@article{KneitzKalogirouSpahnetal.2013, author = {Kneitz, Burkhard and Kalogirou, Charis and Spahn, Martin and Krebs, Markus and Joniau, Steven and Lerut, Evelyne and Burger, Maximilian and Scholz, Claus-J{\"u}rgen and Kneitz, Susanne and Riedmiller, Hubertus}, title = {MiR-205 Is Progressively Down-Regulated in Lymph Node Metastasis but Fails as a Prognostic Biomarker in High-Risk Prostate Cancer}, series = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences}, doi = {10.3390/ijms141121414}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97321}, year = {2013}, abstract = {The treatment of high-risk prostate cancer (HRPCa) is a tremendous challenge for uro-oncologists. The identification of predictive moleculobiological markers allowing risk assessment of lymph node metastasis and systemic progression is essential in establishing effective treatment. In the current study, we investigate the prognostic potential of miR-205 in HRPCa study and validation cohorts, setting defined clinical endpoints for both. We demonstrate miR-205 to be significantly down-regulated in over 70\% of the HRPCa samples analysed and that reconstitution of miR-205 causes inhibition of proliferation and invasiveness in prostate cancer (PCa) cell lines. Additionally, miR-205 is increasingly down-regulated in lymph node metastases compared to the primary tumour indicating that miR-205 plays a role in migration of PCa cells from the original location into extraprostatic tissue. Nevertheless, down-regulation of miR-205 in primary PCa was not correlated to the synchronous presence of metastasis and failed to predict the outcome for HRPCa patients. Moreover, we found a tendency for miR-205 up-regulation to correlate with an adverse outcome of PCa patients suggesting a pivotal role of miR-205 in tumourigenesis. Overall, we showed that miR-205 is involved in the development and metastasis of PCa, but failed to work as a useful clinical biomarker in HRPCa. These findings might have implications for the use of miR-205 as a prognostic or therapeutic target in HRPCa.}, language = {en} } @article{BuschTschernitzThurneretal.2013, author = {Busch, Albert and Tschernitz, Sebastian and Thurner, Anette and Kellersmann, Richard and Lorenz, Udo}, title = {Fatal Paraneoplastic Embolisms in Both Circulations in a Patient with Poorly Differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumour}, series = {Case Reports in Vascular Medicine}, journal = {Case Reports in Vascular Medicine}, doi = {10.1155/2013/739427}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97335}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Arterial embolism with lower limb ischemia is a rare manifestation of paraneoplastic hypercoagulability in cancer patients. We report a unique case of fatal thromboembolism involving both circulations associated with a poorly differentiated neuroendocrine tumor of the lung with rapid progress despite high doses of unfractioned heparin and review the current literature on anticoagulative regimen in tumour patients.}, language = {en} } @article{LinsenmannMonoranuKessleretal.2013, author = {Linsenmann, Thomas and Monoranu, Camelia M. and Kessler, Almuth F. and Ernestus, Ralf I. and Westermaier, Thomas}, title = {Bone chips, fibrin glue, and osteogeneration following lateral suboccipital craniectomy: a case report}, series = {BMC Research Notes}, journal = {BMC Research Notes}, doi = {10.1186/1756-0500-6-523}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97346}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background Suboccipital craniectomy is a conventional approach for exploring cerebellopontine angle lesions. A variety of techniques have been successfully employed to reconstruct a craniectomy. This is the first report about the histological findings after performing a cranioplasty by using a mixture of autologous bone chips and human allogenic fibrin glue. Case presentation A 53-year-old German woman underwent left lateral suboccipital retrosigmoidal craniectomy for treatment of trigeminal neuralgia in 2008. Cranioplasty was perfomed by using a mixture of autologous bone chips and human allogenic fibrin glue. Due to recurrent neuralgia, a second left lateral suboccipital craniectomy was performed in 2012. The intraoperative findings revealed a complete ossification of the former craniotomy including widely mature trabecular bone tissue in the histological examination. Conclusion A mixture of autologous bone chips and human allogenic fibrin glue seems to provide sufficient bone-regeneration revealed by histological and neuroradiological examinations.}, language = {en} } @article{SchusterJohannsenRoewer2013, author = {Schuster, Frank and Johannsen, Stephan and Roewer, Norbert}, title = {A Minimal-Invasive Metabolic Test Detects Malignant Hyperthermia Susceptibility in a Patient after Sevoflurane-Induced Metabolic Crisis}, series = {Case Reports in Anesthesiology}, journal = {Case Reports in Anesthesiology}, doi = {10.1155/2013/953859}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97080}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Malignant hyperthermia is a rare but life-threatening complication of general anesthesia in predisposed patients usually triggered by potent inhalation anesthetics and/or the depolarizing muscle relaxant succinylcholine. The authors present a case of delayed sevoflurane-induced malignant hyperthermia in a 21-year-old male patient that was sufficiently treated by discontinuation of trigger agent application and dantrolene infusion. After surviving an MH episode diagnostic procedures are indicated to increase patient safety. In the presented case, the use of a novel minimal-invasive metabolic test with intramuscular injection of halothane and caffeine successfully confirmed MH susceptibility and hence might be an alternative for invasive in vitro contracture testing in selected cases.}, language = {en} } @article{AraragiMlinarBaccinietal.2013, author = {Araragi, Naozumi and Mlinar, Boris and Baccini, Gilda and Gutknecht, Lise and Lesch, Klaus-Peter and Corradetti, Renato}, title = {Conservation of 5-HT1A receptor-mediated autoinhibition of serotonin (5-HT) neurons in mice with altered 5-HT homeostasis}, series = {Frontiers in Neuropharmacology}, journal = {Frontiers in Neuropharmacology}, doi = {10.3389/fphar.2013.00097}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97098}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Firing activity of serotonin (5-HT) neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) is controlled by inhibitory somatodendritic 5-HT1A autoreceptors. This autoinhibitory mechanism is implicated in the etiology of disorders of emotion regulation, such as anxiety disorders and depression, as well as in the mechanism of antidepressant action. Here, we investigated how persistent alterations in brain 5-HT availability affect autoinhibition in two genetically modified mouse models lacking critical mediators of serotonergic transmission: 5-HT transporter knockout (Sert-/-) and tryptophan hydroxylase-2 knockout (Tph2-/-) mice. The degree of autoinhibition was assessed by loose-seal cell-attached recording in DRN slices. First, application of the 5-HT1A-selective agonist R(+)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin showed mild sensitization and marked desensitization of 5-HT1A receptors in Tph2-/- mice and Sert-/- mice, respectively. While 5-HT neurons from Tph2-/- mice did not display autoinhibition in response to L-tryptophan, autoinhibition of these neurons was unaltered in Sert-/- mice despite marked desensitization of their 5-HT1A autoreceptors. When the Tph2-dependent 5-HT synthesis step was bypassed by application of 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan (5-HTP), neurons from both Tph2-/- and Sert-/- mice decreased their firing rates at significantly lower concentrations of 5-HTP compared to wildtype controls. Our findings demonstrate that, as opposed to the prevalent view, sensitivity of somatodendritic 5-HT1A receptors does not predict the magnitude of 5-HT neuron autoinhibition. Changes in 5-HT1A receptor sensitivity may rather be seen as an adaptive mechanism to keep autoinhibition functioning in response to extremely altered levels of extracellular 5-HT resulting from targeted inactivation of mediators of serotonergic signaling.}, language = {en} } @article{BuchnerBlancoRedondoBunzetal.2013, author = {Buchner, Erich and Blanco Redondo, Beatriz and Bunz, Melanie and Halder, Partho and Sadanandappa, Madhumala K. and M{\"u}hlbauer, Barbara and Erwin, Felix and Hofbauer, Alois and Rodrigues, Veronica and VijayRaghavan, K. and Ramaswami, Mani and Rieger, Dirk and Wegener, Christian and F{\"o}rster, Charlotte}, title = {Identification and Structural Characterization of Interneurons of the Drosophila Brain by Monoclonal Antibodies of the W{\"u}rzburg Hybridoma Library}, series = {PLoS ONE}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0075420}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97109}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Several novel synaptic proteins have been identified by monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) of the W{\"u}rzburg hybridoma library generated against homogenized Drosophila brains, e.g. cysteine string protein, synapse-associated protein of 47 kDa, and Bruchpilot. However, at present no routine technique exists to identify the antigens of mAbs of our library that label only a small number of cells in the brain. Yet these antibodies can be used to reproducibly label and thereby identify these cells by immunohistochemical staining. Here we describe the staining patterns in the Drosophila brain for ten mAbs of the W{\"u}rzburg hybridoma library. Besides revealing the neuroanatomical structure and distribution of ten different sets of cells we compare the staining patterns with those of antibodies against known antigens and GFP expression patterns driven by selected Gal4 lines employing regulatory sequences of neuronal genes. We present examples where our antibodies apparently stain the same cells in different Gal4 lines suggesting that the corresponding regulatory sequences can be exploited by the split-Gal4 technique for transgene expression exclusively in these cells. The detection of Gal4 expression in cells labeled by mAbs may also help in the identification of the antigens recognized by the antibodies which then in addition to their value for neuroanatomy will represent important tools for the characterization of the antigens. Implications and future strategies for the identification of the antigens are discussed.}, language = {en} } @article{SchultzTerhoeven2013, author = {Schultz, J{\"o}rg and Terhoeven, Niklas}, title = {The bilaterian roots of cordon-bleu}, series = {BMC Research Notes}, journal = {BMC Research Notes}, doi = {10.1186/1756-0500-6-393}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97161}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background The actin cytoskeleton is essential for many physiological processes of eukaryotic cells. The emergence of new actin fibers is initiated by actin nucleators. Whereas most of them are evolutionary old, the cordon-bleu actin nucleator is classified as vertebrate specific. Findings Using sensitive methods for sequence similarity detection, we identified homologs of cordon-bleu not only in non-vertebrate chordates but also in arthropods, molluscs, annelids and platyhelminthes. These genes contain only a single WH2 domain and therefore resemble more the vertebrate cordon-bleu related 1 protein than the three WH2 domain containing cordon-bleu. Furthermore, we identified a homolog of the N-terminal, ubiquitin like, cobl domain of cordon-bleu in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis. Conclusion Our results suggest that the ur-form of the cordon-bleu protein family evolved already with the emergence of the bilateria by the combination of existing cobl and WH2 domains. Following a vertebrate specific gene-duplication, one copy gained two additional WH2 domains leading to the actin nucleating cordon-bleu. The function of the ur-form of the cordon-bleu protein family is so far unknown. The identification of a homolog in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster could facilitate its experimental characterization.}, language = {en} } @article{BuderGesierichGelbrichetal.2013, author = {Buder, Kristina and Gesierich, Anja and Gelbrich, G{\"o}tz and Goebeler, Matthias}, title = {Systemic treatment of metastatic uveal melanoma: review of literature and future perspectives}, series = {Cancer Medicine}, volume = {2}, journal = {Cancer Medicine}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1002/cam4.133}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97175}, pages = {674-686}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Up to 50\% of patients with uveal melanoma develop metastatic disease with poor prognosis. Regional, mainly liver-directed, therapies may induce limited tumor responses but do not improve overall survival. Response rates of metastatic uveal melanoma (MUM) to systemic chemotherapy are poor. Insights into the molecular biology of MUM recently led to investigation of new drugs. In this study, to compare response rates of systemic treatment for MUM we searched Pubmed/Web of Knowledge databases and ASCO website (1980-2013) for "metastatic/uveal/melanoma" and "melanoma/eye." Forty studies (one case series, three phase I, five pilot, 22 nonrandomized, and two randomized phase II, one randomized phase III study, data of three expanded access programs, three retrospective studies) with 841 evaluable patients were included in the numeric outcome analysis. Complete or partial remissions were observed in 39/841 patients (overall response rate [ORR] 4.6\%; 95\% confidence intervals [CI] 3.3-6.3\%), no responses were observed in 22/40 studies. Progression-free survival ranged from 1.8 to 7.2, median overall survival from 5.2 to 19.0 months as reported in 21/40 and 26/40 studies, respectively. Best responses were seen for chemoimmunotherapy (ORR 10.3\%; 95\% CI 4.8-18.7\%) though mainly in first-line patients. Immunotherapy with ipilimumab, antiangiogenetic approaches, and kinase inhibitors have not yet proven to be superior to chemotherapy. MEK inhibitors are currently investigated in a phase II trial with promising preliminary data. Despite new insights into genetic and molecular background of MUM, satisfying systemic treatment approaches are currently lacking. Study results of innovative treatment strategies are urgently awaited.}, language = {en} } @article{ShannonHein2013, author = {Shannon, Graver and Hein, Melanie}, title = {Tumor cell response to bevacizumab single agent therapy in vitro}, series = {Cancer Cell International}, journal = {Cancer Cell International}, doi = {10.1186/1475-2867-13-94}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97185}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background Angiogenesis represents a highly multi-factorial and multi-cellular complex (patho-) physiologic event involving endothelial cells, tumor cells in malignant conditions, as well as bone marrow derived cells and stromal cells. One main driver is vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA), which is known to interact with endothelial cells as a survival and mitogenic signal. The role of VEGFA on tumor cells and /or tumor stromal cell interaction is less clear. Condition specific (e.g. hypoxia) or tumor specific expression of VEGFA, VEGF receptors and co-receptors on tumor cells has been reported, in addition to the expression on the endothelium. This suggests a potential paracrine/autocrine loop that could affect changes specific to tumor cells. Methods We used the monoclonal antibody against VEGFA, bevacizumab, in various in vitro experiments using cell lines derived from different tumor entities (non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colorectal cancer (CRC), breast cancer (BC) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC)) in order to determine if potential VEGFA signaling could be blocked in tumor cells. The experiments were done under hypoxia, a major inducer of VEGFA and angiogenesis, in an attempt to mimic the physiological tumor condition. Known VEGFA induced endothelial biological responses such as proliferation, migration, survival and gene expression changes were evaluated. Results Our study was able to demonstrate expression of VEGF receptors on tumor cells as well as hypoxia regulated angiogenic gene expression. In addition, there was a cell line specific effect in tumor cells by VEGFA blockade with bevacizumab in terms of proliferation; however overall, there was a limited measurable consequence of bevacizumab therapy detected by migration and survival. Conclusion The present study showed in a variety of in vitro experiments with several tumor cell lines from different tumor origins, that by blocking VEGFA with bevacizumab, there was a limited autocrine or cell-autonomous function of VEGFA signaling in tumor cells, when evaluating VEGFA induced downstream outputs known in endothelial cells.}, language = {en} } @article{MuellerFiebigWeidaueretal.2013, author = {Mueller, Thomas D. and Fiebig, Juliane E. and Weidauer, Stella E. and Qiu, Li-Yan and Bauer, Markus and Schmieder, Peter and Beerbaum, Monika and Zhang, Jin-Li and Oschkinat, Hartmut and Sebald, Walter}, title = {The Clip-Segment of the von Willebrand Domain 1 of the BMP Modulator Protein Crossveinless 2 Is Preformed}, series = {Molecules}, journal = {Molecules}, doi = {10.3390/molecules181011658}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97196}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) are secreted protein hormones that act as morphogens and exert essential roles during embryonic development of tissues and organs. Signaling by BMPs occurs via hetero-oligomerization of two types of serine/threonine kinase transmembrane receptors. Due to the small number of available receptors for a large number of BMP ligands ligand-receptor promiscuity presents an evident problem requiring additional regulatory mechanisms for ligand-specific signaling. Such additional regulation is achieved through a plethora of extracellular antagonists, among them members of the Chordin superfamily, that modulate BMP signaling activity by binding. The key-element in Chordin-related antagonists for interacting with BMPs is the von Willebrand type C (VWC) module, which is a small domain of about 50 to 60 residues occurring in many different proteins. Although a structure of the VWC domain of the Chordin-member Crossveinless 2 (CV2) bound to BMP-2 has been determined by X-ray crystallography, the molecular mechanism by which the VWC domain binds BMPs has remained unclear. Here we present the NMR structure of the Danio rerio CV2 VWC1 domain in its unbound state showing that the key features for high affinity binding to BMP-2 is a pre-oriented peptide loop.}, language = {en} } @article{SbieraRonchiLeichetal.2013, author = {Sbiera, Silviu and Ronchi, Cristina L. and Leich, Ellen and Henzel, Katharina and Rosenwald, Andreas and Allolio, Bruno and Fassnacht, Martin}, title = {Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Array Profiling of Adrenocortical Tumors - Evidence for an Adenoma Carcinoma Sequence?}, series = {PLoS ONE}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0073959}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-97218}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Adrenocortical tumors consist of benign adenomas and highly malignant carcinomas with a still incompletely understood pathogenesis. A total of 46 adrenocortical tumors (24 adenomas and 22 carcinomas) were investigated aiming to identify novel genes involved in adrenocortical tumorigenesis. High-resolution single nucleotide polymorphism arrays (Affymetrix) were used to detect copy number alterations (CNAs) and copy neutral losses of heterozygosity (cnLOH). Genomic clustering showed good separation between adenomas and carcinomas, with best partition including only chromosome 5, which was highly amplified in 17/22 malignant tumors. The malignant tumors had more relevant genomic aberrations than benign tumors, such as a higher median number of recurrent CNA (2631 vs 94), CNAs >100 Kb (62.5 vs 7) and CN losses (72.5 vs 5.5), and a higher percentage of samples with cnLOH (91\% vs 29\%). Within the carcinoma cohort, a precise genetic pattern (i.e. large gains at chr 5, 7, 12, and 19, and losses at chr 1, 2, 13, 17, and 22) was associated with a better prognosis (overall survival: 72.2 vs 35.4 months, P=0.063). Interestingly, >70\% of gains frequent in beningn were also present in malignant tumors. Notch signaling was the most frequently involved pathway in both tumor entities. Finally, a CN gain at imprinted "IGF2" locus chr 11p15.5 appeared to be an early alteration in a multi-step tumor progression, followed by the loss of one or two alleles, associated with increased IGF2 expression, only in carcinomas. Our study serves as database for the identification of genes and pathways, such as Notch signaling, which could be involved in the pathogenesis of adrenocortical tumors. Using these data, we postulate an adenoma-carcinoma sequence for these tumors.}, language = {en} } @article{RittnerHackelPflueckeetal.2013, author = {Rittner, Heike Lydia and Hackel, Dagmar and Pfl{\"u}cke, Diana and Neumann, Annick and Viebahn, Johannes and Mousa, Shaaban and Wischmeyer, Erhard and Roewer, Norbert and Brack, Alexander}, title = {The Connection of Monocytes and Reactive Oxygen Species in Pain}, series = {PLoS ONE}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0063564}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96669}, year = {2013}, abstract = {The interplay of specific leukocyte subpopulations, resident cells and proalgesic mediators results in pain in inflammation. Proalgesic mediators like reactive oxygen species (ROS) and downstream products elicit pain by stimulation of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. The contribution of leukocyte subpopulations however is less clear. Local injection of neutrophilic chemokines elicits neutrophil recruitment but no hyperalgesia in rats. In meta-analyses the monocytic chemoattractant, CCL2 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; MCP-1), was identified as an important factor in the pathophysiology of human and animal pain. In this study, intraplantar injection of CCL2 elicited thermal and mechanical pain in Wistar but not in Dark Agouti (DA) rats, which lack p47phox, a part of the NADPH oxidase complex. Inflammatory hyperalgesia after complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) as well as capsaicin-induced hyperalgesia and capsaicin-induced current flow in dorsal root ganglion neurons in DA were comparable to Wistar rats. Macrophages from DA expressed lower levels of CCR2 and thereby migrated less towards CCL2 and formed limited amounts of ROS in vitro and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) in the tissue in response to CCL2 compared to Wistar rats. Local adoptive transfer of peritoneal macrophages from Wistar but not from DA rats reconstituted CCL2-triggered hyperalgesia in leukocyte-depleted DA and Wistar rats. A pharmacological stimulator of ROS production (phytol) restored CCL2-induced hyperalgesia in vivo in DA rats. In Wistar rats, CCL2-induced hyperalgesia was completely blocked by superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase or tempol. Likewise, inhibition of NADPH oxidase by apocynin reduced CCL2-elicited hyperalgesia but not CFA-induced inflammatory hyperalgesia. In summary, we provide a link between CCL2, CCR2 expression on macrophages, NADPH oxidase, ROS and the development CCL2-triggered hyperalgesia, which is different from CFA-induced hyperalgesia. The study further supports the impact of CCL2 and ROS as potential targets in pain therapy.}, language = {en} } @article{RudelFaulstichBoettcheretal.2013, author = {Rudel, Thomas and Faulstich, Michaela and B{\"o}ttcher, Jan-Peter and Meyer, Thomas F. and Fraunholz, Martin}, title = {Pilus Phase Variation Switches Gonococcal Adherence to Invasion by Caveolin-1-Dependent Host Cell Signaling}, series = {PLoS Pathogens}, journal = {PLoS Pathogens}, doi = {10.1371/journal.ppat.1003373}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96679}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Many pathogenic bacteria cause local infections but occasionally invade into the blood stream, often with fatal outcome. Very little is known about the mechanism underlying the switch from local to invasive infection. In the case of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, phase variable type 4 pili (T4P) stabilize local infection by mediating microcolony formation and inducing anti-invasive signals. Outer membrane porin PorBIA, in contrast, is associated with disseminated infection and facilitates the efficient invasion of gonococci into host cells. Here we demonstrate that loss of pili by natural pilus phase variation is a prerequisite for the transition from local to invasive infection. Unexpectedly, both T4P-mediated inhibition of invasion and PorBIA-triggered invasion utilize membrane rafts and signaling pathways that depend on caveolin-1-Y14 phosphorylation (Cav1-pY14). We identified p85 regulatory subunit of PI3 kinase (PI3K) and phospholipase Cγ1 as new, exclusive and essential interaction partners for Cav1-pY14 in the course of PorBIA-induced invasion. Active PI3K induces the uptake of gonococci via a new invasion pathway involving protein kinase D1. Our data describe a novel route of bacterial entry into epithelial cells and offer the first mechanistic insight into the switch from local to invasive gonococcal infection.}, language = {en} } @article{KopfDreslerReichertsetal.2013, author = {Kopf, Juliane and Dresler, Thomas and Reicherts, Philipp and Herrmann, Martin J. and Reif, Andreas}, title = {The Effect of Emotional Content on Brain Activation and the Late Positive Potential in a Word n-back Task}, series = {PLoS ONE}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0075598}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96687}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Introduction There is mounting evidence for the influence of emotional content on working memory performance. This is particularly important in light of the emotion processing that needs to take place when emotional content interferes with executive functions. In this study, we used emotional words of different valence but with similar arousal levels in an n-back task. Methods We examined the effects on activation in the prefrontal cortex by means of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and on the late positive potential (LPP). FNIRS and LPP data were examined in 30 healthy subjects. Results Behavioral results show an influence of valence on the error rate depending on the difficulty of the task: more errors were made when the valence was negative and the task difficult. Brain activation was dependent both on the difficulty of the task and on the valence: negative valence of a word diminished the increase in activation, whereas positive valence did not influence the increase in activation, while difficulty levels increased. The LPP also differentiated between the different valences, and in addition was influenced by the task difficulty, the more difficult the task, the less differentiation could be observed. Conclusions Summarized, this study shows the influence of valence on a verbal working memory task. When a word contained a negative valence, the emotional content seemed to take precedence in contrast to words containing a positive valence. Working memory and emotion processing sites seemed to overlap and compete for resources even when words are carriers of the emotional content.}, language = {en} } @article{UteReisbergHildebrandtetal.2013, author = {Ute, Hentschel and Reisberg, Eva E. and Hildebrandt, Ulrich and Riederer, Markus}, title = {Distinct Phyllosphere Bacterial Communities on Arabidopsis Wax Mutant Leaves}, series = {PLoS ONE}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0078613}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96699}, year = {2013}, abstract = {The phyllosphere of plants is inhabited by diverse microorganisms, however, the factors shaping their community composition are not fully elucidated. The plant cuticle represents the initial contact surface between microorganisms and the plant. We thus aimed to investigate whether mutations in the cuticular wax biosynthesis would affect the diversity of the phyllosphere microbiota. A set of four Arabidopsis thaliana eceriferum mutants (cer1, cer6, cer9, cer16) and their respective wild type (Landsberg erecta) were subjected to an outdoor growth period and analysed towards this purpose. The chemical distinctness of the mutant wax phenotypes was confirmed by gas chromatographic measurements. Next generation amplicon pyrosequencing of the bacterial communities showed distinct community patterns. This observation was supported by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis experiments. Microbial community analyses revealed bacterial phylotypes that were ubiquitously present on all plant lines (termed "core" community) while others were positively or negatively affected by the wax mutant phenotype (termed "plant line-specific" community). We conclude from this study that plant cuticular wax composition can affect the community composition of phyllosphere bacteria.}, language = {en} } @article{WestermaierStetterKunzeetal.2013, author = {Westermaier, Thomas and Stetter, Christian and Kunze, Ekkehard and Willner, Nadine and Raslan, Furat and Vince, Giles H. and Ernestus, Ralf-Ingo}, title = {Magnesium treatment for neuroprotection in ischemic diseases of the brain}, series = {Experimental and Translational Stroke Medicine}, journal = {Experimental and Translational Stroke Medicine}, doi = {10.1186/2040-7378-5-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96729}, year = {2013}, abstract = {This article reviews experimental and clinical data on the use of magnesium as a neuroprotective agent in various conditions of cerebral ischemia. Whereas magnesium has shown neuroprotective properties in animal models of global and focal cerebral ischemia, this effect could not be reproduced in a large human stroke trial. These conflicting results may be explained by the timing of treatment. While treatment can be started before or early after ischemia in experimental studies, there is an inevitable delay of treatment in human stroke. Magnesium administration to women at risk for preterm birth has been investigated in several randomized controlled trials and was found to reduce the risk of neurological deficits for the premature infant. Postnatal administration of magnesium to babies after perinatal asphyxia has been studied in a number of controlled clinical trials. The results are promising but the trials have, so far, been underpowered. In aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), cerebral ischemia arises with the onset of delayed cerebral vasospasm several days after aneurysm rupture. Similar to perinatal asphyxia in impending preterm delivery, treatment can be started prior to ischemia. The results of clinical trials are conflicting. Several clinical trials did not show an additive effect of magnesium with nimodipine, another calcium antagonist which is routinely administered to SAH patients in many centers. Other trials found a protective effect after magnesium therapy. Thus, it may still be a promising substance in the treatment of secondary cerebral ischemia after aneurysmal SAH. Future prospects of magnesium therapy are discussed.}, language = {en} } @article{RudelPrustySiegletal.2013, author = {Rudel, Thomas and Prusty, Bhupesh K. and Siegl, Christine and Hauck, Petra and Hain, Johannes and Korhonen, Suvi J. and Hiltunen-Back, Eija and Poulakkainen, Mirja}, title = {Chlamydia trachomatis Infection Induces Replication of Latent HHV-6}, series = {PLoS ONE}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0061400}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96731}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) exists in latent form either as a nuclear episome or integrated into human chromosomes in more than 90\% of healthy individuals without causing clinical symptoms. Immunosuppression and stress conditions can reactivate HHV-6 replication, associated with clinical complications and even death. We have previously shown that co-infection of Chlamydia trachomatis and HHV-6 promotes chlamydial persistence and increases viral uptake in an in vitro cell culture model. Here we investigated C. trachomatis-induced HHV-6 activation in cell lines and fresh blood samples from patients having Chromosomally integrated HHV-6 (CiHHV-6). We observed activation of latent HHV-6 DNA replication in CiHHV-6 cell lines and fresh blood cells without formation of viral particles. Interestingly, we detected HHV-6 DNA in blood as well as cervical swabs from C. trachomatis-infected women. Low virus titers correlated with high C. trachomatis load and vice versa, demonstrating a potentially significant interaction of these pathogens in blood cells and in the cervix of infected patients. Our data suggest a thus far underestimated interference of HHV-6 and C. trachomatis with a likely impact on the disease outcome as consequence of co-infection.}, language = {en} } @article{LoehrMolcanyiPoggenborgetal.2013, author = {L{\"o}hr, Mario and Molcanyi, Marek and Poggenborg, J{\"o}rg and Spuentrup, Elmar and Runge, Matthias and R{\"o}hn, Gabriele and H{\"a}rtig, Wolfgang and Hescheler, J{\"u}rgen and Hampl, J{\"u}rgen A.}, title = {Intracerebral Administration of Heat-Inactivated Staphylococcus Epidermidis Enhances Oncolysis and Prolongs Survival in a 9L Orthotopic Gliosarcoma Model}, series = {Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry}, journal = {Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry}, doi = {10.1159/000350081}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96754}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background/Aims: The association between postoperative infection and prolonged survival in high-grade glioma is still a matter of debate. Previously we demonstrated that the intracerebral (i.c.) injection of heat-inactivated staphylococcal epitopes (HISE) resulted in a well-defined infux of immunocompetent cells across the blood-brain barrier. The present study investigated the potential antitumoral effect of HISE-immunostimulation in an experimental glioma model. Methods: Wistar rats were intracerebrally implanted with 9L gliosarcoma cells (n=6), 9L cells mixed with HISE (n=12), or phosphate buffered saline (n=4). Tumor growth was measured by serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). After death due to the tumor burden, the brains were histopathologically assessed for inflammation and oncolysis. A toxicity assay was performed to quantify potential impairment of HISE on tumor cell growth in vitro. Results: Animals treated by HISE showed a significant increase in average survival and even complete regression of an already established mass in one case. Na{\"i}ve 9L gliosarcomas failed to recruit significant numbers of systemic immune cells. In contrast, concomitant intracerebral HISE inoculation lead to a oncolysis and a distinct peri- and intratumoral infiltration of macrophages, CD8 and CD4 co-expressing T-lymphocytes in two thirds of the tumor-bearing animals. The toxicity screening showed HISE-mediated oncolysis to be ineffective ex vivo. Conclusion: This study describes a novel approach for combatting malignant glioma using inactivated staphylococci as potent immunomodulators. Our results provide an outline for investigating the strategic potential of bacteria as emerging future therapeutics.}, language = {en} } @article{BaeuerleinRiedelBakeretal.2013, author = {B{\"a}uerlein, Carina A. and Riedel, Simone S. and Baker, Jeanette and Brede, Christian and Jord{\´a}n Garrote, Ana-Laura and Chopra, Martin and Ritz, Miriam and Beilhack, Georg F. and Schulz, Stephan and Zeiser, Robert and Schlegel, Paul G. and Einsele, Hermann and Negrin, Robert S. and Beilhack, Andreas}, title = {A diagnostic window for the treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease prior to visible clinical symptoms in a murine model}, series = {BMC Medicine}, journal = {BMC Medicine}, doi = {10.1186/1741-7015-11-134}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96797}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) poses a major limitation for broader therapeutic application of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Early diagnosis of aGVHD remains difficult and is based on clinical symptoms and histopathological evaluation of tissue biopsies. Thus, current aGVHD diagnosis is limited to patients with established disease manifestation. Therefore, for improved disease prevention it is important to develop predictive assays to identify patients at risk of developing aGVHD. Here we address whether insights into the timing of the aGVHD initiation and effector phases could allow for the detection of migrating alloreactive T cells before clinical aGVHD onset to permit for efficient therapeutic intervention. Methods Murine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) mismatched and minor histocompatibility antigen (miHAg) mismatched allo-HCT models were employed to assess the spatiotemporal distribution of donor T cells with flow cytometry and in vivo bioluminescence imaging (BLI). Daily flow cytometry analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells allowed us to identify migrating alloreactive T cells based on homing receptor expression profiles. Results We identified a time period of 2 weeks of massive alloreactive donor T cell migration in the blood after miHAg mismatch allo-HCT before clinical aGVHD symptoms appeared. Alloreactive T cells upregulated α4β7 integrin and P-selectin ligand during this migration phase. Consequently, targeted preemptive treatment with rapamycin, starting at the earliest detection time of alloreactive donor T cells in the peripheral blood, prevented lethal aGVHD. Conclusions Based on this data we propose a critical time frame prior to the onset of aGVHD symptoms to identify alloreactive T cells in the peripheral blood for timely and effective therapeutic intervention.}, language = {en} } @article{SchulzeTillichDandekaretal.2013, author = {Schulze, Katja and Tillich, Ulrich M. and Dandekar, Thomas and Frohme, Marcus}, title = {PlanktoVision - an automated analysis system for the identification of phytoplankton}, series = {BMC Bioinformatics}, journal = {BMC Bioinformatics}, doi = {10.1186/1471-2105-14-115}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96395}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background Phytoplankton communities are often used as a marker for the determination of fresh water quality. The routine analysis, however, is very time consuming and expensive as it is carried out manually by trained personnel. The goal of this work is to develop a system for an automated analysis. Results A novel open source system for the automated recognition of phytoplankton by the use of microscopy and image analysis was developed. It integrates the segmentation of the organisms from the background, the calculation of a large range of features, and a neural network for the classification of imaged organisms into different groups of plankton taxa. The analysis of samples containing 10 different taxa showed an average recognition rate of 94.7\% and an average error rate of 5.5\%. The presented system has a flexible framework which easily allows expanding it to include additional taxa in the future. Conclusions The implemented automated microscopy and the new open source image analysis system - PlanktoVision - showed classification results that were comparable or better than existing systems and the exclusion of non-plankton particles could be greatly improved. The software package is published as free software and is available to anyone to help make the analysis of water quality more reproducible and cost effective.}, language = {en} }