@article{Lutz2012, author = {Lutz, Manfred B.}, title = {Therapeutic Potential of Semi-Mature Dendritic Cells for Tolerance Induction}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-75535}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Dendritic cells (DCs) are major players in the control of adaptive tolerance and immunity. Therefore, their specific generation and adoptive transfer into patients or their in vivo targeting is attractive for clinical applications. While injections of mature immunogenic DCs are tested in clinical trials, tolerogenic DCs still are awaiting this step. Besides the tolerogenic potential of immature DCs, also semi-mature DCs can show tolerogenic activity but both types also bear unfavorable features. Optimal tolerogenic DCs, their molecular tool bar, and their use for specific diseases still have to be defined. Here, the usefulness of in vitro generated and adoptively transferred semi-mature DCs for tolerance induction is outlined. The in vivo targeting of semi-mature DCs as represented by steady state migratory DCs are discussed for treatment of autoimmune diseases and allergies. First clinical trials with transcutaneous allergen application may point to their therapeutic use in the future.}, subject = {Medizin}, language = {en} } @article{MeuleKuebler2012, author = {Meule, Adrian and K{\"u}bler, Andrea}, title = {The translation of substance dependence criteria to food-related behaviors: different views and interpretations.}, series = {Frontiers in psychiatry}, journal = {Frontiers in psychiatry}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00064}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-123092}, year = {2012}, abstract = {No abstract available.}, language = {en} } @article{BenischSchillingKleinHitpassetal.2012, author = {Benisch, Peggy and Schilling, Tatjana and Klein-Hitpass, Ludger and Frey, S{\"o}nke P. and Seefried, Lothar and Raaijmakers, Nadja and Krug, Melanie and Regensburger, Martina and Zeck, Sabine and Schinke, Thorsten and Amling, Michael and Ebert, Amling and Jakob, Franz}, title = {The Transcriptional Profile of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Populations in Primary Osteoporosis Is Distinct and Shows Overexpression of Osteogenic Inhibitors}, series = {PLoS One}, volume = {7}, journal = {PLoS One}, number = {9}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0045142}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-133379}, pages = {e45142}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Primary osteoporosis is an age-related disease characterized by an imbalance in bone homeostasis. While the resorptive aspect of the disease has been studied intensely, less is known about the anabolic part of the syndrome or presumptive deficiencies in bone regeneration. Multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are the primary source of osteogenic regeneration. In the present study we aimed to unravel whether MSC biology is directly involved in the pathophysiology of the disease and therefore performed microarray analyses of hMSC of elderly patients (79-94 years old) suffering from osteoporosis (hMSC-OP). In comparison to age-matched controls we detected profound changes in the transcriptome in hMSC-OP, e.g. enhanced mRNA expression of known osteoporosis-associated genes (LRP5, RUNX2, COL1A1) and of genes involved in osteoclastogenesis (CSF1, PTH1R), but most notably of genes coding for inhibitors of WNT and BMP signaling, such as Sclerostin and MAB21L2. These candidate genes indicate intrinsic deficiencies in self-renewal and differentiation potential in osteoporotic stem cells. We also compared both hMSC-OP and non-osteoporotic hMSC-old of elderly donors to hMSC of similar to 30 years younger donors and found that the transcriptional changes acquired between the sixth and the ninth decade of life differed widely between osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic stem cells. In addition, we compared the osteoporotic transcriptome to long term-cultivated, senescent hMSC and detected some signs for pre-senescence in hMSC-OP. Our results suggest that in primary osteoporosis the transcriptomes of hMSC populations show distinct signatures and little overlap with non-osteoporotic aging, although we detected some hints for senescence-associated changes. While there are remarkable inter-individual variations as expected for polygenetic diseases, we could identify many susceptibility genes for osteoporosis known from genetic studies. We also found new candidates, e.g. MAB21L2, a novel repressor of BMP-induced transcription. Such transcriptional changes may reflect epigenetic changes, which are part of a specific osteoporosis-associated aging process.}, language = {en} } @article{SpiveyDeGiorgiZhaoetal.2012, author = {Spivey, Tara L. and De Giorgi, Valeria and Zhao, Yingdong and Bedognetti, Davide and Pos, Zoltan and Liu, Qiuzhen and Tomei, Sara and Ascierto, Maria Libera and Uccellini, Lorenzo and Reinboth, Jennifer and Chouchane, Lotfi and Stroncek, David F. and Wang, Ena and Marincola, Francesco M.}, title = {The stable traits of melanoma genetics: an alternate approach to target discovery}, series = {BMC Genomics}, volume = {13}, journal = {BMC Genomics}, number = {156}, doi = {10.1186/1471-2164-13-156}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-131992}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background: The weight that gene copy number plays in transcription remains controversial; although in specific cases gene expression correlates with copy number, the relationship cannot be inferred at the global level. We hypothesized that genes steadily expressed by 15 melanoma cell lines (CMs) and their parental tissues (TMs) should be critical for oncogenesis and their expression most frequently influenced by their respective copy number. Results: Functional interpretation of 3,030 transcripts concordantly expressed (Pearson's correlation coefficient p-value < 0.05) by CMs and TMs confirmed an enrichment of functions crucial to oncogenesis. Among them, 968 were expressed according to the transcriptional efficiency predicted by copy number analysis (Pearson's correlation coefficient p-value < 0.05). We named these genes, "genomic delegates" as they represent at the transcriptional level the genetic footprint of individual cancers. We then tested whether the genes could categorize 112 melanoma metastases. Two divergent phenotypes were observed: one with prevalent expression of cancer testis antigens, enhanced cyclin activity, WNT signaling, and a Th17 immune phenotype (Class A). This phenotype expressed, therefore, transcripts previously associated to more aggressive cancer. The second class (B) prevalently expressed genes associated with melanoma signaling including MITF, melanoma differentiation antigens, and displayed a Th1 immune phenotype associated with better prognosis and likelihood to respond to immunotherapy. An intermediate third class (C) was further identified. The three phenotypes were confirmed by unsupervised principal component analysis. Conclusions: This study suggests that clinically relevant phenotypes of melanoma can be retraced to stable oncogenic properties of cancer cells linked to their genetic back bone, and offers a roadmap for uncovering novel targets for tailored anti-cancer therapy.}, language = {en} } @article{HuserRohwedderApostolopoulouetal.2012, author = {Huser, Annina and Rohwedder, Astrid and Apostolopoulou, Anthi A. and Widmann, Annekathrin and Pfitzenmaier, Johanna E. and Maiolo, Elena M. and Selcho, Mareike and Pauls, Dennis and von Essen, Alina and Gupta, Tript and Sprecher, Simon G. and Birman, Serge and Riemensperger, Thomas and Stocker, Reinhard F. and Thum, Andreas S.}, title = {The Serotonergic Central Nervous System of the Drosophila Larva: Anatomy and Behavioral Function}, series = {PLoS One}, volume = {7}, journal = {PLoS One}, number = {10}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0047518}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130437}, pages = {e47518}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The Drosophila larva has turned into a particularly simple model system for studying the neuronal basis of innate behaviors and higher brain functions. Neuronal networks involved in olfaction, gustation, vision and learning and memory have been described during the last decade, often up to the single-cell level. Thus, most of these sensory networks are substantially defined, from the sensory level up to third-order neurons. This is especially true for the olfactory system of the larva. Given the wealth of genetic tools in Drosophila it is now possible to address the question how modulatory systems interfere with sensory systems and affect learning and memory. Here we focus on the serotonergic system that was shown to be involved in mammalian and insect sensory perception as well as learning and memory. Larval studies suggested that the serotonergic system is involved in the modulation of olfaction, feeding, vision and heart rate regulation. In a dual anatomical and behavioral approach we describe the basic anatomy of the larval serotonergic system, down to the single-cell level. In parallel, by expressing apoptosis-inducing genes during embryonic and larval development, we ablate most of the serotonergic neurons within the larval central nervous system. When testing these animals for naive odor, sugar, salt and light perception, no profound phenotype was detectable; even appetitive and aversive learning was normal. Our results provide the first comprehensive description of the neuronal network of the larval serotonergic system. Moreover, they suggest that serotonin per se is not necessary for any of the behaviors tested. However, our data do not exclude that this system may modulate or fine-tune a wide set of behaviors, similar to its reported function in other insect species or in mammals. Based on our observations and the availability of a wide variety of genetic tools, this issue can now be addressed.}, language = {en} } @article{BandyraSaidPfeifferetal.2012, author = {Bandyra, Katarzyna J. and Said, Nelly and Pfeiffer, Verena and G{\´o}rna, Maria W. and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Luisi, Ben F.}, title = {The Seed Region of a Small RNA Drives the Controlled Destruction of the Target mRNA by the Endoribonuclease RNase E}, series = {Molecular Cell}, volume = {47}, journal = {Molecular Cell}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1016/j.molcel.2012.07.015}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-126202}, pages = {943-953}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Numerous small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) in bacteria modulate rates of translation initiation and degradation of target mRNAs, which they recognize through base-pairing facilitated by the RNA chaperone Hfq. Recent evidence indicates that the ternary complex of Hfq, sRNA and mRNA guides endoribonuclease RNase E to initiate turnover of both the RNAs. We show that a sRNA not only guides RNase E to a defined site in a target RNA, but also allosterically activates the enzyme by presenting a monophosphate group at the 5′-end of the cognate-pairing "seed." Moreover, in the absence of the target the 5′-monophosphate makes the sRNA seed region vulnerable to an attack by RNase E against which Hfq confers no protection. These results suggest that the chemical signature and pairing status of the sRNA seed region may help to both 'proofread' recognition and activate mRNA cleavage, as part of a dynamic process involving cooperation of RNA, Hfq and RNase E.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Staykov2012, author = {Staykov, Nikola}, title = {The Role of the GABPα/β Transcription Factor In the Proliferation of NIH-3T3 Cells}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-67655}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {SUMMARY GABP is a heterodymeric member of Ets-family transcription factors. It consists of two subunits - GABPa which contains DNA binding domain and GABPb, which provides transcriptional activation domain and nuclear localization signal. GABPa/b complex is essential for transcriptional activation of multiple lineage-restricted and housekeeping genes, several viral genes, and in some cases might function as transcriptional repressor. Large variety of data indicates involvement of GABP in the complex regulation of cell growth, specified by quiescence, stimulation/proliferation, apoptosis and senescence. Expression level of GABPa subunit is rapidly increased when resting cells enter S-phase, and GABPa/b complex is critical to promote the continuity of the cell cycle. Conditional inactivation of GABPa expression in mouse embryonic fibroblasts results in a complete block of proliferation and acquisition of senescence-like phenotype. However, the influence of GABP on the other cell growth determinant - the apoptosis - remains largely obscure. Therefore we aimed to investigate the influence of GABPa/b expression level on the cell growth in vitro. Using siRNA approach we achieved efficient but only transient down-regulation of GABPa expression which precluded further cell growth studies. Persistent increase of the expression of GABPb subunit only resulted in a positive effect on the cell growth speed. Simultaneous conditional overexpression of both GABPa and GABPb subunits though, strongly reduced the growth of the affected cell cultures in reversible and in expression level dependent manner. Interestingly, GABPa/b overexpressing cells did show neither cell cycle arrest nor massive induction of apoptosis. However, more detailed analyses revealed that dampened apoptotic processes were taking place in GABPa/b-overexpressing cells, starting with a prominent activation of caspase-12. Interestingly, activation of downstream effector caspases was rather suppressed explaining a weak increase of apoptotic cells in GABPa/b overexpressing cultures. This effect suggests that the activation of caspase-12 by elevated amounts of exogenous GABPa/b reflects the normal physiological mechanism of caspase-12 regulation.}, subject = {Proliferation}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Gupta2012, author = {Gupta, Shuchi}, title = {The role of the Canonical transient receptor potential 6 (TRPC6) channel and the C terminal LIM domain protein of 36 kDa (CLP36) for platelet function}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-72262}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Platelet activation and aggregation are essential to limit posttraumatic blood loss at sites of vascular injury, but also contribute to arterial thrombosis, leading to myocardial infarction and stroke. Thrombus formation is the result of well-defined molecular events, including agonist-induced elevation of intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) and series of cytoskeletal rearrangements. With the help of genetically modified mice, the work presented in this thesis identified novel mechanisms underlying the process of platelet activation in hemostasis and thrombosis. Store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) through Orai1 was previously shown to be the main Ca2+ influx pathway in murine platelets. The residual Ca2+ entry in the Orai1 deficient platelets suggested a role for additional non-store-operated Ca2+ (non-SOC) and receptor operated Ca2+ entry (ROCE) in maintaining platelet calcium homeostasis. Canonical transient receptor potential channel 6 (TRPC6), which is expressed in both human and murine platelets, has been attributed to be involved in SOCE as well as in diacylglycerol (DAG)-triggered ROCE. In the first part of the study, the function of TRPC6 in platelet Ca2+ signaling and activation was analyzed by using the TRPC6 knockout mice. In vitro agonist induced Ca2+ responses and in vivo platelet function were unaltered in Trpc6-/- mice. However, Trpc6-/- mice displayed a completely abolished DAG mediated Ca2+-influx but a normal SOCE. These findings identified TRPC6 as the major DAG operated ROC channel in murine platelets, but DAG mediated ROCE has no major functional relevance for hemostasis and thrombosis. In the second part of the thesis, the involvement of the PDLIM family member CLP36 in the signaling pathway of the major platelet collagen receptor glycoprotein (GP) VI was investigated. The GPVI/FcR-chain complex initiates platelet activation through a series of tyrosine phosphorylation events downstream of the FcR-chain-associated immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM). GPVI signaling has to be tightly regulated to prevent uncontrolled intravascular platelet activation, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. The present study reports the adaptor protein CLP36 as a major inhibitor of GPVI-ITAM signaling in platelets. Platelets from mice expressing a truncated form of CLP36, (Clp36ΔLIM) and platelets from mice lacking the entire protein (Clp36-/-) displayed profound hyper-activation in response to GPVI-specific agonists, whereas GPCR signaling pathways remained unaffected. These alterations translated into accelerated thrombus formation and enhanced pro-coagulant activity of Clp36ΔLIM platelets and a pro-thrombotic phenotype in vivo. These studies revealed an unexpected inhibitory function of CLP36 in GPVI-ITAM signaling and established it as a key regulator of arterial thrombosis.}, subject = {Thrombozytenaggregation}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Hansjakob2012, author = {Hansjakob, Anton}, title = {The role of cuticular waxes in the prepenetration processes of Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-72840}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Der obligat biotrophe Pilz Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei gilt als Erreger des Gerstenmehltaus, einer destruktiven Erkrankung der Gerste (Hordeum vulgare). Als Folge des Befalls mit B. graminis f.sp. hordei drohen erhebliche Ernteeinbußen. Das kutikul{\"a}re Wachs von Gerstenbl{\"a}ttern besteht haupts{\"a}chlich aus prim{\"a}ren Alkoholen (80\%), Alkylestern (10\%) sowie aus geringf{\"u}gig vorkommenden Bestandteilen wie Fetts{\"a}uren (2\%), Alkanen (2\%) und Aldehyden (1\%). Der initiale Kontakt der asexuellen und durch die Luft verbreiteten Konidien findet auf der Blattoberfl{\"a}che in einer Umgebung statt, die von den kutikul{\"a}ren Wachsen bestimmt ist, welche Keimung und Differenzierung stimulieren. W{\"a}hrend der Keimungs- und Differenzierungsphase durchlaufen die Konidien eine sequenzielle Morphogenese, die so genannten Pr{\"a}penetrationsprozesse. Dabei bilden die Konidien auf der Pflanzenoberfl{\"a}che zun{\"a}chst einen prim{\"a}ren, kurzen und im weiteren Verlauf einen sekund{\"a}ren, elongierten Keimschlauch aus. Im Anschluss daran schwillt dieser an und wird letztlich zu einem septierten Appressorium differenziert. Mit Hilfe des Appressoriums dringt der Pilz dann in die Epidermiszelle der Wirtspflanze ein und bildet ein initiales Haustorium, das die Ern{\"a}hrung des Pilzes sicherstellt. Um den Einfluss von einzelnen Wachsbestandteilen der Wirtspflanze auf die Pr{\"a}penetrationsprozesse systematisch zu untersuchen wurde ein neues in vitro System auf der Basis von Formvar®-Harz etabliert. Dieses System erm{\"o}glicht die Erzeugung homogener Oberfl{\"a}chen als Substrate f{\"u}r den Pilz, bei denen sowohl die aufgelagerten Mengen als auch die Oberfl{\"a}chenhydrophobizit{\"a}t unabh{\"a}ngig von den getesteten Substanzklassen und Kettenl{\"a}ngen der Molek{\"u}le hochgradig reproduzierbar sind. In diesem System haben langkettige Aldehyde die Keimung und die Differenzierung von B. graminis f.sp. hordei Konidien am wirksamsten induziert, wobei die Raten der Appressorienbildung in Abh{\"a}ngigkeit von der Konzentration und der Kettenl{\"a}nge im Vergleich zu n-Hexacosanal (C26), das sich als am effektivsten zeigte, abnahmen (C22<C28>>C30). Die getesteten gerad- und ungeradzahligen Alkane (C24-C33), Fetts{\"a}uren (C20-C28), Alkylester (C40-C44) und prim{\"a}ren Alkohole (C20-C30) hatten keinen signifikanten Einfluss auf die Keimung und die Appressorienbildung des Pilzes. Der prim{\"a}re Alkohol n-Hexacosanol (C26) stellte hierbei eine Ausnahme dar, da er die Keimung und die Bildung des Appressorium-Keimschlauchs signifikant erh{\"o}hte. Um die Rolle von langkettigen Aldehyden auf einer intakten Pflanzenoberfl{\"a}che in vivo genauer zu untersuchen wurden B. graminis f.sp. hordei Konidien auf Bl{\"a}tter von glossy11 Mutanten der Nicht-Wirtspflanze Mais (Zea mays) inokuliert. Anders als der Wildtyp weisen glossy11 Bl{\"a}tter keine langkettigen Aldehyde auf. Auf glossy11 Bl{\"a}ttern keimten 60\% der B. graminis f.sp. hordei Konidien nicht und nur 10\% der Konidien entwickelten ein reifes Appressorium, was einer dreimal geringeren Rate als auf Wildtyp-Bl{\"a}ttern entspricht. Durch das Bespr{\"u}hen von glossy11 Bl{\"a}tter mit synthetischem n-Hexacosanal oder mit Wachs des Wildtyps wurden die pilzlichen Pr{\"a}penetrationsprozesse wieder vollst{\"a}ndig durchlaufen. Wurden im Gegensatz dazu Bl{\"a}tter des Mais-Wildtyps mit nicht induzierenden n-Alkanen, prim{\"a}ren Alkoholen oder langkettigen Fetts{\"a}uren bespr{\"u}ht, konnte das den Aldehyd-defizienten Ph{\"a}notyp von glossy11 imitieren. W{\"a}hrend der Pr{\"a}penetrationsprozesse wird ein Appressorium gebildet, wobei es sich hierbei um eine neu gebildete Zelle handelt. Die Keimung und die anschließende Morphogenese sind wichtige Schritte in der Etablierung der pilzlichen Infektionsstrukturen. Da diese Prozesse in einigen phytopathogenen Pilzen mit dem Zellzyklus gekoppelt sind wurde untersucht, inwieweit die Pr{\"a}penetrationsprozesse von B. graminis f.sp. hordei mit dem Verlauf des Zellzykluses synchronisiert sind. Hierf{\"u}r wurde eine Methode basierend auf DAPI (4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) zur F{\"a}rbung der Zellkerne f{\"u}r fixierte Pr{\"a}parate von B. graminis f.sp. hordei Konidien entwickelt. Mittels eines pharmakologischen Ansatzes war es auf diese Weise erstmals m{\"o}glich die Abh{\"a}ngigkeit der Pr{\"a}penetrationsprozesse von der Mitose in vivo und in vitro zu verfolgen. Sechs Stunden nach der Inokulation trat nach Ausbildung des Appressorium-Keimschlauchs eine Mitose in der einkernigen Konidie auf. Die Hemmung der S-Phase mit Hydroxyharnstoff oder die Hemmung der M-Phase mit Benomyl verhinderten eine Bildung des Appressoriums, nicht aber die Entwicklung des Appressorium-Keimschlauchs. Diese Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass die Mitose und eine abgeschlossene Zytokinese notwendige Voraussetzungen f{\"u}r die Appressoriumsbildung, jedoch nicht f{\"u}r die Morphogenese der Konidie, sind. Als Reaktion auf bestimmte Wachsbestandteile der Wirtspflanze werden pilzliche Gene, die w{\"a}hrend der Pr{\"a}penetrationsprozesse eine wichtige Rolle spielen k{\"o}nnen, differenziell exprimiert. Um solche Gene zu identifizieren wurden cDNA Klonbibliotheken mittels der suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) 22 Minuten nach der Inokulation erstellt. Das auf Formvar®-Harz basierende in vitro System erm{\"o}glichte die selektive Anreicherung von cDNA Sequenzen aus B. graminis f.sp. hordei Konidien, die auf n-Hexacosanal beschichteten Oberfl{\"a}chen inokuliert wurden. Aus einer Reihe von Kandidaten wurde eine cDNA-Sequenz identifiziert, die sowohl auf Gerstenbl{\"a}ttern als auch auf mit n-Hexacosanal oder extrahiertem Gerstenwachs beschichteten Oberfl{\"a}chen hochreguliert war. Mittels 3' und 5' RACE wurde das n-Hexacosanal induzierte Transkript kloniert. Diese cDNA-Sequenz wies keine Homologien zu bekannten Genen, die Funktionen in der pilzlichen Entwicklung und der Ausbildung von Pathogenit{\"a}t in Pflanzen haben, auf.}, subject = {.}, language = {en} } @article{NaseemDandekar2012, author = {Naseem, Muhammad and Dandekar, Thomas}, title = {The Role of Auxin-Cytokinin Antagonism in Plant-Pathogen Interactions}, series = {PLOS Pathogens}, volume = {8}, journal = {PLOS Pathogens}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1371/journal.ppat.1003026}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-131901}, pages = {e1003026}, year = {2012}, abstract = {No abstract available.}, language = {en} } @article{SchubertJoniauGonteroetal.2012, author = {Schubert, Maria and Joniau, Steven and Gontero, Paolo and Kneitz, Susanne and Scholz, Claus-J{\"u}rgen and Kneitz, Burkhard and Briganti, Alberto and Karnes, R. Jeffery and Tombal, Bertrand and Walz, Jochen and Hsu, Chao-Yu and Marchioro, Giansilvio and Bader, Pia and Bangma, Chris and Frohneberg, Detlef and Graefen, Markus and Schr{\"o}der, Fritz and van Cangh, Paul and van Poppel, Hein and Spahn, Martin}, title = {The Role of Adjuvant Hormonal Treatment after Surgery for Localized High-Risk Prostate Cancer: Results of a Matched Multiinstitutional Analysis}, series = {Advances in Urology}, volume = {2012}, journal = {Advances in Urology}, doi = {10.1155/2012/612707}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-137712}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Introduction. To assess the role of adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in high-risk prostate cancer patients (PCa) after surgery. Materials and Methods. The analysis case matched 172 high-risk PCa patients with positive section margins or non-organ confined disease and negative lymph nodes to receive adjuvant ADT (group 1, n=86 ) or no adjuvant ADT (group 2, n=86). Results. Only 11.6\% of the patients died, 2.3\% PCa related. Estimated 5-10-year clinical progression-free survival was 96.9\% (94.3\%) for group 1 and 73.7\% (67.0\%) for group 2, respectively. Subgroup analysis identified men with T2/T3a tumors at low-risk and T3b margins positive disease at higher risk for progression. Conclusion. Patients with T2/T3a tumors are at low-risk for metastatic disease and cancer-related death and do not need adjuvant ADT. We identified men with T3b margin positive disease at highest risk for clinical progression. These patients benefit from immediate adjuvant ADT.}, language = {en} } @article{RhiemEngelGraeseretal.2012, author = {Rhiem, Kerstin and Engel, Christoph and Graeser, Monika and Zachariae, Silke and Kast, Karin and Kiechle, Marion and Ditsch, Nina and Janni, Wolfgang and Mundhenke, Christoph and Golatta, Michael and Varga, Dominic and Preisler-Adams, Sabine and Heinrich, Tilman and Bick, Ulrich and Gadzicki, Dorothea and Briest, Susanne and Meindl, Alfons and Schmutzler, Rita K.}, title = {The risk of contralateral breast cancer in patients from BRCA1/2 negative high risk families as compared to patients from BRCA1 or BRCA2 positive families: a retrospective cohort study}, series = {Breast Cancer Research}, volume = {14}, journal = {Breast Cancer Research}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1186/bcr3369}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-135715}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Introduction: While it has been reported that the risk of contralateral breast cancer in patients from BRCA1 or BRCA2 positive families is elevated, little is known about contralateral breast cancer risk in patients from high risk families that tested negative for BRCA1/2 mutations. Methods: A retrospective, multicenter cohort study was performed from 1996 to 2011 and comprised 6,235 women with unilateral breast cancer from 6,230 high risk families that had tested positive for BRCA1 (n = 1,154) or BRCA2 (n = 575) mutations or tested negative (n = 4,501). Cumulative contralateral breast cancer risks were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method and were compared between groups using the log-rank test. Cox regression analysis was applied to assess the impact of the age at first breast cancer and the familial history stratified by mutation status. Results: The cumulative risk of contralateral breast cancer 25 years after first breast cancer was 44.1\% (95\%CI, 37.6\% to 50.6\%) for patients from BRCA1 positive families, 33.5\% (95\%CI, 22.4\% to 44.7\%) for patients from BRCA2 positive families and 17.2\% (95\%CI, 14.5\% to 19.9\%) for patients from families that tested negative for BRCA1/2 mutations. Younger age at first breast cancer was associated with a higher risk of contralateral breast cancer. For women who had their first breast cancer before the age of 40 years, the cumulative risk of contralateral breast cancer after 25 years was 55.1\% for BRCA1, 38.4\% for BRCA2, and 28.4\% for patients from BRCA1/2 negative families. If the first breast cancer was diagnosed at the age of 50 or later, 25-year cumulative risks were 21.6\% for BRCA1, 15.5\% for BRCA2, and 12.9\% for BRCA1/2 negative families. Conclusions: Contralateral breast cancer risk in patients from high risk families that tested negative for BRCA1/2 mutations is similar to the risk in patients with sporadic breast cancer. Thus, the mutation status should guide decision making for contralateral mastectomy.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Schubert2012, author = {Schubert, Lisa}, title = {The Respective Impact of Stimulus Valence and Processing Fluency on Evaluative Judgments in Stereotype Disconfirmation}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-77426}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Both specific stimulus valence and unspecific processing dynamics can influence evaluative responses. Eight experiments investigated their respective influence on evaluative judgments in the domain of stereotyping. Valence of stereotypic information and consistency-driven fluency were manipulated in an impression formation paradigm. When information about the to-be-evaluated target person was strongly valenced, no effects of consistency-driven fluency were observed. Higher cognitive processes, valence of inconsistent attributes, processing priority of category information, and impression formation instructions were ruled out as possible factors responsible for the non-occurrence of fluency effects. However, consistency-driven fluency did influence the evaluative judgment, if the information about a target person was not strongly valenced. It is therefore concluded that both stimulus valence and consistency-driven processing fluency play a role in evaluative judgments in the domain of stereotyping. The respective impact of stimulus valence is much stronger than the impact of unspecific processing dynamics, however. Implications for fluency research and the applied field of stereotype change are discussed.}, subject = {Vorurteil}, language = {en} } @article{SpannausHartlWoehrletal.2012, author = {Spannaus, Ralf and Hartl, Maximilian J. and W{\"o}hrl, Birgitta M. and Rethwilm, Axel and Bodem, Jochen}, title = {The prototype foamy virus protease is active independently of the integrase domain}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-75370}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background: Recently, contradictory results on foamy virus protease activity were published. While our own results indicated that protease activity is regulated by the viral RNA, others suggested that the integrase is involved in the regulation of the protease. Results: To solve this discrepancy we performed additional experiments showing that the protease-reverse transcriptase (PR-RT) exhibits protease activity in vitro and in vivo, which is independent of the integrase domain. In contrast, Pol incorporation, and therefore PR activity in the viral context, is dependent on the integrase domain. To further analyse the regulation of the protease, we incorporated Pol in viruses by expressing a GagPol fusion protein, which supported near wild-type like infectivity. A GagPR-RT fusion, lacking the integrase domain, also resulted in wild-type like Gag processing, indicating that the integrase is dispensable for viral Gag maturation. Furthermore, we demonstrate with a trans-complementation assays that the PR in the context of the PR-RT protein supports in trans both, viral maturation and infectivity. Conclusion: We provide evidence that the FV integrase is required for Pol encapsidation and that the FV PR activity is integrase independent. We show that an active PR can be encapsidated in trans as a GagPR-RT fusion protein.}, subject = {Medizin}, language = {en} } @article{MakoahNigelArndtPradel2012, author = {Makoah Nigel, Animake and Arndt, Hans-Dieter and Pradel, Gabriele}, title = {The proteasome of malaria parasites: A multi-stage drug target for chemotherapeutic intervention?}, series = {International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance}, volume = {2}, journal = {International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijpddr.2011.12.001}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-137777}, pages = {1-10}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The ubiquitin/proteasome system serves as a regulated protein degradation pathway in eukaryotes, and is involved in many cellular processes featuring high protein turnover rates, such as cell cycle control, stress response and signal transduction. In malaria parasites, protein quality control is potentially important because of the high replication rate and the rapid transformations of the parasite during life cycle progression. The proteasome is the core of the degradation pathway, and is a major proteolytic complex responsible for the degradation and recycling of non-functional ubiquitinated proteins. Annotation of the genome for Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of malaria tropica, revealed proteins with similarity to human 26S proteasome subunits. In addition, a bacterial ClpQ/hslV threonine peptidase-like protein was identified. In recent years several independent studies indicated an essential function of the parasite proteasome for the liver, blood and transmission stages. In this review, we compile evidence for protein recycling in Plasmodium parasites and discuss the role of the 26S proteasome as a prospective multi-stage target for antimalarial drug discovery programs.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Cook2012, author = {Cook, Mandy}, title = {The neurodegenerative Drosophila melanogaster AMPK mutant loechrig}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-72027}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {In dieser Doktorarbeit wird die Drosophila Mutante loechrig (loe), die progressive Degeneration des Nervensystems aufweist, weiter beschrieben. In der loe Mutante fehlt eine neuronale Isoform der γ- Untereinheit der Proteinkinase AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase). Die heterotrimere AMPK (auch als SNF4Aγ bekannt) kontrolliert das Energieniveau der Zelle, was st{\"a}ndiges Beobachten des ATP/AMP- Verh{\"a}ltnis erfordert. AMPK wird durch niedrige Energiekonzentrationen und Beeintr{\"a}chtigungen im Metabolismus, wie zum Beispiel Sauerstoffmangel, aktiviert und reguliert mehrere wichtige Signaltransduktionswege, die den Zellmetabolismus kontrollieren. Jedoch ist die Rolle von AMPK im neuronalen {\"U}berleben noch unklar. Eines der Proteine, dass von AMPK reguliert wird, ist HMGR (hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA- reductase), ein Schl{\"u}sselenzym in der Cholesterin- und Isoprenoidsynthese. Es wurde gezeigt, dass wenn die Konzentration von HMGR manipuliert wird, auch der Schweregrad des neurodegenerativen Ph{\"a}notyps in loe beeinflusst wird. Obwohl die regulatorische Rolle von AMPK auf HMGR in Drosophila konserviert ist, k{\"o}nnen Insekten Cholesterin nicht de novo synthetisieren. Dennoch ist der Syntheseweg von Isoprenoiden zwischen Vertebraten und Insekten evolution{\"a}r konserviert. Isoprenylierung von Proteinen, wie zum Beispiel von kleinen G-Proteinen, stellt den Proteinen einen hydophobischen Anker bereit, mit denen sie sich an die Zellmembran binden k{\"o}nnen, was in anschließender Aktivierung resultieren kann. In dieser Doktorarbeit wird gezeigt, dass die loe Mutation die Prenylierung von Rho1 und den LIM-Kinasesignalweg beeinflusst, was eine wichtige Rolle im Umsatz von Aktin und axonalem Auswachsen spielt. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass die Mutation in LOE, Hyperaktivit{\"a}t des Isoprenoidsynthesewegs verursacht, was zur erh{\"o}hten Farnesylierung von Rho1 und einer dementsprechend h{\"o}heren Konzentration von Phospho- Cofilin f{\"u}hrt. Eine Mutation in Rho1 verbessert den neurodegenerativen Ph{\"a}notyp und die Lebenserwartung von loe. Der Anstieg vom inaktiven Cofilin in loe f{\"u}hrt zu einer Zunahme von filament{\"o}sen Aktin. Aktin ist am Auswachen von Neuronen beteiligt und Experimente in denen loe Neurone analysiert wurden, gaben wertvolle Einblicke in eine m{\"o}gliche Rolle die AMPK, und dementsprechend Aktin, im Neuronenwachstum spielt. Des Weiteren wurde demonstriert, dass Neurone, die von der loe Mutante stamen, einen verlangsamten axonalen Transport aufweisen, was darauf hinweist dass Ver{\"a}nderungen, die durch den Einfluss von loe auf den Rho1 Signalweg im Zytoskelettnetzwerk hervorgerufen wurden, zur St{\"o}rung des axonalen Transports und anschließenden neuronalen Tod f{\"u}hren. Es zeigte außerdem, dass Aktin nicht nur am neuronalen Auswachsen beteiligt ist, sondern auch wichtig f{\"u}r die Aufrechterhaltung von Neuronen ist. Das bedeutet, dass {\"A}nderungen der Aktindynamik zur progressiven Degeneration von Neuronen f{\"u}hren kann. Zusammenfassend unterstreichen diese Ergebnisse die wichtige Bedeutung von AMPK in den Funktionen und im {\"U}berleben von Neuronen und er{\"o}ffnen einen neuartigen funktionellen Mechanismus in dem {\"A}nderungen in AMPK neuronale Degeneration hervorrufen kann.}, subject = {Taufliege}, language = {en} } @article{MergetKoetschanHackletal.2012, author = {Merget, Benjamin and Koetschan, Christian and Hackl, Thomas and F{\"o}rster, Frank and Dandekar, Thomas and M{\"u}ller, Tobias and Schultz, J{\"o}rg and Wolf, Matthias}, title = {The ITS2 Database}, series = {Journal of Visual Expression}, volume = {61}, journal = {Journal of Visual Expression}, number = {e3806}, doi = {10.3791/3806}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-124600}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) has been used as a phylogenetic marker for more than two decades. As ITS2 research mainly focused on the very variable ITS2 sequence, it confined this marker to low-level phylogenetics only. However, the combination of the ITS2 sequence and its highly conserved secondary structure improves the phylogenetic resolution1 and allows phylogenetic inference at multiple taxonomic ranks, including species delimitation. The ITS2 Database presents an exhaustive dataset of internal transcribed spacer 2 sequences from NCBI GenBank accurately reannotated. Following an annotation by profile Hidden Markov Models (HMMs), the secondary structure of each sequence is predicted. First, it is tested whether a minimum energy based fold (direct fold) results in a correct, four helix conformation. If this is not the case, the structure is predicted by homology modeling. In homology modeling, an already known secondary structure is transferred to another ITS2 sequence, whose secondary structure was not able to fold correctly in a direct fold. The ITS2 Database is not only a database for storage and retrieval of ITS2 sequence-structures. It also provides several tools to process your own ITS2 sequences, including annotation, structural prediction, motif detection and BLAST search on the combined sequence-structure information. Moreover, it integrates trimmed versions of 4SALE and ProfDistS for multiple sequence-structure alignment calculation and Neighbor Joining tree reconstruction. Together they form a coherent analysis pipeline from an initial set of sequences to a phylogeny based on sequence and secondary structure. In a nutshell, this workbench simplifies first phylogenetic analyses to only a few mouse-clicks, while additionally providing tools and data for comprehensive large-scale analyses.}, language = {en} } @article{IsaiasVolkmannMarzeganetal.2012, author = {Isaias, Ioannis U. and Volkmann, Jens and Marzegan, Alberto and Marotta, Giorgio and Cavallari, Paolo and Pezzoli, Gianni}, title = {The Influence of Dopaminergic Striatal Innervation on Upper Limb Locomotor Synergies}, series = {PLoS One}, volume = {7}, journal = {PLoS One}, number = {12}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0051464}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-133976}, pages = {e51464}, year = {2012}, abstract = {To determine the role of striatal dopaminergic innervation on upper limb synergies during walking, we measured arm kinematics in 13 subjects with Parkinson disease. Patients were recruited according to several inclusion criteria to represent the best possible in vivo model of dopaminergic denervation. Of relevance, we included only subjects with normal spatio-temporal parameters of the stride and gait speed to avoid an impairment of upper limbs locomotor synergies as a consequence of gait impairment per se. Dopaminergic innervation of the striatum was measured by FP-CIT and SPECT. All patients showed a reduction of gait-associated arms movement. No linear correlation was found between arm ROM reduction and contralateral dopaminergic putaminal innervation loss. Still, a partition analysis revealed a 80\% chance of reduced arm ROM when putaminal dopamine content loss was >47\%. A significant correlation was described between the asymmetry indices of the swinging of the two arms and dopaminergic striatal innervation. When arm ROM was reduced, we found a positive correlation between upper-lower limb phase shift modulation ( at different gait velocities) and striatal dopaminergic innervation. These findings are preliminary evidence that dopaminergic striatal tone plays a modulatory role in upper-limb locomotor synergies and upper-lower limb coupling while walking at different velocities.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Schmidt2012, author = {Schmidt, Gerald}, title = {The Influence of Anticipation and Warnings on Collision Avoidance Behavior of Attentive Drivers}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-73789}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {This thesis deals with collision avoidance. Focus is on the question of under which conditions collision avoidance works well for humans and if drivers can be supported by a Forward Collision Warning (FCW) System when they do not react appropriately. Forward Collision Warning systems work in a way that tries to focus the driver's attention in the direction of the hazard and evoke an avoidance reaction by some sort of alert (e.g., tone or light). Research on these warning systems generally focuses on inattention and distraction as the cause for crashes. If the driver is inattentive, the results of a crash are thought to be worse as the driver's reaction is belated or might not mitigate the crash at all. To ensure effectiveness in the worst case, most of the experiments studying FCW systems have been conducted with visually distracted drivers. Research on the cause and possible countermeasures for crashes of attentive drivers are hardly available, although crash databases and field operational test data show that 40-60\% of the drivers look at the forward scene shortly before they crash. Hence, only a few studies elaborated on ideas about the reasons for crashes with attentive drivers. On the basis of the literature, it is worked out that one reason for delayed avoidance behavior can be an incorrect allocation of attention. It is further elaborated that high level attention processes are strongly influenced by interpretation of the situation and the anticipation of future status. Therefore, it is hypothesized that alert drivers react later when they can not foresee a potential threat or even when they misinterpret the situation. If the lack of threat anticipation or incorrect anticipation is a reason for crashes, a FCW system could be a great help, when the FCW is easily comprehensible. It is hypothesized that a FCW can compensate for missing threat anticipation in the driver. The results of the experiments show that the level of threat anticipation has the largest influence on driver behavior in an imminent crash situation. The results further suggest that FCW systems - especially warnings of audible or haptic modality - can help attentive drivers who do not anticipate a threat or misinterpret a situation. The negative influence of missing or mislead threat anticipation on objective measures was small when the threat appeared suddenly. This is thought to be due to the visual appearance of the introduced threat. It is assumed that this type of stimulus triggers a lower level attentional process, as opposed to a top-down attention process controlled by an anticipatory process. In the other scenario types such a lower level process may not be triggered. An important result of the second study is that (Forward) Collision Warnings have to be learned. Participants with warnings reacted slower than participants without any FCW in the first critical event. Participants with a visual warning reacted particularly slow. Later in the experiment, the probands with warnings were constantly faster than their counterparts without them. Hence, the results of this study suggest that a haptic or audible modality should be used as a primary warning to the driver. The characteristic of visual warnings to draw the visual attention is both a blessing and a curse. It is suggested to use the visual warning component for only a short period of time to attract the driver's attention to the forward scene, but then end the display to not further distract him. Car manufacturers try to avoid as many unnecessary alarms as possible. If driver monitoring would be available, it is often planned to suppress warnings when the driver is looking through the windshield. The results suggest not to do so. If a driver reaches a critical situation represented by a low Time-to-collision (TTC) or a high need to decelerate, he should always get a warning, unless he is already braking or steering. The most important arguments for this are: - Looking at the street does not mean that the driver has the correct situational awareness. - The driver has to learn the meaning of the warning. - The driver will not be annoyed by a warning when the situation is considered critical.}, subject = {Zusammenstoss}, language = {en} } @article{ErmertFinkMorseetal.2012, author = {Ermert, Volker and Fink, Andreas H. and Morse, Andrew P. and Paeth, Heiko}, title = {The Impact of Regional Climate Change on Malaria Risk due to Greenhouse Forcing and Land-Use Changes in Tropical Africa}, series = {Environmental Health Perspectives}, volume = {120}, journal = {Environmental Health Perspectives}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1289/ehp.1103681}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-135562}, pages = {77-84}, year = {2012}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Climate change will probably alter the spread and transmission intensity of malaria in Africa. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we assessed potential changes in the malaria transmission via an integrated weather disease model. METHODS: We simulated mosquito biting rates using the Liverpool Malaria Model (LMM). The input data for the LMM were bias-corrected temperature and precipitation data from the regional model (REMO) on a 0.5 degrees latitude longitude grid. A Plasmodium falciparum infection model expands the LMM simulations to incorporate information on the infection rate among children. Malaria projections were carried out with this integrated weather disease model for 2001 to 2050 according to two climate scenarios that include the effect of anthropogenic land-use and land-cover changes on climate. RESULTS: Model-based estimates for the present climate (1960 to 2000) are consistent with observed data for the spread of malaria in Africa. In the model domain, the regions where malaria is epidemic are located in the Sahel as well as in various highland territories. A decreased spread of malaria over most parts of tropical Africa is projected because of simulated increased surface temperatures and a significant reduction in annual rainfall. However, the likelihood of malaria epidemics is projected to increase in the southern part of the Sahel. In most of East Africa, the intensity of malaria transmission is expected to increase. Projections indicate that highland areas that were formerly unsuitable for malaria will become epidemic, whereas in the lower-altitude regions of the East African highlands, epidemic risk will decrease. CONCLUSIONS: We project that climate changes driven by greenhouse-gas and land-use changes will significantly affect the spread of malaria in tropical Africa well before 2050. The geographic distribution of areas where malaria is epidemic might have to be significantly altered in the coming decades.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Seida2012, author = {Seida, Ahmed Adel}, title = {The Immunomodulatory Role of Endogenous Glucocorticoids in Ovarian Cancer}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-73901}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Ovarian cancer currently causes ~6,000 deaths per year in Germany alone. Since only palliative treatment is available for ovarian carcinomas that have developed resistance against platinum-based chemotherapy and paclitaxel, there is a pressing medical need for the development of new therapeutic approaches. As survival is strongly influenced by immunological parameters, immunotherapeutic strategies appear promising. The research of our group thus aims at overcoming tumour immune escape by counteracting immunosuppressive mechanisms in the tumour microenvironment. In this context, we found that tumour-infiltrating myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) or tumour associated macrophages (TAM) which are abundant in ovarian cancer express high levels of the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase1 (11-HSD1). This oxido-reductase enzyme is essential for the conversion of biologically inactive cortisone into active cortisol. In line with this observation, high endogenous cortisol levels could be detected in serum, ascitic fluid and tumour exudates from ovarian cancer patients. Considering that cortisol exerts strong anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects on immune cells, it appears likely that high endogenous cortisol levels contribute to immune escape in ovarian cancer. We thus hypothesised that local activation of endogenous glucocorticoids could suppress beneficial immune responses in the tumour microenvironment and thereby prevent a successful immunotherapy. To investigate the in vivo relevance of this postulated immune escape mechanism, irradiated PTENloxP/loxP loxP-Stop-loxP-krasG12D mice were reconstituted with hematopoietic stem cells from either glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expressing mice (GRloxP/loxP) or from mice with a T cell-specific glucocorticoid receptor knock-out (lck-Cre GRloxP/loxP) mice. In the host mice, the combination of a conditional PTEN knock-out with a latent oncogenic kras leads to tumour development when a Cre-encoding adenovirus is injected into the ovarian bursa. Using this model, mice that had been reconstituted with GC-insensitive T cells showed better intratumoural T cell infiltration than control mice that had received functionally unaltered GRloxP/loxP cells via adoptive transfer. However, tumour-infiltrating T cells mostly assumed a Foxp3+ (regulatory) phenotype and survival was even shortened in mice with cortisol-insensitive T cells. Thus, endogenous cortisol seems to inhibit immune cell infiltration in ovarian cancer, but productive anti-tumour immune responses might still be prevented by further factors from the tumour microenvironment. Thus, our data did not provide a sufficiently strong rationale to further pursue the antagonisation of glucocorticoid signalling in ovarian cancer patients, Moreover, glucocorticoids are frequently administered to cancer patients to reduce inflammation and swelling and to prevent chemotherapy-related toxic side effects like nausea or hypersensitivity reactions associated with paclitaxel therapy. Thus, we decided to address the question whether specific signalling pathways in innate immune cells, preferentially in NK cells, could still be activated even in the presence of GC. A careful investigation of the various activating NK cell receptors (i.e. NKp30, NKp44, NKp46), DNAM-1 and NKG2D) was thus performed which revealed that NKp30, NKp44 and NKG2D are all down-regulated by cortisol whereas NKp46 is actually induced by cortisol. Interestingly, NKp46 is the only known receptor that is strictly confined to NK cells. Its activation via crosslinking leads to cytokine release and activation of cytotoxic activity. Stimulation of NK cells via NKp46 may contribute to immune-mediated tumour destruction by triggering the lysis of tumour cells and by altering the cytokine pattern in the tumour microenvironment, thereby generating more favourable conditions for the recruitment of antigen-specific immune cells. Accordingly, our observation that even cortisol-treated NK cells can still be activated via NKp46 and CD2 might become valuable for the design of immunotherapies that can still be applied in the presence of endogenous or therapeutically administered glucocorticoids.}, subject = {Cortison}, language = {en} } @article{JaschkeChungHesseetal.2012, author = {Jaschke, Alexander and Chung, Bomee and Hesse, Deike and Kluge, Reinhart and Zahn, Claudia and Moser, Markus and Petzke, Klaus-J{\"u}rgen and Brigelius-Floh{\´e}, Regina and Puchkov, Dmytro and Koepsell, Hermann and Heeren, Joerg and Joost, Hans-Georg and Sch{\"u}rmann, Annette}, title = {The GTPase ARFRP1 controls the lipidation of chylomicrons in the Golgi of the intestinal epithelium}, series = {Human Molecular Genetics}, volume = {21}, journal = {Human Molecular Genetics}, number = {14}, doi = {10.1093/hmg/dds140}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-125658}, pages = {3128-3142}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The uptake and processing of dietary lipids by the small intestine is a multistep process that involves several steps including vesicular and protein transport. The GTPase ADP-ribosylation factor-related protein 1 (ARFRP1) controls the ARF-like 1 (ARL1)-mediated Golgi recruitment of GRIP domain proteins which in turn bind several Rab-GTPases. Here, we describe the essential role of ARFRP1 and its interaction with Rab2 in the assembly and lipidation of chylomicrons in the intestinal epithelium. Mice lacking Arfrp1 specifically in the intestine \((Arfrp1^{vil-/-})\) exhibit an early post-natal growth retardation with reduced plasma triacylglycerol and free fatty acid concentrations. \(Arfrp1^{vil-/-}\) enterocytes as well as Arfrp1 mRNA depleted Caco-2 cells absorbed fatty acids normally but secreted chylomicrons with a markedly reduced triacylglycerol content. In addition, the release of apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) was dramatically decreased, and ApoA-I accumulated in the \(Arfrp1^{vil-/-}\) epithelium, where it predominantly co-localized with Rab2. The release of chylomicrons from Caco-2 was markedly reduced after the suppression of Rab2, ARL1 and Golgin-245. Thus, the GTPase ARFRP1 and its downstream proteins are required for the lipidation of chylo­microns and the assembly of ApoA-I to these particles in the Golgi of intestinal epithelial cells.}, language = {en} } @article{FrankeFaraoneAshersonetal.2012, author = {Franke, B. and Faraone, S. V. and Asherson, P. and Buitelaar, J. and Bau, C. H. D. and Ramos-Quiroga, J. A. and Mick, E. and Grevet, E. H. and Johansson, S. and Haavik, J. and Lesch, K.-P. and Cormand, B. and Reif, A.}, title = {The genetics of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults, a review}, series = {Molecular Psychiatry}, volume = {17}, journal = {Molecular Psychiatry}, doi = {10.1038/mp.2011.138}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-124677}, pages = {960-987}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The adult form of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (aADHD) has a prevalence of up to 5\% and is the most severe long-term outcome of this common neurodevelopmental disorder. Family studies in clinical samples suggest an increased familial liability for aADHD compared with childhood ADHD (cADHD), whereas twin studies based on self-rated symptoms in adult population samples show moderate heritability estimates of 30-40\%. However, using multiple sources of information, the heritability of clinically diagnosed aADHD and cADHD is very similar. Results of candidate gene as well as genome-wide molecular genetic studies in aADHD samples implicate some of the same genes involved in ADHD in children, although in some cases different alleles and different genes may be responsible for adult versus childhood ADHD. Linkage studies have been successful in identifying loci for aADHD and led to the identification of LPHN3 and CDH13 as novel genes associated with ADHD across the lifespan. In addition, studies of rare genetic variants have identified probable causative mutations for aADHD. Use of endophenotypes based on neuropsychology and neuroimaging, as well as next-generation genome analysis and improved statistical and bioinformatic analysis methods hold the promise of identifying additional genetic variants involved in disease etiology. Large, international collaborations have paved the way for well-powered studies. Progress in identifying aADHD risk genes may provide us with tools for the prediction of disease progression in the clinic and better treatment, and ultimately may help to prevent persistence of ADHD into adulthood.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Koetschan2012, author = {Koetschan, Christian}, title = {The Eukaryotic ITS2 Database - A workbench for modelling RNA sequence-structure evolution}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-73128}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {In den vergangenen Jahren etablierte sich der Marker „internal transcribed spacer 2" (ITS2) zu einem h{\"a}ufig genutzten Werkzeug in der molekularen Phylogenetik der Eukaryoten. Seine schnell evolvierende Sequenz eignet sich bestens f{\"u}r den Einsatz in niedrigeren phylogenetischen Ebenen. Die ITS2 faltet jedoch auch in eine sehr konservierte Sekund{\"a}rstruktur. Diese erm{\"o}glicht die Unterscheidung weit entfernter Arten. Eine Kombination aus beiden in einer Sequenzstrukturanalyse verbessert die Aufl{\"o}sung des Markers und erm{\"o}glicht die Rekonstruktion von robusteren B{\"a}umen auf h{\"o}herer taxonomischer Breite. Jedoch war die Durchf{\"u}hrung solch einer Analyse, die die Nutzung unterschiedlichster Programme und Datenbanken vorraussetzte, f{\"u}r den klassischen Biologen nicht einfach durchf{\"u}hrbar. Um diese H{\"u}rde zu umgehen, habe ich den „ITS2 Workbench" entwickelt, eine im Internet nutzbare Arbeitsplattform zur automatisierten sequenzstrukturbasierten phylogenetischen Analyse basierend auf der ITS2 (http://its2.bioapps.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de). Die Entwicklung begann mit der L{\"a}ngenoptimierung unterschiedlicher „Hidden Markov Model" (HMM)-Topologien, die erfolgreich auf ein Modell zur Sequenzstrukturvorhersage der ITS2 angewandt wurden. Hierbei wird durch die Analyse von Sequenzbestandteilen in Kombination mit der L{\"a}ngenverteilung verschiedener Helixregionen die Struktur vorhergesagt. Anschließend konnte ich HMMs auch bei der Sequenzstrukturgenerierung einsetzen um die ITS2 innerhalb einer gegebenen Sequenz zu lokalisieren. Dieses neu implementierte Verfahren verdoppelte die Anzahl vorhergesagter Strukturen und verk{\"u}rzte die Laufzeit auf wenige Tage. Zusammen mit weiteren Optimierungen des Homologiemodellierungsprozesses kann ich nun ersch{\"o}pfend Sekund{\"a}rstrukturen in mehreren Interationen vorhersagen. Diese Optimierungen liefern derzeit 380.000 annotierte Sequenzen einschließlich 288.000 Strukturvorhersagen. Um diese Strukturen f{\"u}r die Berechnung von Alignments und phylogenetischen B{\"a}umen zu verwenden hab ich das R-Paket „treeforge" entwickelt. Es erm{\"o}glicht die Generierung von Sequenzstrukturalignments auf bis zu vier unterschiedlich kodierten Alphabeten. Damit k{\"o}nnen erstmals auch strukturelle Basenpaarungen in die Alignmentberechnung mit einbezogen werden, die eine Sch{\"a}tzung neuer Scorematrizen vorraussetzten. Das R-Paket erm{\"o}glicht zus{\"a}tzlich die Rekonstruktion von „Maximum Parsimony", „Maximum Likelihood" und „Neighbour Joining" B{\"a}umen auf allen vier Alphabeten mittels weniger Zeilen Programmcode. Das Paket wurde eingesetzt, um die noch umstrittene Phylogenie der „chlorophyceae" zu rekonstruieren und k{\"o}nnte in zuk{\"u}nftigen Versionen des ITS2 workbench verwendet werden. Die ITS2 Plattform basiert auf einer modernen und sehr umfangreichen Web 2.0 Oberfl{\"a}che und beinhaltet neuste AJAX und Web-Service Technologien. Sie umfasst die HMM basierte Sequenzannotation, Strukturvorhersage durch Energieminimierung bzw. Homologiemodellierung, Alignmentberechnung und Baumrekonstruktion basierend auf einem flexiblen Datenpool, der {\"A}nderungen am Datensatz automatisch aktualisiert. Zus{\"a}tzlich wird eine Detektion von Sequenzmotiven erm{\"o}glicht, die zur Kontrolle von Annotation und Strukturvorhersage dienen kann. Eine BLAST basierte Suche auf Sequenz- und Strukturebene bietet zus{\"a}tzlich eine Vereinfachung des Taxonsamplings. Alle Funktionen sowie die Nutzung der ITS2 Webseite sind in einer kurzen Videoanleitung dargestellt. Die Plattform l{\"a}sst jedoch nur eine bestimmte Gr{\"o}ße von Datens{\"a}tzen zu. Dies liegt vor allem an der erheblichen Rechenleistung, die bei diesen Berechnungen ben{\"o}tigt wird. Um die Funktion dieses Verfahrens auch auf großen Datenmengen zu demonstrieren, wurde eine voll automatisierte Rekonstruktion des Gr{\"u}nalgenbaumes (Chlorophyta) durchgef{\"u}hrt. Diese erfolgreiche, auf dem ITS2 Marker basierende Studie spricht f{\"u}r die Sequenz-Strukturanalyse auf weiteren Daten in der Phylogenetik. Hier bietet der ITS2 Workbench den idealen Ausgangspunkt.}, subject = {Ribosomale RNA}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Waider2012, author = {Waider, Jonas}, title = {The effects of serotonin deficiency in mice: Focus on the GABAergic system}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-74565}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Based on genetic association and functional imaging studies, reduced function of tryptophan hydroxylase-2 (TPH2) has been shown to be critically involved in the pathophysiology of anxiety-disorders and depression. In order to elucidate the impact of a complete neuronal 5-HT deficiency, mice with a targeted inactivation of the gene encoding Tph2 were generated. Interestingly, survival of Tph2-/- mice, the formation of serotonergic neurons and the pathfinding of their projections was not impaired. Within this thesis, I investigated the influence of 5-HT deficiency on the γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) system. The GABAergic system is implicated in the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders. Therefore, measurement of GABA concentrations in different limbic brain regions was carried out. These measurements were combined with immunohistochemical estimation of GABAergic cell subpopulations in the dorsal hippocampus and amygdala. In Tph2-/- mice GABA concentrations were increased exclusively in the dorsal hippocampus. In heterozygous Tph2+/- mice concentrations of GABA were increased in the amygdala compared to Tph2-/- and wt control mice, while the reverse was found in the prefrontal cortex. The changes in GABA concentrations were accompanied by altered cell density of GABAergic neurons within the basolateral complex of the amygdala and parvalbumin (PV) neurons of the dorsal hippocampus and by adaptational changes of 5-HT receptors. Thus, adaptive changes during the development on the GABA system may reflect altered anxiety-like and depressive-like behavior in adulthood. Moreover, chronic mild stress (CMS) rescues the depressive-like effects induced by 5-HT deficiency. In contrast, 5-HT is important in mediating an increased innate anxiety-like behavior under CMS conditions. This is in line with a proposed dual role of 5-HT acting through different mechanisms on anxiety and depressive-like behavior, which is influenced by gene-environment interaction effects. Further research is needed to disentangle these complex networks in the future.}, subject = {Knockout }, language = {en} } @article{JinAllisonKaufmannetal.2012, author = {Jin, Jing and Allison, Brendan Z. and Kaufmann, Tobias and K{\"u}bler, Andrea and Zhang, Yu and Wang, Xingyu and Cichocki, Andrzej}, title = {The Changing Face of P300 BCIs: A Comparison of Stimulus Changes in a P300 BCI Involving Faces, Emotion, and Movement}, series = {PLoS One}, volume = {7}, journal = {PLoS One}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0049688}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-134173}, pages = {e49688}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background: One of the most common types of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) is called a P300 BCI, since it relies on the P300 and other event-related potentials (ERPs). In the canonical P300 BCI approach, items on a monitor flash briefly to elicit the necessary ERPs. Very recent work has shown that this approach may yield lower performance than alternate paradigms in which the items do not flash but instead change in other ways, such as moving, changing colour or changing to characters overlaid with faces. Methodology/Principal Findings: The present study sought to extend this research direction by parametrically comparing different ways to change items in a P300 BCI. Healthy subjects used a P300 BCI across six different conditions. Three conditions were similar to our prior work, providing the first direct comparison of characters flashing, moving, and changing to faces. Three new conditions also explored facial motion and emotional expression. The six conditions were compared across objective measures such as classification accuracy and bit rate as well as subjective measures such as perceived difficulty. In line with recent studies, our results indicated that the character flash condition resulted in the lowest accuracy and bit rate. All four face conditions (mean accuracy >91\%) yielded significantly better performance than the flash condition (mean accuracy = 75\%). Conclusions/Significance: Objective results reaffirmed that the face paradigm is superior to the canonical flash approach that has dominated P300 BCIs for over 20 years. The subjective reports indicated that the conditions that yielded better performance were not considered especially burdensome. Therefore, although further work is needed to identify which face paradigm is best, it is clear that the canonical flash approach should be replaced with a face paradigm when aiming at increasing bit rate. However, the face paradigm has to be further explored with practical applications particularly with locked-in patients.}, language = {en} } @article{RamachandranShearerJacobetal.2012, author = {Ramachandran, Vinoy K. and Shearer, Neil and Jacob, Jobin J. and Sharma, Cynthia M. and Thompson, Arthur}, title = {The architecture and ppGpp-dependent expression of the primary transcriptome of Salmonella Typhimurium during invasion gene expression}, series = {BMC Genomics}, volume = {13}, journal = {BMC Genomics}, number = {25}, doi = {10.1186/1471-2164-13-25}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130625}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background: Invasion of intestinal epithelial cells by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) requires expression of the extracellular virulence gene expression programme (STEX), activation of which is dependent on the signalling molecule guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp). Recently, next-generation transcriptomics (RNA-seq) has revealed the unexpected complexity of bacterial transcriptomes and in this report we use differential RNA sequencing (dRNA-seq) to define the high-resolution transcriptomic architecture of wildtype S. Typhimurium and a ppGpp null strain under growth conditions which model STEX. In doing so we show that ppGpp plays a much wider role in regulating the S. Typhimurium STEX primary transcriptome than previously recognised. Results: Here we report the precise mapping of transcriptional start sites (TSSs) for 78\% of the S. Typhimurium open reading frames (ORFs). The TSS mapping enabled a genome-wide promoter analysis resulting in the prediction of 169 alternative sigma factor binding sites, and the prediction of the structure of 625 operons. We also report the discovery of 55 new candidate small RNAs (sRNAs) and 302 candidate antisense RNAs (asRNAs). We discovered 32 ppGpp-dependent alternative TSSs and determined the extent and level of ppGpp-dependent coding and non-coding transcription. We found that 34\% and 20\% of coding and non-coding RNA transcription respectively was ppGpp-dependent under these growth conditions, adding a further dimension to the role of this remarkable small regulatory molecule in enabling rapid adaptation to the infective environment. Conclusions: The transcriptional architecture of S. Typhimurium and finer definition of the key role ppGpp plays in regulating Salmonella coding and non-coding transcription should promote the understanding of gene regulation in this important food borne pathogen and act as a resource for future research.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Schelter2012, author = {Schelter, J{\"o}rg}, title = {The Aharonov-Bohm effect and resonant scattering in graphene}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-74662}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {In this thesis, the electronic transport properties of mesoscopic condensed matter systems based on graphene are investigated by means of numerical as well as analytical methods. In particular, it is analyzed how the concepts of quantum interference and disorder, which are essential to mesoscopic devices in general, are affected by the unique electronic and transport properties of the graphene material system. We consider the famous Aharonov-Bohm effect in ring-shaped transport geometries, and, besides providing an overview over the recent developments on the subject, we study the signatures of fundamental phenomena such as Klein tunneling and specular Andreev reflection, which are specific to graphene, in the magnetoconductance oscillations. To this end, we introduce and utilize a variant of the well-known recursive Green's function technique, which is an efficient numerical method for the calculation of transport observables in effectively non-interacting open quantum systems in the framework of a tight binding model. This technique is also applied to study the effects of a specific kind of disorder, namely short-range resonant scatterers, such as strongly bound adatoms or molecules, that can be modeled as vacancies in the graphene lattice. This numerical analysis of the conductance in the presence of resonant scatterers in graphene leads to a non-trivial classification of impurity sites in the graphene lattice and is further substantiated by an independent analytical treatment in the framework of the Dirac equation. The present thesis further contains a formal introduction to the topic of non-equilibrium quantum transport as appropriate for the development of the numerical technique mentioned above, a general introduction to the physics of graphene with a focus on the particular phenomena investigated in this work, and a conclusion where the obtained results are summarized and open questions as well as potential future developments are highlighted.}, subject = {Graphen}, language = {en} } @article{PilsKoppPetersonetal.2012, author = {Pils, Stefan and Kopp, Kathrin and Peterson, Lisa and Tascon, Julia Delgado and Nyffenegger-Jann, Naja J. and Hauck, Christof R.}, title = {The Adaptor Molecule Nck Localizes the WAVE Complex to Promote Actin Polymerization during CEACAM3-Mediated Phagocytosis of Bacteria}, series = {PLoS One}, volume = {7}, journal = {PLoS One}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0032808}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-131747}, pages = {e32808}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background: CEACAM3 is a granulocyte receptor mediating the opsonin-independent recognition and phagocytosis of human-restricted CEACAM-binding bacteria. CEACAM3 function depends on an intracellular immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM)-like sequence that is tyrosine phosphorylated by Src family kinases upon receptor engagement. The phosphorylated ITAM-like sequence triggers GTP-loading of Rac by directly associating with the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) Vav. Rac stimulation in turn is critical for actin cytoskeleton rearrangements that generate lamellipodial protrusions and lead to bacterial uptake. Principal Findings: In our present study we provide biochemical and microscopic evidence that the adaptor proteins Nck1 and Nck2, but not CrkL, Grb2 or SLP-76, bind to tyrosine phosphorylated CEACAM3. The association is phosphorylation-dependent and requires the Nck SH2 domain. Overexpression of the isolated Nck1 SH2 domain, RNAi-mediated knock-down of Nck1, or genetic deletion of Nck1 and Nck2 interfere with CEACAM3-mediated bacterial internalization and with the formation of lamellipodial protrusions. Nck is constitutively associated with WAVE2 and directs the actin nucleation promoting WAVE complex to tyrosine phosphorylated CEACAM3. In turn, dominant-negative WAVE2 as well as shRNA-mediated knock-down of WAVE2 or the WAVE-complex component Nap1 reduce internalization of bacteria. Conclusions: Our results provide novel mechanistic insight into CEACAM3-initiated phagocytosis. We suggest that the CEACAM3 ITAM-like sequence is optimized to co-ordinate a minimal set of cellular factors needed to efficiently trigger actin-based lamellipodial protrusions and rapid pathogen engulfment.}, language = {en} } @article{SamimiFinkPaeth2012, author = {Samimi, C. and Fink, A. H. and Paeth, H.}, title = {The 2007 flood in the Sahel: causes, characteristics and its presentation in the media and FEWS NET}, series = {Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences}, volume = {12}, journal = {Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences}, number = {2}, doi = {10.5194/nhess-12-313-2012}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-131790}, pages = {313 -- 325}, year = {2012}, abstract = {During the rainy season in 2007, reports about exceptional rains and floodings in the Sahel were published in the media, especially in August and September. Institutions and organizations like the World Food Programme (WFP) and FEWS NET put the events on the agenda and released alerts and requested help. The partly controversial picture was that most of the Sahel faced a crisis caused by widespread floodings. Our study shows that the rainy season in 2007 was exceptional with regard to rainfall amount and return periods. In many areas the event had a return period between 1 and 50 yr with high spatial heterogeneity, with the exception of the Upper Volta basin, which yielded return periods of up to 1200 yr. Despite the strong rainfall, the interpretation of satellite images show that the floods were mainly confined to lakes and river beds. However, the study also proves the difficulties in assessing the meteorological processes and the demarcation of flooded areas in satellite images without ground truthing. These facts and the somewhat vague and controversial reports in the media and FEWS NET demonstrate that it is crucial to thoroughly analyze such events at a regional and local scale involving the local population.}, language = {en} } @article{RadermacherWinglerKleikersetal.2012, author = {Radermacher, Kim A. and Wingler, Kirstin and Kleikers, Pamela and Altenh{\"o}fer, Sebastian and Hermans, Johannes J. R. and Kleinschnitz, Christoph and Schmidt, Harald H. H. W.}, title = {The 1027th target candidate in stroke: Will NADPH oxidase hold up?}, series = {Experimental and Translational Stroke Medicine}, volume = {4}, journal = {Experimental and Translational Stroke Medicine}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1186/2040-7378-4-11}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-124197}, year = {2012}, abstract = {As recently reviewed, 1026 neuroprotective drug candidates in stroke research have all failed on their road towards validation and clinical translation, reasons being quality issues in preclinical research and publication bias. Quality control guidelines for preclinical stroke studies have now been established. However, sufficient understanding of the underlying mechanisms of neuronal death after stroke that could be possibly translated into new therapies is lacking. One exception is the hypothesis that cellular death is mediated by oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is defined as an excess of reactive oxygen species (ROS) derived from different possible enzymatic sources. Among these, NADPH oxidases (NOX1-5) stand out as they represent the only known enzyme family that has no other function than to produce ROS. Based on data from different NOX knockout mouse models in ischemic stroke, the most relevant isoform appears to be NOX4. Here we discuss the state-of-the-art of this target with respect to stroke and open questions that need to be addressed on the path towards clinical translation.}, language = {en} } @article{JainJavdanFegeretal.2012, author = {Jain, Preetesh and Javdan, Mohammad and Feger, Franziska K. and Chiu, Pui Yan and Sison, Cristina and Damle, Rajendra N. and Bhuiya, Tawfiqul A. and Sen, Filiz and Abruzzo, Lynne V. and Burger, Jan A. and Rosenwald, Andreas and Allen, Steven L. and Kolitz, Jonathan E. and Rai, Kanti R. and Chiorazzi, Nicholas and Sherry, Barbara}, title = {Th17 and non-Th17 interleukin-17-expressing cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: delineation, distribution, and clinical relevance}, series = {Haematologica}, volume = {97}, journal = {Haematologica}, number = {4}, doi = {10.3324/haematol.2011.047316}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-131290}, pages = {599 - 607}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Background The levels and clinical relevance of Th17 cells and other interleukin-17-producing cells have not been analyzed in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The objective of this study was to quantify blood and tissue levels of Th17 and other interleukin-17-producing cells in patients with this disease and correlate blood levels with clinical outcome. Design and Methods: Intracellular interleukin-17A was assessed in blood and splenic mononuclear cells from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and healthy subjects using flow cytometry. Interleukin-17A-producing cells were analyzed in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded spleen and lymph node sections using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. Results: The absolute numbers of Th17 cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and the percentages of Th17 cells in spleen cell suspensions were higher in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia than in healthy subjects; in six out of eight paired chronic lymphocytic leukemia blood and spleen sample comparisons, Th17 cells were enriched in spleen suspensions. Circulating Th17 levels correlated with better prognostic markers and longer overall survival of the patients. Two "non-Th17" interleukin-17-expressing cells were identified in chronic lymphocytic leukemia spleens: proliferating cells of the granulocytic lineage and mature mast cells. Granulocytes and mast cells in normal spleens did not express interleukin-17. Conversely, both chronic lymphocytic leukemia and healthy lymph nodes contained similar numbers of interleukin-17+ mast cells as well as Th17 cells. Conclusions: Th17 cells are elevated in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients with better prognostic markers and correlate with longer survival. Furthermore, non-Th17 interleukin-17A-expressing cells exist in chronic lymphocytic leukemia spleens as maturing granulocytes and mature mast cells, suggesting that the microenvironmental milieu in leukemic spleens promotes the recruitment and/or expansion of Th17 and other IL-17-expressing cells. The pathophysiology of Th17 and non-Th17-interleukin-producing cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and their distributions and roles in this disease merit further study.}, language = {en} } @article{HommersLewandEhrmann2012, author = {Hommers, Wilfried and Lewand, Martin and Ehrmann, Dominic}, title = {Testing the moral algebra of two Kohlbergian informers}, series = {Ps{\´i}cologica}, volume = {33}, journal = {Ps{\´i}cologica}, number = {3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-133917}, pages = {515-532}, year = {2012}, abstract = {This paper seeks to unify two major theories of moral judgment: Kohlberg's stage theory and Anderson's moral information integration theory. Subjects were told about thoughts of actors in Kohlberg's classic altruistic Heinz dilemma and in a new egoistical dilemma. These actors's thoughts represented Kohlberg's stages I (Personal Risk) and IV (Societal Risk) and had three levels, High, Medium, and Low. They were presented singly and in a 3 x 3 integration design. Subjects judged how many months of prison the actor deserved. The data supported the averaging model of moral integration theory, whereas Kohlberg's theory has no way to handle the integration problem. Following this, subjects ranked statements related to Kohlberg's first four stages in a procedure similar to that of Rest (1975). Higher score went with larger effect of Societal Risk as predicted by Kohlberg's theory. But contrary to Kohlberg's theory, no age trends were found. Also strongly contrary to Kohlberg's theory, effects of Personal Risk (Stage I) and Societal Risk (Stage IV) correlated positively.}, language = {en} } @article{HintzscheJastrowKleineOstmannetal.2012, author = {Hintzsche, Henning and Jastrow, Christian and Kleine-Ostmann, Thomas and K{\"a}rst, Uwe and Schrader, Thorsten and Stopper, Helga}, title = {Terahertz electromagnetic fields (0.106 THz) do not induce manifest genomic damage in vitro}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-76268}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Terahertz electromagnetic fields are non-ionizing electromagnetic fields in the frequency range from 0.1 to 10 THz. Potential applications of these electromagnetic fields include the whole body scanners, which currently apply millimeter waves just below the terahertz range, but future scanners will use higher frequencies in the terahertz range. These and other applications will bring along human exposure to these fields. Up to now, only a limited number of investigations on biological effects of terahertz electromagnetic fields have been performed. Therefore, research is strongly needed to enable reliable risk assessment. Cells were exposed for 2 h, 8 h, and 24 h with different power intensities ranging from 0.04 mW/cm2 to 2 mW/cm2, representing levels below, at, and above current safety limits. Genomic damage on the chromosomal level was measured as micronucleus formation. DNA strand breaks and alkali-labile sites were quantified with the comet assay. No DNA strand breaks or alkali-labile sites were observed as a consequence of exposure to terahertz electromagnetic fields in the comet assay. The fields did not cause chromosomal damage in the form of micronucleus induction.}, subject = {Toxikologie}, language = {en} } @article{TempelVeitAssmannetal.2012, author = {Tempel, Jean-Sebastian and Veit, Tempel and Assmann, Marc and Kreilkamp, Lars Erik and H{\"o}fling, Sven and Kamp, Martin and Forchel, Alfred and Bayer, Manfred}, title = {Temperature dependence of pulsed polariton lasing in a GaAs microcavity}, series = {New Journal of Physics}, volume = {14}, journal = {New Journal of Physics}, number = {083014}, doi = {10.1088/1367-2630/14/8/083014}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-134022}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The second-order correlation function g\(^2\)(\(\tau\) = 0), input-output curves and pulse duration of the emission from a microcavity exciton-polariton system subsequent to picosecond-pulsed excitation are measured for different temperatures. At low temperatures a two-threshold behaviour emerges, which has been attributed to the onset of polariton lasing and conventional lasing at the first and the second threshold, respectively. We observe that polariton lasing is stable up to temperatures comparable with the exciton binding energy. At higher temperatures a single threshold displays the direct transition from thermal emission to photon lasing.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Hormann2012, author = {Hormann, Tanja}, title = {TDM und geschlechtsspezifische Langzeitbeobachtung ATV- und LPV-beinhaltender Therapieregime in der Behandlung HIV-positiver Patienten}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-73603}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Diese Arbeit befasste sich mit der Analyse geschlechtsspezifischer Besonder-heiten des Metabolismus von Proteaseinhibitoren. Insbesondere wurde auf die Pharmakokinetik des ATV und LPV eingegangen, außerdem wurden die Dosierungen der Medikamente, die Wirksamkeit und die Nebenwirkungen untersucht. Hierzu waren n=152 HIV-positive Patienten eingeschlossen, wovon n=96 Patienten mit LPV therapiert wurden; n=56 nahmen ATV ein. Insgesamt waren n=127 Probanden (83,55\%) m{\"a}nnlich und n=25 (16,45\%) weiblich. Die Studie wurde im Sinne einer retrospektiven L{\"a}ngsschnittuntersuchung durchgef{\"u}hrt. Es ließen sich bei beiden PIs keine Unterschiede der Plasmaspiegel der M{\"a}nner und Frauen ausmachen. Ebenfalls waren im Langzeitverlauf keine signifikanten Schwankungen der Spiegel beider Geschlechter zu beobachten. Die interindividuelle Schwankung betrug bei der ATV-Beobachtung 22,1\% (M{\"a}nner) und 51,4\% (Frauen) und bei der LPV-Studie 13,2\% (M{\"a}nner) und 30,1\% (Frauen). Die intraindividuelle Schwankung war h{\"o}her und ergab beim ATV-Kollektiv 57,7\% (M{\"a}nnern) und 39,7\% (Frauen) und beim LPV-Arm 42,8\% (M{\"a}nner) und 41,4\% (Frauen). Im Vergleich der Geschlechter ließ sich sowohl im ATV- als auch im LPV-Kollektiv bei beiden Geschlechtern die mittlere Dosis pro Kilogramm K{\"o}rperge-wicht nicht signifikant mit den Plasmaspiegeln korrelieren. In der ATV-Beobachtung erhalten die Frauen signifikant niedrigere Dosierungen (p=0,000*), im Gegensatz zu der LPV-Beobachtung, in der die Frauen signifikant h{\"o}here Dosierung (p=0,000*) bekommen. Die Wirksamkeit wurde zum einen durch den Abfall der Viruslast bestimmt. Hier ließ sich ein wesentlicher (p=0,000*) Abfall nach einem Monat bei ATV und LPV beobachten. Zum anderen war der Anstieg der CD4-Zellen im ATV-Kollektiv bei den M{\"a}nnern zu beobachten (p=0,000*). Im LPV-Kollektiv stiegen sie innerhalb eines Monats bei beiden Geschlechtern signifikant (p=0,000*) an. Das Bilirubin stieg bei der ATV-Beobachtung innerhalb eines Monats signifikant (p=0,000*) an und wies bei beiden Geschlechtern eine wesentliche Korrelation mit den Plasmaspiegeln auf, mit einem p-Wert von 0,017* f{\"u}r die M{\"a}nner und einem p-Wert von 0,000* f{\"u}r die Frauen. Die GOT- und GPT-Studie zeigte hinsichtlich der Langzeitbeobachtung und der Korrelation mit den Spiegeln bei keinem Medikament eine Auff{\"a}lligkeit. Die Beobachtung der gGT-Werte ergab einen signifikanten Abfall der Werte nach sechs Monaten beim ATV-Kollektiv (0,025*). Das HDL stieg nach drei Monaten bei der ATV-Gruppe signifikant an (p=0,000*), sowie bei der LPV-Gruppe nach einem Monat (p=0,000*). Beim LDL verhielt sich der Anstieg {\"a}hnlich, hier gab es beim ATV nach drei Monaten einen p-Wert von 0,008* und beim LPV nach einem Monat einen von 0,033*. Außerdem verhielt sich bei der LPV-Beobachtung die Korrelation der LDL-Werte der Frauen mit den LPV-Spiegeln signifikant (p=0,012*). Ebenfalls ließen sich beim TRG wesentliche Anstiege verzeichnen, so war die-ses Ergebnis beim ATV nach sechs Monaten mit einem p-Wert von 0,030* und beim LPV nach einem Monat mit einem p-Wert von 0,000* zu beweisen. Das Cholesterin stieg bei der LPV-Beobachtung innerhalb eines Monats signifi-kant an (p=0,000) und war auch bei den Frauen wesentlich mit den Plas-maspiegeln zu korrelieren (p=0,013*). Insgesamt waren nur bei drei der oben genannten Kategorien Unterschiede zwischen den Geschlechtern zu beobachten. Dies waren zum einen die CD4-Zellen, denn hier ergab sich bei den M{\"a}nnern eine signifikant h{\"o}here Anzahl (p=0,038*). Weiterhin war der Bilirubinwert der M{\"a}nner h{\"o}her als der der Frau-en (p=0,000*). Zuletzt wiesen die M{\"a}nner auch einen h{\"o}heren TRG-Wert auf (p=0,009*). Schlussfolgernd ist die Aussage m{\"o}glich, dass sich in dieser Langzeitbeobach-tung geschlechtsspezifische Unterschiede zwischen M{\"a}nnern und Frauen bez{\"u}glich der ATV- und LPV-Plasmaspiegel ausschließen lassen. Weiterhin ist auch im Langzeitverlauf kein signifikanter Unterschied zwischen M{\"a}nnern und Frauen im Ansprechen auf die Therapie oder in der H{\"a}ufigkeit von unerw{\"u}nschten Ereignissen w{\"a}hrend der Therapie zu beobachten.}, subject = {HIV}, language = {de} } @article{HeisigWeberEnglbergeretal.2012, author = {Heisig, Julia and Weber, David and Englberger, Eva and Winkler, Anja and Kneitz, Susanne and Sung, Wing-Kin and Wolf, Elmar and Eilers, Martin and Wei, Chia-Lin and Gessler, Manfred}, title = {Target Gene Analysis by Microarrays and Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Identifies HEY Proteins as Highly Redundant bHLH Repressors}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-75341}, year = {2012}, abstract = {HEY bHLH transcription factors have been shown to regulate multiple key steps in cardiovascular development. They can be induced by activated NOTCH receptors, but other upstream stimuli mediated by TGFß and BMP receptors may elicit a similar response. While the basic and helix-loop-helix domains exhibit strong similarity, large parts of the proteins are still unique and may serve divergent functions. The striking overlap of cardiac defects in HEY2 and combined HEY1/HEYL knockout mice suggested that all three HEY genes fulfill overlapping function in target cells. We therefore sought to identify target genes for HEY proteins by microarray expression and ChIPseq analyses in HEK293 cells, cardiomyocytes, and murine hearts. HEY proteins were found to modulate expression of their target gene to a rather limited extent, but with striking functional interchangeability between HEY factors. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed a much greater number of potential binding sites that again largely overlap between HEY factors. Binding sites are clustered in the proximal promoter region especially of transcriptional regulators or developmental control genes. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that HEY proteins primarily act as direct transcriptional repressors, while gene activation seems to be due to secondary or indirect effects. Mutagenesis of putative DNA binding residues supports the notion of direct DNA binding. While class B E-box sequences (CACGYG) clearly represent preferred target sequences, there must be additional and more loosely defined modes of DNA binding since many of the target promoters that are efficiently bound by HEY proteins do not contain an Ebox motif. These data clearly establish the three HEY bHLH factors as highly redundant transcriptional repressors in vitro and in vivo, which explains the combinatorial action observed in different tissues with overlapping expression.}, subject = {Biologie}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Boyanova2012, author = {Boyanova, Desislava Veselinova}, title = {Systems biological analysis of the platelet proteome and applications of functional module search in proteome networks}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-72165}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Recent development of proteomic approaches and generation of large-scale proteomic datasets calls for new methods for biological interpretation of the obtained results. Systems biological approaches such as integrated network analysis and functional module search have become an essential part of proteomic investigation. Proteomics is especially applied in anucleate cells such as platelets. The underlying molecular mechanisms of platelet activation and their pharmacological modulation are of immense importance for clinical research. Advances in platelet proteomics have provided a large amount of proteomic data, which has not yet been comprehensively investigated in a systems biological perspective. To this end, I assembled platelet specific data from proteomic and transcriptomic studies by detailed manual curation and worked on the generation of a comprehensive human platelet repository for systems biological analysis of platelets in the functional context of integrated networks (PlateletWeb) (http:/PlateletWeb.bioapps.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de). I also added platelet-specific experimentally validated phosphorylation data and generated kinase predictions for 80\% of the newly identified platelet phosphosites. The combination of drug, disease and pathway information with phosphorylation and interaction data makes this database the first integrative platelet platform available for platelet research. PlateletWeb contains more than 5000 platelet proteins, which can also be analyzed and visualized in a network context, allowing identification of all major signaling modules involved in platelet activation and inhibition. Using the wealth of integrated data I performed a series of platelet-specific analyses regarding the platelet proteome, pathways, drug targets and novel platelet phosphorylation events involved in crucial signaling events. I analyzed the statistical enrichment of known pathways for platelet proteins and identified endocytosis as a highly represented pathway in platelets. Further results revealed that highly connected platelet proteins are more often targeted by drugs. Using integrated network analysis offered by PlateletWeb, I analyzed the crucial activation signaling pathway of adenosine diphosphate (ADP), visualizing how the signal flow from receptors to effectors is maintained. My work on integrin inside-out signaling was also based on the integrated network approach and examined new platelet-specific phosphorylation sites and their regulation using kinase predictions. I generated hypothesis on integrin signaling, by investigating the regulation of Ser269 phosphorylation site on the docking protein 1 (DOK1). This phosphorylation site may influence the inhibiting effect of DOK1 on integrin a2bb3. Extending the integrated network approach to further cell lines, I used the assembled human interactome information for the analysis of functional modules in cellular networks. The investigation was performed with a previously developed module detection algorithm, which finds maximum-scoring subgraphs in transcriptomic datasets by using assigned values to the network nodes. We extended the algorithm to qualitative proteomic datasets and enhanced the module search by adding functional information to the network edges to concentrate the solution onto modules with high functional similarity. I performed a series of analyses to validate its performance in small-sized (virus-infected gastric cells) and medium-sized networks (human lymphocytes). In both cases the algorithm extracted characteristic modules of sample proteins with high functional similarity. The functional module search is especially useful in site-specific phosphoproteomic datasets, where kinase regulation of the detected sites is often sparse or lacking. Therefore, I used the module detection algorithm in quantitative phosphoproteomic datasets. In a platelet phosphorylation dataset, I presented a pipeline for network analysis of detected phosphorylation sites. In a second approach, the functional module detecting algorithm was used on a phosphoproteome network of human embryonic stem cells, in which nodes represented the maximally changing phosphorylation sites in the experiment. Additional kinases from the human phosphoproteome in PlateletWeb were included to the network to investigate the regulation of the signal flow. Results indicated important phosphorylation sites and their upstream kinases and explained changes observed in embryonic stem cells during differentiation. This work presents novel approaches for integrated network analysis in cells and introduces for the first time a systematic biological investigation of the human platelet proteome based on the platelet-specific knowledge base PlateletWeb. The extended methods for optimized functional module detection offer an invaluable tool for exploring proteomic datasets and covering gaps in complex large-scale data analysis. By combining exact module detection approaches with functional information data between interacting proteins, characteristic functional modules with high functional resemblance can be extracted from complex datasets, thereby focusing on important changes in the observed networks.}, subject = {Netzwerkanalyse}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Linder2012, author = {Linder, Bastian}, title = {Systemischer Spleißfaktormangel im Zebrafisch Danio rerio - Etablierung und Charakterisierung eines Tiermodells f{\"u}r Retinitis pigmentosa}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-69965}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) ist eine vererbte Form der Erblindung, die durch eine progressive Degeneration von Photorezeptorzellen in der Retina verursacht wird. Neben „klassischen" RP-Krankheitsgenen, die direkt oder indirekt mit dem Sehprozess und der Aufrechterhaltung der Photorezeptoren in Verbindung stehen, k{\"o}nnen auch Mutationen in Genen f{\"u}r konstitutive Spleißfaktoren zur Photorezeptordegeneration f{\"u}hren. RP kann daher als Paradebeispiel einer Erkrankung mit paradoxer Gewebespezifit{\"a}t angesehen werden: Defekte in essentiellen und ubiquit{\"a}r exprimierten Genen f{\"u}hren zu einem Ph{\"a}notyp, der nur wenige Zelltypen betrifft. Um Einblicke in diesen außergew{\"o}hnlichen Pathomechanismus zu erhalten, wurde im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit ein Tiermodell f{\"u}r Spleißfaktor-vermittelte RP im Zebrafisch Danio rerio etabliert. Zun{\"a}chst wurde gezeigt, dass eine RP verursachende Punktmutation des Spleißfaktors Prpf31 auch in dessen Zebrafisch-Homolog zu einem Verlust der physiologischen Aktivit{\"a}t f{\"u}hrt. Als Modell f{\"u}r die Prpf31-Mangelsituation diente dann die durch ein Antisense-Morpholino induzierte partielle Reduktion der Prpf31-Expression in Zebrafischlarven. Konsistent mit einem RP-Ph{\"a}notyp zeigte sich in diesen Larven eine starke Beeintr{\"a}chtigung des Sehverm{\"o}gens. Sie wurde - ebenfalls analog zu RP - durch defekte Photorezeptoren verursacht, die bei ansonsten normal entwickelter Retina eine deutlich ver{\"a}nderte Morphologie aufwiesen. Daraufhin konnten in einer genomweiten Transkriptomanalyse der Augen von Prpf31-defizienten Larven erstmals in vivo photorezeptorspezifische Gene identifiziert werden, deren Expression durch den Mangel an Prpf31 beeintr{\"a}chtigt war. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit wurde untersucht, ob es neben den bereits bekannten RP-Krankheitsgenen weitere Spleißfaktoren gibt, deren Defekt die Degeneration von Photorezeptoren ausl{\"o}sen kann. Dazu wurde in Zebrafischlarven ein Mangel an Prpf4 erzeugt, einem Spleißfaktor, der bislang nicht mit RP in Verbindung gebracht worden war. Der Ph{\"a}notyp dieser Fische war nicht von dem des Prpf31 RP-Modells zu unterscheiden. Dies lieferte einen Hinweis darauf, dass auch Defekte in Prpf4 in der Lage sein k{\"o}nnten, RP auszul{\"o}sen. Tats{\"a}chlich konnte durch genetisches Screening ein RP-Patient mit einer Punktmutation in Prpf4 identifiziert werden (Kollaboration mit Hanno Bolz, Universit{\"a}t K{\"o}ln). Die biochemische Analyse dieser Mutation zeigte, dass sie zu einem Defekt der Integration von Prpf4 in spleißosomale Untereinheiten und zu dessen Funktionsverlust in vivo f{\"u}hrt. Mit dem in dieser Arbeit etablierten Tiermodell konnte zum ersten Mal in vivo ein von Spleißfaktor-Mutationen verursachter Pathomechanismus von Retinitis pigmentosa nachvollzogen werden. Die vom Prpf31-Mangel betroffenen Photorezeptortranskripte stellen vielversprechende Kandidaten f{\"u}r die Vermittlung der Gewebespezifit{\"a}t dar und unterst{\"u}tzen die Hypothese, dass ihre ineffiziente Prozessierung den RP-Ph{\"a}notyp ausl{\"o}st. Die Entdeckung eines weiteren Spleißfaktors, dessen Defizienz ebenfalls zu defekten Photorezeptoren f{\"u}hrt, zeigt, dass offenbar der Funktionsverlust des Spleißosoms generell in der Lage ist, die Degeneration dieser Zellen zu verursachen. Dies ist nicht zuletzt auch von klinischer Relevanz, da vermutet werden kann, dass sich unter den vielen bisher nicht identifizierten RP-Krankheitsgenen weitere Spleißfaktoren befinden.}, subject = {RNS-Spleißen}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Gluyas2012, author = {Gluyas, Josef Bheinn George}, title = {Synthesis of Silicon-Based Drugs and Odourants}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-72182}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {This thesis concerns (i) the synthesis and olfactory characterisation of silicon-containing analogues of the musk odourant phantolide, (ii) the synthesis and pharmacological investigation of silicon-containing analogues of retinoids of the EC23 and TTNN type and (iii) the attempted syntheses of silicon-containing analogues of the antipsychotic penfluridol and the antidiarrhoeal agent loperamide. All target compounds and intermediates were characterised by multinuclear NMR studies (1H, 13C, 15N, 19F, 29Si) and elemental analyses or high-resolution mass spectrometry. Additionally, some of these compounds were characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies.}, subject = {Silicium}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Qamar2012, author = {Qamar, Riaz-ul}, title = {Synthesis of functionalized molecular probes for bioorthogonal metabolic glycoengineering}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-73378}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Biomolecules are difficult to investigate in their native environment. The vast complexity of cellular systems and seldom availability of chemical reactions compatible with the physiological milieu make it a challenging task. Bioorthogonal chemical reactions serve as a key to achieve selective ligation, whose components must react rapidly and selectively with each other under physiological conditions in the presence of the plethora of functionalities necessary to sustain life. In this dissertation, we focused on the synthesis of chemical reporters and probe molecules for bioorthogonal labeling through click reaction. Initially, sialic acid derivatives with a linker containing terminal alkyne functionality were synthesized. After the synthesis of azide derivatives of fluorescent dyes as counter partners, they were conjugated with sialic acids through Cu(I) catalyzed alkyne azide cycloaddition (CuAAC). The successful in vitro conjugation of Sia and fluorescent dyes was followed by metabolic tagging of human larynx carcinoma (HEp-2) and the carcinoma of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO­K1) with alkynated Sia that were subsequently ligated with fluorescein azide. Finally, the stained cells were subjected to fluorescent microscopy to obtain their images. To enable the click reaction compatible to in vivo applications, the reactivity of cyclooctyne was enhanced by two different approaches. In a first approach, following the Bertozzi's strategy, two fluorine atoms were introduced adjacent to the alkyne to lower the LUMO. In a second strategy the ring strain of cyclooctyne was attempted to be enhanced by the introduction of an amide group. In addition, glutarimide derivatives with free amino and carboxylic acid functional groups were synthesized by domino-Michael addition-cyclization-reaction.}, subject = {Click-Chemie}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Ye2012, author = {Ye, Qing}, title = {Synthesis and Investigation of Borylene Complexes: from Borylene Transfer to Borylene Catenation}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-71443}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde das Spektrum des Borylentransfers ausgeweitet, indem {\"U}bergangsmetall Alkinylkomplexe und Metall-Kohlenstoff-Doppelbindungen als Borylen-Akzeptoren eingeschlossen wurden. Neben der Salzeliminierung, Halogenidabstraktion und Dehydrierung, wurde eine neuartige Syntheseroute zu terminalen Borylenkomplexen durch Salz- und Silylhalogenideliminierung etabliert. Mithilfe dieser Strategie gelang die Darstellung von [(OC)3(Me3P)Fe=BDur], ein seltenes Beispiel f{\"u}r einen neutralen Arylborylenkomplex. Im Speziellen hat diese Verbindung ein großes Anwendungspotenzial f{\"u}r Metathesereaktionen und die Funktionalisierung von polycyclischen aromatischen Kohlenwasserstoffen, wie z. B. Naphthalin, gezeigt. Außerdem konnte ein Eisen-Bis(borylen)-Komplex [(OC)3Fe(BDur){BN(SiMe3)2}] durch einen Phosphan-Borylen-Austausch dargestellt werden. Ausgehend von diesem Komplex gelang die Darstellung von 1,4-Diboracyclohexadien bzw. des ersten 1,4-Dibora-1,3-Butadien-Komplexes, wodurch eine neue Art von Borylentransfer etabliert werden konnte. H{\"o}chst interessant ist es, dass der Transfer von weiteren Borylen-Einheiten in die Koordinationssph{\"a}re des Eisenatoms zu einer kontrollierten Borylen-Verkettung gef{\"u}hrt hat.}, subject = {Borylene}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Pfeiffer2012, author = {Pfeiffer, Hendrik}, title = {Synthesis and biological activity of molybdenum carbonyl complexes and their peptide conjugates}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-71199}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Molybdenum carbonyl complexes with different polypyridyl coligands were prepared and conjugated to peptides by mild bioorthogonal coupling reactions like the oxime ligation and a catalyst-free azide-alkyne click reaction utilized for the first time in such a context. The biological activity of some of the new complexes and conjugates, including their CO release properties, cytotoxicity on human cancer cells, and mode of induction of cell death was studied.}, subject = {Molybd{\"a}ncarbonyle}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Mayerhoeffer2012, author = {Mayerh{\"o}ffer, Ulrich}, title = {Synthese, Eigenschaften und funktionale Anwendungen von NIR absorbierenden Squarainen}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-69428}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Zusammenfassend l{\"a}sst sich festhalten, dass die in dieser Abreit vorgestellten Squaraine herausragend gute NIR-Absorptions- und NIR-Emissionseigenschaften aufweisen, die sie f{\"u}r zahlreiche Anwendungen interessant machen. Dar{\"u}ber hinaus konnte gezeigt werden, dass ihre besondere cis-Konfiguration und ihr daraus resultierendes Dipolmoment zu vorteilhaften Anordnungen in d{\"u}nnen Filmen und in Blends mit PCBM f{\"u}hren. Diese Strukturen zeigen f{\"u}r dipolare Molek{\"u}le beeindruckende Exzitonen- und Ladungstransporteigenschaften, die vielversprechende Anwendungen in der organischen Elektronik wie in hier untersuchten l{\"o}sungsprozessierten BHJ-Solarzellen oder auch in OFETs erwarten lassen.}, subject = {Supramolekulare Chemie}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Beringer2012, author = {Beringer, Reiner Ernst}, title = {Synthese von Dextran-umh{\"u}llten Eisenoxid-Nanopartikeln als Kontrastmittel f{\"u}r die MR-Tomographie}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-77218}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Durch F{\"a}llung von Eisen(II)- und Eisen(III)-salzen wurden Dextran-umh{\"u}llte Eisenoxid-Nanopartikel (SPIOs) und durch anschließende Umsetzung mit Epichlorhydrin und Ammoniak CLIOs gewonnen. An diesen Kolloiden wurden niedermolekulare Molek{\"u}le wie Diamine oder Bernsteins{\"a}ureanhydrid als Linker angebracht. Ein weiterer Aspekt dieser Arbeit stellt die Anbindung von Fluoreszenzmarkern und Antik{\"o}rpern an der Partikeloberfl{\"a}che sowie deren spektroskopische Untersuchung dar.}, subject = {Eisenoxide}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Gamon2012, author = {Gamon, Daniela}, title = {Synthese und Reaktivit{\"a}t neuartiger Borolverbindungen}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-70065}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Nach der ersten erfolgreichen Synthese eines freien Borols im Jahr 1969 folgte bis auf wenige Ausnahmen eine lange Periode in der der Chemie der freien Borole wenig Beachtung geschenkt wurde. Dies ist nur wenig verst{\"a}ndlich, wenn man in Betracht zieht, dass Borole aufgrund ihres 4 Elektronensystems zu den kleinesten H{\"u}ckel Antiaromaten z{\"a}hlen und zudem als eine der Lewis acidesten Verbindungsklassen angesehen werden. Sie weisen außerdem starke Absorptionen im sichtbaren Bereich auf, welche maßgeblich von den Substituenten am Borzentrum beeinflusst werden. Durch sorgf{\"a}ltige elektronische Abstimmung k{\"o}nnen nahezu alle Farben des sichtbaren Spektrums eingestellt werden (Abbildung 81). Im Jahr 2008 gelang in der Arbeitsgruppe von H. Braunschweig die erste strukturelle Charakterisierung von Pentaphenylborol (15). Außerdem wurde mit der Synthese des 1 Chlor 2,3,4,5 tetraphenylborols (26) der Grundstein f{\"u}r eine Reihe weitere Borol Derivate gelegt. Des Weiteren konnte das Substitutionsmuster mit der Synthese von [1-Ferrocenyl-2,3,4,5-tetraphenylborol] (25) auf Metallkomplexe ausgeweitet werden. Mit den beiden Bis- und Trisborolen 47 und 49 konnte gezeigt werden, dass Borole {\"u}ber einen konjugierten organischen spacer verkn{\"u}pft werden k{\"o}nnen.[39,124,140] Aufbauend auf diesen Ergebnissen wurde in der vorliegenden Arbeit die Synthese neuer Borol Derivate angestrengt. Außerdem konnten Beitr{\"a}ge zu Koordinations- und Reduktionschemie der bereits bekannten und neuartigen Borol-Systeme geleistet werden. Dabei wurde besonderes Augenmerk auf eine m{\"o}gliche Anwendung von nicht standardm{\"a}ßigen Analysemethoden wie Cyclovoltammetrie, ESR-Spektroskopie, Raman-Spektroskopie und UV Vis Spektroskopie gelegt. Eine Einstufung der Lewis-S{\"a}ure St{\"a}rke der verschiedenen Borol Derivate erfolgte durch Basen{\"u}bertragungsreaktionen.}, subject = {Borolderivate}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Loedige2012, author = {Loedige, Melanie}, title = {Synthese und Evaluierung neuartiger Wirkstoffklassen gegen Infektionskrankheiten : antimalariale Hybrid-Verbindungen bestehend aus etablierten Arzneistoffen sowie aus Nphthylisochinolin-Alkaloiden und bekannten Arzneistoffen, Struktur-Wirkungs-Beziehungen der neuartigen, antileishmanial wirksamen tert-Butyloxycarbonylbenzylamino-Strukturelemente, Aminochinolinium-Verbindungen gegen bin{\"a}re Toxine aus Bacillus anthracis, Clostridium perfringens und Clostridium botulinum}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-76412}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Infektionskrankheiten geh{\"o}ren weltweit immer noch zu den h{\"a}ufigsten Todesursachen, und auch wenn die Gef{\"a}hrdung in den Industriestaaten erheblich reduziert werden konnte, nimmt die Bedeutung von {\"u}bertragbaren Krankheiten wieder zu. Verursacht wird dies zum einen durch die F{\"a}higkeit der Keime gegen die eingesetzten Arzneistoffe verschiedenartige Resistenzmechanismen zu entwickeln, zum anderen auch dadurch, dass neuartige Infektionskrankheiten entstehen. Aus diesem Grund bleibt die Entwicklung neuer Medikamente ein st{\"a}ndiger Wettlauf mit der Anpassungsf{\"a}higkeit der Infektionserreger, und gerade dies spielt eine große Rolle f{\"u}r vernachl{\"a}ssigte und armutsassoziierte Krankheiten wie z.B. Tuberkulose, Malaria und HIV/AIDS, die in den Entwicklungsl{\"a}ndern große Krankheitslasten und so auch hohen volkswirtschaftlichen Schaden verursachen. Protozoische Parasiten wie die Erreger der Malaria und der Leishmaniose sind besonders trickreich, denn sie wechseln zwischen Vektor (z.B. M{\"u}cke) und Wirt (z.B. Mensch) und durchleben so verschiedene Stadien eines komplexen Entwicklungszyklus, von denen sich jedes einzelne Stadium wie ein 'anderer' Organismus verh{\"a}lt. Hierdurch ist die therapeutische Behandlung erschwert, und f{\"u}r die dauerhafte Eradikation der Parasiten und f{\"u}r die Hemmung ihrer Transmission, um letztlich eine Resistenzentwicklung der Medikamente zu verhindern, m{\"u}ssen Wirkstoffe m{\"o}glichst gegen alle Stadien {\"a}hnlich gut wirken. Die Konzeptionierung solcher Verbindungen, ihr strukturelles Design und schließlich ihre Synthesen waren Ziel der hier vorliegenden Arbeit, um neue aktive Vertreter gegen protozoische und bakterielle Erreger und Toxine bereitzustellen. Die Konzeptionierung und Synthese von Hybridmolek{\"u}len aus bew{\"a}hrten Arzneistoffen wurde als innovativer Ansatz zur Behandlung der Malaria verfolgt. Eine strukturell neue Wirkstoffklasse mit sehr guten spezifischen Aktivit{\"a}ten und interessanten Struktur-Aktivit{\"a}ts-Beziehungen gegen Promastigoten und gegen Amastigoten von L. major wurde entdeckt. Auf der Suche nach neuen Verbindungen, die bin{\"a}re Toxine von Bacillus anthracis Anthrax-Toxin), Clostridium perfringens (Iota-Toxin) und Clostridium botulinum C2-Toxin) hemmen k{\"o}nnen, wurden neben 4-Aminochinolin-Verbindungen neue Aminochinolinium-Salze konzipiert, synthetisiert und in Target-basierten Assays durch Titrationsexperimente und Stromfluktuationsanalysen bzw. in In-vitro-Experimenten auf ihre Wirksamkeit getestet.}, subject = {Malaria}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Oestreicher2012, author = {{\"O}streicher, Sebastian}, title = {Synthese und Eigenschaften neuartiger Di-, Tri- und Tetrametalloboridokomplexe}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-73943}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Unter Ausnutzung der Reaktivit{\"a}t von Borylanionen wurden neuartige {\"U}bergangsmetallboridokomplexe synthetisiert, bei denen ein "nacktes" Boratom als Ligand f{\"u}r bis zu vier {\"U}bergangsmetalle vorliegt. Strukturelle und bindungstheoretische Eigenschaften der Boridokomplexe wurden mit g{\"a}ngigen metallorganischen Analysemethoden sowie mit DFT-Methoden untersucht. Dabei zeigte sich, dass die erhaltenen Tetrametalloboridokomplexe eine planare Koordinationsgeometrie um das Borzentrum aufweisen und damit ein {\"A}quivalent zu anti van't Hoff/Le Bel-Verbindungen des Kohlenstoffs darstellen.}, subject = {{\"U}bergangsmetall}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Juli2012, author = {Juli, Christina}, title = {Synthese und Charakterisierung von potenziellen Inhibitoren des „Macrophage infectivity potentiator" (Mip) Proteins von Legionella pneumophila - Ein neuer Ansatz in der Legionellose-Therapie}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-72950}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Die vorliegende Arbeit besch{\"a}ftigt sich mit der Synthese und Charakterisierung potenzieller Inhibitoren des Oberfl{\"a}chenproteins Mip von Legionella pneumophila. Der gramnegative Mikroorganismus ist der urs{\"a}chliche Erreger der Legionellose. Die Erkrankung kann in zwei verschiedenen Formen auftreten, dem Pontiac-Fieber, einer Grippe-{\"a}hnlichen Atemwegserkrankung, und der Legion{\"a}rskrankheit, einer schweren Lungenentz{\"u}ndung mit einer Mortalit{\"a}tsrate von bis zu 30 \%. Nat{\"u}rliche und k{\"u}nstlich geschaffene S{\"u}ßwassersysteme bilden den biologischen Lebensraum der Bakterien. Aus dieser Umgebung werden sie {\"u}ber technische Vektoren wie Duschen oder Klimaanlagen durch Inhalation kontaminierter Aerosole auf den Menschen {\"u}bertragen, wo sie alveol{\"a}re Makrophagen besiedeln und eine pulmonale Infektion hervorrufen. Um die Zellen in der Lunge zu erreichen, m{\"u}ssen die Mikroorganismen jedoch zuerst die alveol{\"a}re Barriere, bestehend aus einer Epithelzellschicht und extrazellul{\"a}rer Matrix, {\"u}berwinden. Daf{\"u}r ist das Oberfl{\"a}chenprotein Mip, der Hauptvirulenzfaktor, verantwortlich. Mip ist ein Homodimer, das sich aus einer C- und einer N-Dom{\"a}ne zusammensetzt. W{\"a}hrend der N-Terminus f{\"u}r die Dimerisierung des Proteins verantwortlich ist, weist der C-Terminus die typische Faltung einer Peptidyl-Prolyl-cis/trans-Isomerase (PPIase) auf. Der Vergleich der Aminos{\"a}uresequenz der Mip-C-Dom{\"a}ne mit der Dom{\"a}ne verschiedener humaner PPIasen zeigte eine besonders große Homologie zu FKBP12, welches zur Familie der FK506-bindenden Proteine geh{\"o}rt und eine wichtige Rolle innerhalb des menschlichen Immunsystems spielt. Bemerkenswerterweise hemmen bekannte immunsuppressive FKBP12-Inhibitoren wie FK506 und Rapamycin neben der humanen PPIase ebenfalls das bakterielle Mip. Außerdem wurde beobachtet, dass die C-terminale Mip-PPIase an Kollagen IV, den Hauptbestandteil in der menschlichen Lunge, bindet und somit f{\"u}r die Transmigration der Legionellen in die Lunge verantwortlich ist. Mip-Inhibitoren sollten demnach eine Legionellen-Infektion verhindern k{\"o}nnen. Zur Verifizierung der Hypothese sollten daher im Rahmen dieser Arbeit neue Leitstrukturen f{\"u}r Mip-PPIase-Inhibitoren entwickelt werden. Mit Hilfe von Molecular-Modelling-Untersuchungen basierend auf der NMR-Struktur 2VCD wurde als eine m{\"o}gliche Leitstruktur N,N-Dimethylphenylsulfons{\"a}ureamid identifiziert. Deshalb sollten diese Verbindung sowie Analoga hergestellt werden. Obwohl die Immunsuppressiva FK506 und Rapamycin Mip-Inhibitoren darstellen, k{\"o}nnen sie auf Grund ihrer immunsuppressiven Eigenschaften nicht in der Legionellosetherapie eingesetzt werden. Die makrozyklischen Immunsuppressiva setzen sich im Gegensatz zu N,N-Dimethylphenylsulfons{\"a}ureamid allerdings aus zwei strukturellen Einheiten, einer Binde- sowie einer Effektordom{\"a}ne, zusammen. Die Bindedom{\"a}ne mit dem Pipecolins{\"a}ure-Grundger{\"u}st ist f{\"u}r die Wechselwirkungen mit Mip und FKBP12 verantwortlich. Die Effektordom{\"a}ne hingegen ist der aliphatische Teil der Makrozyklen, der erst durch die Bildung eines tern{\"a}ren Komplexes eine Immunsuppression hervorruft. Somit k{\"o}nnen Verbindungen vom Pipecolins{\"a}ure-Typ keine immunsuppressive Wirkung haben und stellen demnach optimale, neue Leitstrukturen f{\"u}r Mip-Inhibitoren dar. Aus diesem Grund wurden die zwei literaturbekannten, nicht-immunsuppressiven FKBP12-Inhibitoren A und B ausgew{\"a}hlt und in verschiedenen Docking-Studien untersucht. Das Molecular-Modelling zeigte, dass nur Verbindung B reproduzierbare Interaktionen mit Mip eingehen kann und demnach ein potenzieller Inhibitor ist. Um dies zu {\"u}berpr{\"u}fen, sollten beide Verbindungen A und B sowie eine Mischform hergestellt werden. Neben diesen Verbindungen wurden weiterhin Variationen an der Struktur vorgenommen. Alle Verbindungen wurden in einem In-vitro-Enzymassay gezielt auf ihre Mip-Interaktion untersucht. Die In-vitro-Untersuchungen zeigten, dass nur Pipecolins{\"a}ure-Derivate vom Sulfons{\"a}ureamid-Typ B die Mip-PPIase inhibieren, die besten Verbindungen sind 22b, 23a und 24a. Neben den enzymatischen In-vitro-Testungen wurden exemplarisch f{\"u}r die Verbindungen 1a, 12a, 22a und 22b HSQC-NMR-Experimente zur Bestimmung der Inhibitor-Proteinbindung durchgef{\"u}hrt. F{\"u}r Verbindung 22b wurde zus{\"a}tzlich die In-vivo-Wachstumshemmung der Legionellen mittels Gentamicin-Infektionsstudien ermittelt.}, subject = {Legionella pneumophila}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Schlosser2012, author = {Schlosser, Felix}, title = {Synthese und Charakterisierung kovalent gebundener Perylenbisimid-Makrozyklen}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-71811}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Eine Reihe von Acetylen-verkn{\"u}pften Perylenbisimid(PBI)-Makrozyklen mit unterschiedlicher Ringgr{\"o}ße wurde durch Palladium-katalysierte Homokupplung synthetisiert und mit Hilfe von Recycling-GPC getrennt. Diese Makrozyklen wurden durch NMR-Spektroskopie und Massenspektrometrie charakterisiert und weiterhin die photophysikalischen Eigenschaften durch UV/Vis-Absorptions- und Fluoreszenzemissions-Messungen untersucht. Die Selbstorganisation dieser PBI-Makrozyklen zu hochgeordneten Nanostrukturen auf HOPG-Oberfl{\"a}chen wurde mittels Rasterkraftmikroskopie untersucht.}, subject = {Makrocyclische Verbindungen}, language = {de} }