@article{GamezViruesPerovićGossneretal.2015, author = {G{\´a}mez-Viru{\´e}s, Sagrario and Perović, David J. and Gossner, Martin M. and B{\"o}rschig, Carmen and Bl{\"u}thgen, Nico and de Jong, Heike and Simons, Nadja K. and Klein, Alexandra-Maria and Krauss, Jochen and Maier, Gwen and Scherber, Christoph and Steckel, Juliane and Rothenw{\"o}hrer, Christoph and Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf and Weiner, Christiane N. and Weisser, Wolfgang and Werner, Michael and Tscharntke, Teja and Westphal, Catrin}, title = {Landscape simplification filters species traits and drives biotic homogenization}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {6}, journal = {Nature Communications}, number = {8568}, doi = {10.1038/ncomms9568}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-141925}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Biodiversity loss can affect the viability of ecosystems by decreasing the ability of communities to respond to environmental change and disturbances. Agricultural intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss and has multiple components operating at different spatial scales: from in-field management intensity to landscape-scale simplification. Here we show that landscape-level effects dominate functional community composition and can even buffer the effects of in-field management intensification on functional homogenization, and that animal communities in real-world managed landscapes show a unified response (across orders and guilds) to both landscape-scale simplification and in-field intensification. Adults and larvae with specialized feeding habits, species with shorter activity periods and relatively small body sizes are selected against in simplified landscapes with intense in-field management. Our results demonstrate that the diversity of land cover types at the landscape scale is critical for maintaining communities, which are functionally diverse, even in landscapes where in-field management intensity is high.}, language = {en} } @article{LapaReiterKircheretal.2016, author = {Lapa, Constantin and Reiter, Theresa and Kircher, Malte and Schirbel, Andreas and Werner, Rudolf A. and Pelzer, Theo and Pizarro, Carmen and Skowasch, Dirk and Thomas, Lena and Schlesinger-Irsch, Ulrike and Thomas, Daniel and Bundschuh, Ralph A. and Bauer, Wolfgang R. and Gartner, Florian C.}, title = {Somatostatin receptor based PET/CT in patients with the suspicion of cardiac sarcoidosis: an initial comparison to cardiac MRI}, series = {Oncotarget}, volume = {7}, journal = {Oncotarget}, number = {47}, doi = {10.18632/oncotarget.12799}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175423}, pages = {77807-77814}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis is often challenging. Whereas cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with \(^{18}\)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) are most commonly used to evaluate patients, PET/CT using radiolabeled somatostatin receptor (SSTR) ligands for visualization of inflammation might represent a more specific alternative. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of SSTR-PET/CT for detecting cardiac sarcoidosis in comparison to CMR. 15 patients (6 males, 9 females) with sarcoidosis and suspicion on cardiac involvement underwent SSTR-PET/CT imaging and CMR. Images were visually scored. The AHA 17-segment model of the left myocardium was used for localization and comparison of inflamed myocardium for both imaging modalities. In semi-quantitative analysis, mean (SUV\(_{mean}\)) and maximum standardized uptake values (SUV\(_{max}\)) of affected myocardium were calculated and compared with both remote myocardium and left ventricular (LV) cavity. SSTR-PET was positive in 7/15, CMR in 10/15 patients. Of the 3 CMR+/PET- subjects, one patient with minor involvement (<25\% of wall thickness in CMR) was missed by PET. The remaining two CMR+/PET- patients displayed no adverse cardiac events during follow-up. In the 17-segment model, PET/CT yielded 27 and CMR 29 positive segments. Overall concordance of the 2 modalities was 96.1\% (245/255 segments analyzed). SUV\(_{mean}\) and SUV\(_{max}\) in inflamed areas were 2.0±1.2 and 2.6±1.2, respectively. The lesion-to-remote myocardium and lesion-to-LV cavity ratios were 1.8±0.2 and 1.9±0.2 for SUV\(_{mean}\) and 2.0±0.3 and 1.7±0.3 for SUV\(_{max}\), respectively. Detection of cardiac sarcoidosis by SSTR-PET/CT is feasible. Our data warrant further analysis in larger prospective series.}, language = {en} } @article{DopplerSchusterAppeltshauseretal.2019, author = {Doppler, Kathrin and Schuster, Yasmin and Appeltshauser, Luise and Biko, Lydia and Villmann, Carmen and Weishaupt, Andreas and Werner, Christian and Sommer, Claudia}, title = {Anti-CNTN1 IgG3 induces acute conduction block and motor deficits in a passive transfer rat model}, series = {Journal of Neuroinflammation}, volume = {16}, journal = {Journal of Neuroinflammation}, number = {73}, doi = {10.1186/s12974-019-1462-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-200476}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Background: Autoantibodies against the paranodal protein contactin-1 have recently been described in patients with severe acute-onset autoimmune neuropathies and mainly belong to the IgG4 subclass that does not activate complement. IgG3 anti-contactin-1 autoantibodies are rare, but have been detected during the acute onset of disease in some cases. There is evidence that anti-contactin-1 prevents adhesive interaction, and chronic exposure to anti-contactin-1 IgG4 leads to structural changes at the nodes accompanied by neuropathic symptoms. However, the pathomechanism of acute onset of disease and the pathogenic role of IgG3 anti-contactin-1 is largely unknown. Methods: In the present study, we aimed to model acute autoantibody exposure by intraneural injection of IgG of patients with anti-contacin-1 autoantibodies to Lewis rats. Patient IgG obtained during acute onset of disease (IgG3 predominant) and IgG from the chronic phase of disease (IgG4 predominant) were studied in comparison. Results: Conduction blocks were measured in rats injected with the "acute" IgG more often than after injection of "chronic" IgG (83.3\% versus 35\%) and proved to be reversible within a week after injection. Impaired nerve conduction was accompanied by motor deficits in rats after injection of the "acute" IgG but only minor structural changes of the nodes. Paranodal complement deposition was detected after injection of the "acute IgG". We did not detect any inflammatory infiltrates, arguing against an inflammatory cascade as cause of damage to the nerve. We also did not observe dispersion of paranodal proteins or sodium channels to the juxtaparanodes as seen in patients after chronic exposure to anti-contactin-1. Conclusions: Our data suggest that anti-contactin-1 IgG3 induces an acute conduction block that is most probably mediated by autoantibody binding and subsequent complement deposition and may account for acute onset of disease in these patients. This supports the notion of anti-contactin-1-associated neuropathy as a paranodopathy with the nodes of Ranvier as the site of pathogenesis.}, language = {en} } @article{SchofferSchueleinArandetal.2016, author = {Schoffer, Olaf and Sch{\"u}lein, Stefanie and Arand, Gerlinde and Arnholdt, Hans and Baaske, Dieter and Bargou, Ralf C. and Becker, Nikolaus and Beckmann, Matthias W. and Bodack, Yves and B{\"o}hme, Beatrix and Bozkurt, Tayfun and Breitsprecher, Regine and Buchali, Andre and Burger, Elke and Burger, Ulrike and Dommisch, Klaus and Elsner, Gudrun and Fernschild, Karin and Flintzer, Ulrike and Funke, Uwe and Gerken, Michael and G{\"o}bel, Hubert and Grobe, Norbert and Gumpp, Vera and Heinzerling, Lucie and Kempfer, Lana Raffaela and Kiani, Alexander and Klinkhammer-Schalke, Monika and Kl{\"o}cking, Sabine and Kreibich, Ute and Knabner, Katrin and Kuhn, Peter and Lutze, Stine and M{\"a}der, Uwe and Maisel, Tanja and Maschke, Jan and Middeke, Martin and Neubauer, Andreas and Niedostatek, Antje and Opazo-Saez, Anabelle and Peters, Christoph and Schell, Beatrice and Schenkirsch, Gerhard and Schmalenberg, Harald and Schmidt, Peter and Schneider, Constanze and Schubotz, Birgit and Seide, Anika and Strecker, Paul and Taubenheim, Sabine and Wackes, Matthias and Weiß, Steffen and Welke, Claudia and Werner, Carmen and Wittekind, Christian and Wulff, J{\"o}rg and Zettl, Heike and Klug, Stefanie J.}, title = {Tumour stage distribution and survival of malignant melanoma in Germany 2002-2011}, series = {BMC Cancer}, volume = {16}, journal = {BMC Cancer}, number = {936}, doi = {10.1186/s12885-016-2963-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-164544}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Background Over the past two decades, there has been a rising trend in malignant melanoma incidence worldwide. In 2008, Germany introduced a nationwide skin cancer screening program starting at age 35. The aims of this study were to analyse the distribution of malignant melanoma tumour stages over time, as well as demographic and regional differences in stage distribution and survival of melanoma patients. Methods Pooled data from 61 895 malignant melanoma patients diagnosed between 2002 and 2011 and documented in 28 German population-based and hospital-based clinical cancer registries were analysed using descriptive methods, joinpoint regression, logistic regression and relative survival. Results The number of annually documented cases increased by 53.2\% between 2002 (N = 4 779) and 2011 (N = 7 320). There was a statistically significant continuous positive trend in the proportion of stage UICC I cases diagnosed between 2002 and 2011, compared to a negative trend for stage UICC II. No trends were found for stages UICC III and IV respectively. Age (OR 0.97, 95\% CI 0.97-0.97), sex (OR 1.18, 95\% CI 1.11-1.25), date of diagnosis (OR 1.05, 95\% CI 1.04-1.06), 'diagnosis during screening' (OR 3.24, 95\% CI 2.50-4.19) and place of residence (OR 1.23, 95\% CI 1.16-1.30) had a statistically significant influence on the tumour stage at diagnosis. The overall 5-year relative survival for invasive cases was 83.4\% (95\% CI 82.8-83.9\%). Conclusions No distinct changes in the distribution of malignant melanoma tumour stages among those aged 35 and older were seen that could be directly attributed to the introduction of skin cancer screening in 2008. "}, language = {en} } @article{KuhlemannBeliuJanzenetal.2021, author = {Kuhlemann, Alexander and Beliu, Gerti and Janzen, Dieter and Petrini, Enrica Maria and Taban, Danush and Helmerich, Dominic A. and Doose, S{\"o}ren and Bruno, Martina and Barberis, Andrea and Villmann, Carmen and Sauer, Markus and Werner, Christian}, title = {Genetic Code Expansion and Click-Chemistry Labeling to Visualize GABA-A Receptors by Super-Resolution Microscopy}, series = {Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience}, volume = {13}, journal = {Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience}, issn = {1663-3563}, doi = {10.3389/fnsyn.2021.727406}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-251035}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Fluorescence labeling of difficult to access protein sites, e.g., in confined compartments, requires small fluorescent labels that can be covalently tethered at well-defined positions with high efficiency. Here, we report site-specific labeling of the extracellular domain of γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABA-A) receptor subunits by genetic code expansion (GCE) with unnatural amino acids (ncAA) combined with bioorthogonal click-chemistry labeling with tetrazine dyes in HEK-293-T cells and primary cultured neurons. After optimization of GABA-A receptor expression and labeling efficiency, most effective variants were selected for super-resolution microscopy and functionality testing by whole-cell patch clamp. Our results show that GCE with ncAA and bioorthogonal click labeling with small tetrazine dyes represents a versatile method for highly efficient site-specific fluorescence labeling of proteins in a crowded environment, e.g., extracellular protein domains in confined compartments such as the synaptic cleft.}, language = {en} }