@article{Scheer2018, author = {Scheer, Ulrich}, title = {Boveri's research at the Zoological Station Naples: Rediscovery of his original microscope slides at the University of W{\"u}rzburg}, series = {Marine Genomics}, volume = {40}, journal = {Marine Genomics}, doi = {10.1016/j.margen.2018.01.003}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228453}, pages = {1-8}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Eric Davidson once wrote about Theodor Boveri: "From his own researches, and perhaps most important, his generalized interpretations, derive the paradigms that underlie modern inquiries into the genomic basis of embryogenesis" (Davidson, 1985). As luck would have it, the "primary data" of Boveri's experimental work, namely the microscope slides prepared by him and his wife Marcella during several stays at the Zoological Station in Naples (1901/02, 1911/12 and 1914), have survived at the University of Wurzburg. More than 600 slides exist and despite their age they are in a surprisingly good condition. The slides are labelled and dated in Boveri's handwriting and thus can be assigned to his published experimental work on sea urchin development. The results allowed Boveri to unravel the role of the cell nucleus and its chromosomes in development and inheritance. Here, I present an overview of the slides in the context of Boveri's work along with photographic images of selected specimens taken from the original slides. It is planned to examine the slides in more detail, take high-resolution focal image series of significant specimens and make them online available.}, language = {en} } @article{BartmannJanakiRamanFloeteretal.2018, author = {Bartmann, Catharina and Janaki Raman, Sudha R. and Fl{\"o}ter, Jessica and Schulze, Almut and Bahlke, Katrin and Willingstorfer, Jana and Strunz, Maria and W{\"o}ckel, Achim and Klement, Rainer J. and Kapp, Michaela and Djuzenova, Cholpon S. and Otto, Christoph and K{\"a}mmerer, Ulrike}, title = {Beta-hydroxybutyrate (3-OHB) can influence the energetic phenotype of breast cancer cells, but does not impact their proliferation and the response to chemotherapy or radiation}, series = {Cancer \& Metabolism}, volume = {6}, journal = {Cancer \& Metabolism}, number = {8}, doi = {10.1186/s40170-018-0180-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175607}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Background: Ketogenic diets (KDs) or short-term fasting are popular trends amongst supportive approaches for cancer patients. Beta-hydroxybutyrate (3-OHB) is the main physiological ketone body, whose concentration can reach plasma levels of 2-6 mM during KDs or fasting. The impact of 3-OHB on the biology of tumor cells described so far is contradictory. Therefore, we investigated the effect of a physiological concentration of 3 mM 3-OHB on metabolism, proliferation, and viability of breast cancer (BC) cells in vitro. Methods: Seven different human BC cell lines (BT20, BT474, HBL100, MCF-7, MDA-MB 231, MDA-MB 468, and T47D) were cultured in medium with 5 mM glucose in the presence of 3 mM 3-OHB at mild hypoxia (5\% oxygen) or normoxia (21\% oxygen). Metabolic profiling was performed by quantification of the turnover of glucose, lactate, and 3-OHB and by Seahorse metabolic flux analysis. Expression of key enzymes of ketolysis as well as the main monocarboxylic acid transporter MCT2 and the glucose-transporter GLUT1 was analyzed by RT-qPCR and Western blotting. The effect of 3-OHB on short- and long-term cell proliferation as well as chemo- and radiosensitivity were also analyzed. Results: 3-OHB significantly changed the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) in BT20 cells resulting in a more oxidative energetic phenotype. MCF-7 and MDA-MB 468 cells had increased ECAR only in response to 3-OHB, while the other three cell types remained uninfluenced. All cells expressed MCT2 and GLUT1, thus being able to uptake the metabolites. The consumption of 3-OHB was not strongly linked to mRNA overexpression of key enzymes of ketolysis and did not correlate with lactate production and glucose consumption. Neither 3-OHB nor acetoacetate did interfere with proliferation. Further, 3-OHB incubation did not modify the response of the tested BC cell lines to chemotherapy or radiation. Conclusions: We found that a physiological level of 3-OHB can change the energetic profile of some BC cell lines. However, 3-OHB failed to influence different biologic processes in these cells, e.g., cell proliferation and the response to common breast cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Thus, we have no evidence that 3-OHB generally influences the biology of breast cancer cells in vitro.}, language = {en} } @article{KaltdorfTheissMarkertetal.2018, author = {Kaltdorf, Kristin Verena and Theiss, Maria and Markert, Sebastian Matthias and Zhen, Mei and Dandekar, Thomas and Stigloher, Christian and Kollmannsberger, Philipp}, title = {Automated classification of synaptic vesicles in electron tomograms of C. elegans using machine learning}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {13}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {10}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0205348}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-176831}, pages = {e0205348}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Synaptic vesicles (SVs) are a key component of neuronal signaling and fulfil different roles depending on their composition. In electron micrograms of neurites, two types of vesicles can be distinguished by morphological criteria, the classical "clear core" vesicles (CCV) and the typically larger "dense core" vesicles (DCV), with differences in electron density due to their diverse cargos. Compared to CCVs, the precise function of DCVs is less defined. DCVs are known to store neuropeptides, which function as neuronal messengers and modulators [1]. In C. elegans, they play a role in locomotion, dauer formation, egg-laying, and mechano- and chemosensation [2]. Another type of DCVs, also referred to as granulated vesicles, are known to transport Bassoon, Piccolo and further constituents of the presynaptic density in the center of the active zone (AZ), and therefore are important for synaptogenesis [3]. To better understand the role of different types of SVs, we present here a new automated approach to classify vesicles. We combine machine learning with an extension of our previously developed vesicle segmentation workflow, the ImageJ macro 3D ART VeSElecT. With that we reliably distinguish CCVs and DCVs in electron tomograms of C. elegans NMJs using image-based features. Analysis of the underlying ground truth data shows an increased fraction of DCVs as well as a higher mean distance between DCVs and AZs in dauer larvae compared to young adult hermaphrodites. Our machine learning based tools are adaptable and can be applied to study properties of different synaptic vesicle pools in electron tomograms of diverse model organisms.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Maierhofer2018, author = {Maierhofer, Anna}, title = {Altersassoziierte und strahleninduzierte Ver{\"a}nderungen des genomweiten DNA-Methylierungs-Profils}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-174134}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Der Prozess des Alterns ist ein komplexer multifaktorieller Vorgang, der durch eine sukzessive Verschlechterung der physiologischen Funktionen charakterisiert ist. Ein hohes Alter ist der Hauptrisikofaktor f{\"u}r die meisten Krankheiten, einschließlich Krebs und Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen. Das Verst{\"a}ndnis der epigenetischen Mechanismen, die in den Prozess des Alterns involviert sind, k{\"o}nnte zur Entwicklung pharmakologischer Interventionen beitragen, die nicht nur die Lebenserwartung erh{\"o}hen, sondern auch den Beginn des altersassoziierten funktionellen Abbaus verz{\"o}gern k{\"o}nnten. Durch die Langzeit-Kultivierung prim{\"a}rer humaner Fibroblasten wurde ein in vitro Modell f{\"u}r das Altern etabliert, das die Identifizierung altersassoziierter DNA-Methylierungs-Ver{\"a}nderungen erm{\"o}glichte. Die in vitro Alterung konnte mit einer globalen Hypomethylierung und einer erh{\"o}hten DNA-Methylierung der ribosomalen DNA assoziiert werden. Dar{\"u}ber hinaus konnten DNA-Methylierungs-Ver{\"a}nderungen in Genen und Signalwegen, die f{\"u}r das Altern relevant sind, und ein erh{\"o}htes epigenetisches Alter nachgewiesen werden. Das in vitro Modell f{\"u}r das Altern wurde verwendet, um neben den direkten Effekten ionisierender Strahlung auf die DNA-Methylierung auch deren Langzeit-Effekte zu untersuchen. Die Strahlentherapie ist ein entscheidendes Element der Krebstherapie, hat aber auch negative Auswirkungen und kann unter anderem das Risiko f{\"u}r die Entwicklung eines Zweittumors erh{\"o}hen. Bei externer Bestrahlung wird neben dem Tumor auch gesundes Gewebe ionisierender Strahlung ausgesetzt. Daher ist es wichtig zu untersuchen, wie Zellen mit intakten DNA-Reparatur-Mechanismen und funktionierenden Zellzyklus-Checkpoints durch diese beeinflusst werden. In der fr{\"u}hen Phase der DNA-Schadensantwort auf Bestrahlung wurden in normalen Zellen keine wesentlichen DNA-Methylierungs-Ver{\"a}nderungen beobachtet. Mehrere Populations-Verdoppelungen nach Strahlenexposition konnten dagegen eine globale Hypomethylierung, eine erh{\"o}hte DNA-Methylierung der ribosomalen DNA und ein erh{\"o}htes epigenetisches Alter detektiert werden. Des Weiteren zeigten Gene und Signalwege, die mit Krebs in Verbindung gebracht wurden, Ver{\"a}nderungen in der DNA-Methylierung. Als Langzeit-Effekte ionisierender Strahlung traten somit die mit der in vitro Alterung assoziierten DNA-Methylierungs-Ver{\"a}nderungen verst{\"a}rkt auf und ein epigenetisches Muster, das stark an das DNA-Methylierungs-Profil von Tumorzellen erinnert, entstand. Man geht davon aus, dass Ver{\"a}nderungen der DNA-Methylierung eine aktive Rolle in der Entwicklung eines Tumors spielen. Die durch ionisierende Strahlung induzierten DNA-Methylierungs-Ver{\"a}nderungen in normalen Zellen k{\"o}nnten demnach in die Krebsentstehung nach Strahlenexposition involviert sein und zu dem sekund{\"a}ren Krebsrisiko nach Strahlentherapie beitragen. Es ist bekannt, dass Patienten unterschiedlich auf therapeutische Bestrahlung reagieren. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit weisen darauf hin, dass die individuelle Sensitivit{\"a}t gegen{\"u}ber ionisierender Strahlung auch auf epigenetischer Ebene beobachtet werden kann. In einem zweiten Projekt wurden Gesamtblutproben von Patienten mit Werner-Syndrom, einer segmental progeroiden Erkrankung, und gesunden Kontrollen analysiert, um mit dem vorzeitigen Altern in Verbindung stehende DNA-Methylierungs-Ver{\"a}nderungen zu identifizieren. Werner-Syndrom konnte nicht mit einer globalen Hypomethylierung, jedoch mit einer erh{\"o}hten DNA-Methylierung der ribosomalen DNA und einem erh{\"o}hten epigenetischen Alter assoziiert werden. Das vorzeitige Altern geht demzufolge mit spezifischen epigenetischen Ver{\"a}nderungen einher, die eine Beschleunigung der mit dem normalen Altern auftretenden DNA-Methylierungs-Ver{\"a}nderungen darstellen. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit konnte die Bedeutung epigenetischer Mechanismen im Prozess des Alterns hervorgehoben werden und gezeigt werden, dass sowohl exogene Faktoren, wie ionisierende Strahlung, als auch endogene Faktoren, wie das in Werner-Syndrom-Patienten mutiert vorliegende WRN-Gen, altersassoziierte DNA-Methylierungs-Ver{\"a}nderungen beeinflussen k{\"o}nnen.}, subject = {Methylierung}, language = {de} } @article{PrustyGulveGovindetal.2018, author = {Prusty, Bhupesh K. and Gulve, Nitish and Govind, Sheila and Krueger, Gerhard R. F. and Feichtinger, Julia and Larcombe, Lee and Aspinall, Richard and Ablashi, Dharam V. and Toro, Carla T.}, title = {Active HHV-6 Infection of Cerebellar Purkinje Cells in Mood Disorders}, series = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, volume = {9}, journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2018.01955}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-369222}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Early-life infections and associated neuroinflammation is incriminated in the pathogenesis of various mood disorders. Infection with human roseoloviruses, HHV-6A and HHV-6B, allows viral latency in the central nervous system and other tissues, which can later be activated causing cognitive and behavioral disturbances. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate possible association of HHV-6A and HHV-6B activation with three different groups of psychiatric patients. DNA qPCR, immunofluorescence and FISH studies were carried out in post-mortem posterior cerebellum from 50 cases each of bipolar disorder (BPD), schizophrenia, 15 major depressive disorder (MDD) and 50 appropriate control samples obtained from two well-known brain collections (Stanley Medical Research Institute). HHV-6A and HHV-6B late proteins (indicating active infection) and viral DNA were detected more frequently (p < 0.001 for each virus) in human cerebellum in MDD and BPD relative to controls. These roseolovirus proteins and DNA were found less frequently in schizophrenia cases. Active HHV-6A and HHV-6B infection in cerebellar Purkinje cells were detected frequently in BPD and MDD cases. Furthermore, we found a significant association of HHV-6A infection with reduced Purkinje cell size, suggesting virus-mediated abnormal Purkinje cell function in these disorders. Finally, gene expression analysis of cerebellar tissue revealed changes in pathways reflecting an inflammatory response possibly to HHV-6A infection. Our results provide molecular evidence to support a role for active HHV-6A and HHV-6B infection in BPD and MDD.}, language = {en} } @article{CarradecPelletierDaSilvaetal.2018, author = {Carradec, Quentin and Pelletier, Eric and Da Silva, Corinne and Alberti, Adriana and Seeleuthner, Yoann and Blanc-Mathieu, Romain and Lima-Mendez, Gipsi and Rocha, Fabio and Tirichine, Leila and Labadie, Karine and Kirilovsky, Amos and Bertrand, Alexis and Engelen, Stefan and Madoui, Mohammed-Amin and M{\´e}heust, Rapha{\"e}l and Poulain, Julie and Romac, Sarah and Richter, Daniel J. and Yoshikawa, Genki and Dimier, C{\´e}line and Kandels-Lewis, Stefanie and Picheral, Marc and Searson, Sarah and Jaillon, Olivier and Aury, Jean-Marc and Karsenti, Eric and Sullivan, Matthew B. and Sunagawa, Shinichi and Bork, Peer and Not, Fabrice and Hingamp, Pascal and Raes, Jeroen and Guidi, Lionel and Ogata, Hiroyuki and de Vargas, Colomban and Iudicone, Daniele and Bowler, Chris and Wincker, Patrick}, title = {A global ocean atlas of eukaryotic gene}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {9}, journal = {Nature Communications}, organization = {Tara Oceans Coordinators}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-017-02342-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-222250}, year = {2018}, abstract = {While our knowledge about the roles of microbes and viruses in the ocean has increased tremendously due to recent advances in genomics and metagenomics, research on marine microbial eukaryotes and zooplankton has benefited much less from these new technologies because of their larger genomes, their enormous diversity, and largely unexplored physiologies. Here, we use a metatranscriptomics approach to capture expressed genes in open ocean Tara Oceans stations across four organismal size fractions. The individual sequence reads cluster into 116 million unigenes representing the largest reference collection of eukaryotic transcripts from any single biome. The catalog is used to unveil functions expressed by eukaryotic marine plankton, and to assess their functional biogeography. Almost half of the sequences have no similarity with known proteins, and a great number belong to new gene families with a restricted distribution in the ocean. Overall, the resource provides the foundations for exploring the roles of marine eukaryotes in ocean ecology and biogeochemistry.}, language = {en} } @article{PaulsBlechschmidtFrantzmannetal.2018, author = {Pauls, Dennis and Blechschmidt, Christine and Frantzmann, Felix and el Jundi, Basil and Selcho, Mareike}, title = {A comprehensive anatomical map of the peripheral octopaminergic/tyraminergic system of Drosophila melanogaster}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {8}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, number = {15314}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-018-33686-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-177412}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The modulation of an animal's behavior through external sensory stimuli, previous experience and its internal state is crucial to survive in a constantly changing environment. In most insects, octopamine (OA) and its precursor tyramine (TA) modulate a variety of physiological processes and behaviors by shifting the organism from a relaxed or dormant condition to a responsive, excited and alerted state. Even though OA/TA neurons of the central brain are described on single cell level in Drosophila melanogaster, the periphery was largely omitted from anatomical studies. Given that OA/TA is involved in behaviors like feeding, flying and locomotion, which highly depend on a variety of peripheral organs, it is necessary to study the peripheral connections of these neurons to get a complete picture of the OA/TA circuitry. We here describe the anatomy of this aminergic system in relation to peripheral tissues of the entire fly. OA/TA neurons arborize onto skeletal muscles all over the body and innervate reproductive organs, the heart, the corpora allata, and sensory organs in the antennae, legs, wings and halteres underlining their relevance in modulating complex behaviors.}, language = {en} } @article{BiscottiAdolfiBaruccaetal.2018, author = {Biscotti, Maria Assunta and Adolfi, Mateus Contar and Barucca, Marco and Forconi, Mariko and Pallavicini, Alberto and Gerdol, Marco and Canapa, Adriana and Schartl, Manfred}, title = {A comparative view on sex differentiation and gametogenesis genes in lungfish and coelacanths}, series = {Genome Biology and Evolution}, volume = {10}, journal = {Genome Biology and Evolution}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1093/gbe/evy101}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-176774}, pages = {1430-1444}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Gonadal sex differentiation and reproduction are the keys to the perpetuation of favorable gene combinations and positively selected traits. In vertebrates, several gonad development features that differentiate tetrapods and fishes are likely to be, at least in part, related to the water-to-land transition. The collection of information from basal sarcopterygians, coelacanths, and lungfishes, is crucial to improve our understanding of the molecular evolution of pathways involved in reproductive functions, since these organisms are generally regarded as "living fossils" and as the direct ancestors of tetrapods. Here, we report for the first time the characterization of >50 genes related to sex differentiation and gametogenesis in Latimeria menadoensis and Protopterus annectens. Although the expression profiles of most genes is consistent with the intermediate position of basal sarcopterygians between actinopterygian fish and tetrapods, their phylogenetic placement and presence/absence patterns often reveal a closer affinity to the tetrapod orthologs. On the other hand, particular genes, for example, the male gonad factor gsdf (Gonadal Soma-Derived Factor), provide examples of ancestral traits shared with actinopterygians, which disappeared in the tetrapod lineage.}, language = {en} }