of the hepatic sinusoid. Upon chronic liver injury or in primary culture, these cells become activated and transdifferentiate into a contractile phenotype, i.e., the myofibroblast, capable of producing and secreting large quantities of extracellular matrix compounds. Based on their central role in the initiation and progression of chronic liver diseases, cultured HSCs are valuable in vitro tools to study molecular and cellular aspects of liver diseases. However, the isolation of these cells requires special equipment, trained personnel, and in some cases needs approval from respective authorities. To overcome these limitations, several immortalized HSC lines were established. One of these cell lines is CFSC, which was originally established from cirrhotic rat livers induced by carbon tetrachloride. First introduced in 1991, this cell line and derivatives thereof (i.e., CFSC-2G, CFSC-3H, CFSC-5H, and CFSC-8B) are now used in many laboratories as an established in vitro HSC model. We here describe molecular features that are suitable for cell authentication. Importantly, chromosome banding and multicolor spectral karyotyping (SKY) analysis demonstrate that the CFSC-2G genome has accumulated extensive chromosome rearrangements and most chromosomes exist in multiple copies producing a pseudo-triploid karyotype. Furthermore, our study documents a defined short tandem repeat (STR) profile including 31 species-specific markers, and a list of genes expressed in CFSC-2G established by bulk mRNA next-generation sequencing (NGS).}, language = {en} } @article{MayerLoefflerLozaValdesetal.2019, author = {Mayer, Alexander E. and L{\"o}ffler, Mona C. and Loza Vald{\´e}s, Angel E. and Schmitz, Werner and El-Merahbi, Rabih and Trujillo-Viera, Jonathan and Erk, Manuela and Zhang, Thianzhou and Braun, Ursula and Heikenwalder, Mathias and Leitges, Michael and Schulze, Almut and Sumara, Grzegorz}, title = {The kinase PKD3 provides negative feedback on cholesterol and triglyceride synthesis by suppressing insulin signaling}, series = {Science Signaling}, journal = {Science Signaling}, edition = {accepted manuscript}, doi = {10.1126/scisignal.aav9150}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-250025}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Hepatic activation of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms by diacylglycerol (DAG) promotes insulin resistance and contributes to the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). The closely related protein kinase D (PKD) isoforms act as effectors for DAG and PKC. Here, we showed that PKD3 was the predominant PKD isoform expressed in hepatocytes and was activated by lipid overload. PKD3 suppressed the activity of downstream insulin effectors including the kinase AKT and mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 and 2 (mTORC1 and mTORC2). Hepatic deletion of PKD3 in mice improved insulin-induced glucose tolerance. However, increased insulin signaling in the absence of PKD3 promoted lipogenesis mediated by SREBP (sterol regulatory element-binding protein) and consequently increased triglyceride and cholesterol content in the livers of PKD3-deficient mice fed a high-fat diet. Conversely, hepatic-specific overexpression of a constitutively active PKD3 mutant suppressed insulin-induced signaling and caused insulin resistance. Our results indicate that PKD3 provides feedback on hepatic lipid production and suppresses insulin signaling. Therefore, manipulation of PKD3 activity could be used to decrease hepatic lipid content or improve hepatic insulin sensitivity.}, language = {en} } @article{AtanasovBenkertThelenetal.2013, author = {Atanasov, Georgi and Benkert, Christoph and Thelen, Armin and Tappe, Dennis and Frosch, Matthias and Teichmann, Dieter and Barth, Thomas F. E. and Wittekind, Christian and Schubert, Stefan and Jonas, Sven}, title = {Alveolar echinococcosis-spreading disease challenging clinicians: A case report and literature review}, series = {World Journal of Gastroenterology}, volume = {19}, journal = {World Journal of Gastroenterology}, number = {26}, doi = {10.3748/wjg.v19.i26.4257}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-131525}, pages = {4257-4261}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Human alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a potentially deadly disease; recent studies have shown that the endemic area of Echinococcus multilocularis, its causative agent, is larger than previously known. This disease has low prevalence and remains underreported in Europe. Emerging clinical data show that diagnostic difficulties are still common. We report on a 76-year old patient suffering from AE lesions restricted to the left lobe of the liver who underwent a curative extended left hemihepatectomy. Prior to the resection a liver biopsy under the suspicion of an atypical malignancy was performed. After the intervention he developed a pseudoaneurysm of the hepatic artery that was successfully coiled. Surprisingly, during surgery, the macroscopic appearance of the tumour revealed a growth pattern that was rather typical for cystic echinococcosis (CE), i.e., a gross tumour composed of multiple large vesicles with several centimeters in diameter. In addition, there were neither extensive adhesions nor infiltrations of the neighboring pancreas and diaphragm as was expected from previous imaging results. The unexpected diagnosis of AE was confirmed by definite histopathology, specific polymerase chain reaction and serology results. This is a rare case of unusual macroscopic presentation of AE that posed immense diagnostic challenges and had an eventful course. To our knowledge this is the first case of an autochthonous infection in this particular geographic area of Germany, the federal state of Saxony. This report may provide new hints for an expanding area of risk for AE and emphasizes the risk of complications in the scope of diagnostic procedures and the limitations of modern radiological imaging.}, language = {en} }