@article{BumillerBiniHochKohlerAugustoetal.2022, author = {Bumiller-Bini Hoch, Val{\´e}ria and Kohler, Ana Fl{\´a}via and Augusto, Danillo G. and Lobo-Alves, Sara Cristina and Malheiros, Danielle and Cipolla, Gabriel Adelman and Winter Boldt, Angelica Beate and Braun-Prado, Karin and Wittig, Michael and Franke, Andre and Pf{\"o}hler, Claudia and Worm, Margitta and van Beek, Nina and Goebeler, Matthias and S{\´a}rdy, Mikl{\´o}s and Ibrahim, Saleh and Busch, Hauke and Schmidt, Enno and Hundt, Jennifer Elisabeth and Araujo-Souza, Patr{\´i}cia Savio de and Petzl-Erler, Maria Luiza}, title = {Genetic associations and differential mRNA expression levels of host genes suggest a viral trigger for endemic pemphigus foliaceus}, series = {Viruses}, volume = {14}, journal = {Viruses}, number = {5}, issn = {1999-4915}, doi = {10.3390/v14050879}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-270572}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The long search for the environmental trigger of the endemic pemphigus foliaceus (EPF, fogo selvagem) has not yet resulted in any tangible findings. Here, we searched for genetic associations and the differential expression of host genes involved in early viral infections and innate antiviral defense. Genetic variants could alter the structure, expression sites, or levels of the gene products, impacting their functions. By analyzing 3063 variants of 166 candidate genes in 227 EPF patients and 194 controls, we found 12 variants within 11 genes associated with differential susceptibility (p < 0.005) to EPF. The products of genes TRIM5, TPCN2, EIF4E, EIF4E3, NUP37, NUP50, NUP88, TPR, USP15, IRF8, and JAK1 are involved in different mechanisms of viral control, for example, the regulation of viral entry into the host cell or recognition of viral nucleic acids and proteins. Only two of nine variants were also associated in an independent German cohort of sporadic PF (75 patients, 150 controls), aligning with our hypothesis that antiviral host genes play a major role in EPF due to a specific virus-human interaction in the endemic region. Moreover, CCL5, P4HB, and APOBEC3G mRNA levels were increased (p < 0.001) in CD4+ T lymphocytes of EPF patients. Because there is limited or no evidence that these genes are involved in autoimmunity, their crucial role in antiviral responses and the associations that we observed support the hypothesis of a viral trigger for EPF, presumably a still unnoticed flavivirus. This work opens new frontiers in searching for the trigger of EPF, with the potential to advance translational research that aims for disease prevention and treatment.}, language = {en} } @article{Freitag‐WolfMunzJungeetal.2021, author = {Freitag-Wolf, Sandra and Munz, Matthias and Junge, Olaf and Graetz, Christian and Jockel-Schneider, Yvonne and Staufenbiel, Ingmar and Bruckmann, Corinna and Lieb, Wolfgang and Franke, Andre and Loos, Bruno G. and Jepsen, S{\o}ren and Dommisch, Henrik and Schaefer, Arne S.}, title = {Sex-specific genetic factors affect the risk of early-onset periodontitis in Europeans}, series = {Journal of Clinical Periodontology}, volume = {48}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Periodontology}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1111/jcpe.13538}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-262445}, pages = {1404 -- 1413}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Aims Various studies have reported that young European women are more likely to develop early-onset periodontitis compared to men. A potential explanation for the observed variations in sex and age of disease onset is the natural genetic variation within the autosomal genomes. We hypothesized that genotype-by-sex (G × S) interactions contribute to the increased prevalence and severity. Materials and methods Using the case-only design, we tested for differences in genetic effects between men and women in 896 North-West European early-onset cases, using imputed genotypes from the OmniExpress genotyping array. Population-representative 6823 controls were used to verify that the interacting variables G and S were uncorrelated in the general population. Results In total, 20 loci indicated G × S associations (P < 0.0005), 3 of which were previously suggested as risk genes for periodontitis (ABLIM2, CDH13, and NELL1). We also found independent G × S interactions of the related gene paralogs MACROD1/FLRT1 (chr11) and MACROD2/FLRT3 (chr20). G × S-associated SNPs at CPEB4, CDH13, MACROD1, and MECOM were genome-wide-associated with heel bone mineral density (CPEB4, MECOM), waist-to-hip ratio (CPEB4, MACROD1), and blood pressure (CPEB4, CDH13). Conclusions Our results indicate that natural genetic variation affects the different heritability of periodontitis among sexes and suggest genes that contribute to inter-sex phenotypic variation in early-onset periodontitis.}, language = {en} } @article{RichterKruppaMunzetal.2019, author = {Richter, Gesa M. and Kruppa, Jochen and Munz, Matthias and Wiehe, Ricarda and H{\"a}sler, Robert and Franke, Andre and Martins, Orlando and Jockel-Schneider, Yvonne and Bruckmann, Corinna and Dommisch, Henrik and Schaefer, Arne S.}, title = {A combined epigenome- and transcriptome-wide association study of the oral masticatory mucosa assigns CYP1B1 a central role for epithelial health in smokers}, series = {Clinical Epigenetics}, volume = {11}, journal = {Clinical Epigenetics}, doi = {10.1186/s13148-019-0697-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-226175}, pages = {1-18}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Background The oral mucosa has an important role in maintaining barrier integrity at the gateway to the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. Smoking is a strong environmental risk factor for the common oral inflammatory disease periodontitis and oral cancer. Cigarette smoke affects gene methylation and expression in various tissues. This is the first epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) that aimed to identify biologically active methylation marks of the oral masticatory mucosa that are associated with smoking. Results Ex vivo biopsies of 18 current smokers and 21 never smokers were analysed with the Infinium Methylation EPICBeadChip and combined with whole transcriptome RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq; 16 mio reads per sample) of the same samples. We analysed the associations of CpG methylation values with cigarette smoking and smoke pack year (SPY) levels in an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Nine CpGs were significantly associated with smoking status, with three CpGs mapping to the genetic region of CYP1B1 (cytochrome P450 family 1 subfamily B member 1;best p=5.5x10(-8)) and two mapping to AHRR (aryl-hydrocarbon receptor repressor; best p=5.9x10(-9)). In the SPY analysis, 61 CpG sites at 52 loci showed significant associations of the quantity of smoking with changes in methylation values. Here, the most significant association located to the gene CYP1B1, with p=4.0x10(-10). RNA-Seq data showed significantly increased expression of CYP1B1 in smokers compared to non-smokers (p=2.2x10(-14)), together with 13 significantly upregulated transcripts. Six transcripts were significantly downregulated. No differential expression was observed for AHRR. In vitro studies with gingival fibroblasts showed that cigarette smoke extract directly upregulated the expression of CYP1B1. Conclusion This study validated the established role of CYP1B1 and AHRR in xenobiotic metabolism of tobacco smoke and highlights the importance of epigenetic regulation for these genes. For the first time, we give evidence of this role for the oral masticatory mucosa.}, subject = {AHRR}, language = {en} } @article{SchwedhelmZdziebloAppeltMenzeletal.2019, author = {Schwedhelm, Ivo and Zdzieblo, Daniela and Appelt-Menzel, Antje and Berger, Constantin and Schmitz, Tobias and Schuldt, Bernhard and Franke, Andre and M{\"u}ller, Franz-Josef and Pless, Ole and Schwarz, Thomas and Wiedemann, Philipp and Walles, Heike and Hansmann, Jan}, title = {Automated real-time monitoring of human pluripotent stem cell aggregation in stirred tank reactors}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {9}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-019-48814-w}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-202649}, pages = {12297}, year = {2019}, abstract = {The culture of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) at large scale becomes feasible with the aid of scalable suspension setups in continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTRs). Innovative monitoring options and emerging automated process control strategies allow for the necessary highly defined culture conditions. Next to standard process characteristics such as oxygen consumption, pH, and metabolite turnover, a reproducible and steady formation of hiPSC aggregates is vital for process scalability. In this regard, we developed a hiPSC-specific suspension culture unit consisting of a fully monitored CSTR system integrated into a custom-designed and fully automated incubator. As a step towards cost-effective hiPSC suspension culture and to pave the way for flexibility at a large scale, we constructed and utilized tailored miniature CSTRs that are largely made from three-dimensional (3D) printed polylactic acid (PLA) filament, which is a low-cost material used in fused deposition modelling. Further, the monitoring tool for hiPSC suspension cultures utilizes in situ microscopic imaging to visualize hiPSC aggregation in real-time to a statistically significant degree while omitting the need for time-intensive sampling. Suitability of our culture unit, especially concerning the developed hiPSC-specific CSTR system, was proven by demonstrating pluripotency of CSTR-cultured hiPSCs at RNA (including PluriTest) and protein level.}, language = {en} } @article{MarenholzEsparzaGordilloRueschendorfetal.2015, author = {Marenholz, Ingo and Esparza-Gordillo, Jorge and R{\"u}schendorf, Franz and Bauerfeind, Anja and Strachan, David P. and Spycher, Ben D. and Baurecht, Hansj{\"o}rg and Magaritte-Jeannin, Patricia and S{\"a}{\"a}f, Annika and Kerkhof, Marjan and Ege, Markus and Baltic, Svetlana and Matheson, Melanie C. and Li, Jin and Michel, Sven and Ang, Wei Q. and McArdle, Wendy and Arnold, Andreas and Homuth, Georg and Demenais, Florence and Bouzigon, Emmanuelle and S{\"o}derh{\"a}ll, Cilla and Pershagen, G{\"o}ran and de Jongste, Johan C. and Postma, Dirkje S. and Braun-Fahrl{\"a}nder, Charlotte and Horak, Elisabeth and Ogorodova, Ludmila M. and Puzyrev, Valery P. and Bragina, Elena Yu and Hudson, Thomas J. and Morin, Charles and Duffy, David L. and Marks, Guy B. and Robertson, Colin F. and Montgomery, Grant W. and Musk, Bill and Thompson, Philip J. and Martin, Nicholas G. and James, Alan and Sleiman, Patrick and Toskala, Elina and Rodriguez, Elke and F{\"o}lster-Holst, Regina and Franke, Andre and Lieb, Wolfgang and Gieger, Christian and Heinzmann, Andrea and Rietschel, Ernst and Keil, Thomas and Cichon, Sven and N{\"o}then, Markus M. and Pennel, Craig E. and Sly, Peter D. and Schmidt, Carsten O. and Matanovic, Anja and Schneider, Valentin and Heinig, Matthias and H{\"u}bner, Norbert and Holt, Patrick G. and Lau, Susanne and Kabesch, Michael and Weidinger, Stefan and Hakonarson, Hakon and Ferreira, Manuel A. R. and Laprise, Catherine and Freidin, Maxim B. and Genuneit, Jon and Koppelman, Gerard H. and Mel{\´e}n, Erik and Dizier, Marie-H{\´e}l{\`e}ne and Henderson, A. John and Lee, Young Ae}, title = {Meta-analysis identifies seven susceptibility loci involved in the atopic march}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {6}, journal = {Nature Communications}, number = {8804}, doi = {10.1038/ncomms9804}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-139835}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Eczema often precedes the development of asthma in a disease course called the 'atopic march'. To unravel the genes underlying this characteristic pattern of allergic disease, we conduct a multi-stage genome-wide association study on infantile eczema followed by childhood asthma in 12 populations including 2,428 cases and 17,034 controls. Here we report two novel loci specific for the combined eczema plus asthma phenotype, which are associated with allergic disease for the first time; rs9357733 located in EFHC1 on chromosome 6p12.3 (OR 1.27; P = 2.1 x 10(-8)) and rs993226 between TMTC2 and SLC6A15 on chromosome 12q21.3 (OR 1.58; P = 5.3 x 10(-9)). Additional susceptibility loci identified at genome-wide significance are FLG (1q21.3), IL4/KIF3A (5q31.1), AP5B1/OVOL1 (11q13.1), C11orf30/LRRC32 (11q13.5) and IKZF3 (17q21). We show that predominantly eczema loci increase the risk for the atopic march. Our findings suggest that eczema may play an important role in the development of asthma after eczema.}, language = {en} } @article{KellerLeidingerVogeletal.2014, author = {Keller, Andreas and Leidinger, Petra and Vogel, Britta and Backes, Christina and ElSharawy, Abdou and Galata, Valentina and Mueller, Sabine C. and Marquart, Sabine and Schrauder, Michael G. and Strick, Reiner and Bauer, Andrea and Wischhusen, J{\"o}rg and Beier, Markus and Kohlhaas, Jochen and Katus, Hugo A. and Hoheisel, J{\"o}rg and Franke, Andre and Meder, Benjamin and Meese, Eckart}, title = {miRNAs can be generally associated with human pathologies as exemplified for miR-144*}, series = {BMC MEDICINE}, volume = {12}, journal = {BMC MEDICINE}, issn = {1741-7015}, doi = {10.1186/s12916-014-0224-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-114349}, pages = {224}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Background: miRNA profiles are promising biomarker candidates for a manifold of human pathologies, opening new avenues for diagnosis and prognosis. Beyond studies that describe miRNAs frequently as markers for specific traits, we asked whether a general pattern for miRNAs across many diseases exists. Methods: We evaluated genome-wide circulating profiles of 1,049 patients suffering from 19 different cancer and non-cancer diseases as well as unaffected controls. The results were validated on 319 individuals using qRT-PCR. Results: We discovered 34 miRNAs with strong disease association. Among those, we found substantially decreased levels of hsa-miR-144* and hsa-miR-20b with AUC of 0.751 ( 95\% CI: 0.703-0.799), respectively. We also discovered a set of miRNAs, including hsa-miR-155*, as rather stable markers, offering reasonable control miRNAs for future studies. The strong downregulation of hsa-miR-144* and the less variable pattern of hsa-miR-155* has been validated in a cohort of 319 samples in three different centers. Here, breast cancer as an additional disease phenotype not included in the screening phase has been included as the 20th trait. Conclusions: Our study on 1,368 patients including 1,049 genome-wide miRNA profiles and 319 qRT-PCR validations further underscores the high potential of specific blood-borne miRNA patterns as molecular biomarkers. Importantly, we highlight 34 miRNAs that are generally dysregulated in human pathologies. Although these markers are not specific to certain diseases they may add to the diagnosis in combination with other markers, building a specific signature. Besides these dysregulated miRNAs, we propose a set of constant miRNAs that may be used as control markers.}, language = {en} }