TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ferreira, Manuel A.
A1  - Gamazon, Eric R.
A1  - Al-Ejeh, Fares
A1  - Aittomäki, Kristiina
A1  - Andrulis, Irene L.
A1  - Anton-Culver, Hoda
A1  - Arason, Adalgeir
A1  - Arndt, Volker
A1  - Aronson, Kristan J.
A1  - Arun, Banu K.
A1  - Asseryanis, Ella
A1  - Azzollini, Jacopo
A1  - Balmaña, Judith
A1  - Barnes, Daniel R.
A1  - Barrowdale, Daniel
A1  - Beckmann, Matthias W.
A1  - Behrens, Sabine
A1  - Benitez, Javier
A1  - Bermisheva, Marina
A1  - Bialkowska, Katarzyna
A1  - Blomqvist, Carl
A1  - Bogdanova, Natalia V.
A1  - Bojesen, Stig E.
A1  - Bolla, Manjeet K.
A1  - Borg, Ake
A1  - Brauch, Hiltrud
A1  - Brenner, Hermann
A1  - Broeks, Annegien
A1  - Burwinkel, Barbara
A1  - Caldés, Trinidad
A1  - Caligo, Maria A.
A1  - Campa, Daniele
A1  - Campbell, Ian
A1  - Canzian, Federico
A1  - Carter, Jonathan
A1  - Carter, Brian D.
A1  - Castelao, Jose E.
A1  - Chang-Claude, Jenny
A1  - Chanock, Stephen J.
A1  - Christiansen, Hans
A1  - Chung, Wendy K.
A1  - Claes, Kathleen B. M.
A1  - Clarke, Christine L.
A1  - Couch, Fergus J.
A1  - Cox, Angela
A1  - Cross, Simon S.
A1  - Czene, Kamila
A1  - Daly, Mary B.
A1  - de la Hoya, Miguel
A1  - Dennis, Joe
A1  - Devilee, Peter
A1  - Diez, Orland
A1  - Dörk, Thilo
A1  - Dunning, Alison M.
A1  - Dwek, Miriam
A1  - Eccles, Diana M.
A1  - Ejlertsen, Bent
A1  - Ellberg, Carolina
A1  - Engel, Christoph
A1  - Eriksson, Mikael
A1  - Fasching, Peter A.
A1  - Fletcher, Olivia
A1  - Flyger, Henrik
A1  - Friedman, Eitan
A1  - Frost, Debra
A1  - Gabrielson, Marike
A1  - Gago-Dominguez, Manuela
A1  - Ganz, Patricia A.
A1  - Gapstur, Susan M.
A1  - Garber, Judy
A1  - García-Closas, Montserrat
A1  - García-Sáenz, José A.
A1  - Gaudet, Mia M.
A1  - Giles, Graham G.
A1  - Glendon, Gord
A1  - Godwin, Andrew K.
A1  - Goldberg, Mark S.
A1  - Goldgar, David E.
A1  - González-Neira, Anna
A1  - Greene, Mark H.
A1  - Gronwald, Jacek
A1  - Guenél, Pascal
A1  - Haimann, Christopher A.
A1  - Hall, Per
A1  - Hamann, Ute
A1  - He, Wei
A1  - Heyworth, Jane
A1  - Hogervorst, Frans B. L.
A1  - Hollestelle, Antoinette
A1  - Hoover, Robert N.
A1  - Hopper, John L.
A1  - Hulick, Peter J.
A1  - Humphreys, Keith
A1  - Imyanitov, Evgeny N.
A1  - Isaacs, Claudine
A1  - Jakimovska, Milena
A1  - Jakubowska, Anna
A1  - James, Paul A.
A1  - Janavicius, Ramunas
A1  - Jankowitz, Rachel C.
A1  - John, Esther M.
A1  - Johnson, Nichola
A1  - Joseph, Vijai
A1  - Karlan, Beth Y.
A1  - Khusnutdinova, Elza
A1  - Kiiski, Johanna I.
A1  - Ko, Yon-Dschun
A1  - Jones, Michael E.
A1  - Konstantopoulou, Irene
A1  - Kristensen, Vessela N.
A1  - Laitman, Yael
A1  - Lambrechts, Diether
A1  - Lazaro, Conxi
A1  - Leslie, Goska
A1  - Lester, Jenny
A1  - Lesueur, Fabienne
A1  - Lindström, Sara
A1  - Long, Jirong
A1  - Loud, Jennifer T.
A1  - Lubiński, Jan
A1  - Makalic, Enes
A1  - Mannermaa, Arto
A1  - Manoochehri, Mehdi
A1  - Margolin, Sara
A1  - Maurer, Tabea
A1  - Mavroudis, Dimitrios
A1  - McGuffog, Lesley
A1  - Meindl, Alfons
A1  - Menon, Usha
A1  - Michailidou, Kyriaki
A1  - Miller, Austin
A1  - Montagna, Marco
A1  - Moreno, Fernando
A1  - Moserle, Lidia
A1  - Mulligan, Anna Marie
A1  - Nathanson, Katherine L.
A1  - Neuhausen, Susan L.
A1  - Nevanlinna, Heli
A1  - Nevelsteen, Ines
A1  - Nielsen, Finn C.
A1  - Nikitina-Zake, Liene
A1  - Nussbaum, Robert L.
A1  - Offit, Kenneth
A1  - Olah, Edith
A1  - Olopade, Olufunmilayo I.
A1  - Olsson, Håkan
A1  - Osorio, Ana
A1  - Papp, Janos
A1  - Park-Simon, Tjoung-Won
A1  - Parsons, Michael T.
A1  - Pedersen, Inge Sokilde
A1  - Peixoto, Ana
A1  - Peterlongo, Paolo
A1  - Pharaoh, Paul D. P.
A1  - Plaseska-Karanfilska, Dijana
A1  - Poppe, Bruce
A1  - Presneau, Nadege
A1  - Radice, Paolo
A1  - Rantala, Johanna
A1  - Rennert, Gad
A1  - Risch, Harvey A.
A1  - Saloustros, Emmanouil
A1  - Sanden, Kristin
A1  - Sawyer, Elinor J.
A1  - Schmidt, Marjanka K.
A1  - Schmutzler, Rita K.
A1  - Sharma, Priyanka
A1  - Shu, Xiao-Ou
A1  - Simard, Jaques
A1  - Singer, Christian F.
A1  - Soucy, Penny
A1  - Southey, Melissa C.
A1  - Spinelli, John J.
A1  - Spurdle, Amanda B.
A1  - Stone, Jennifer
A1  - Swerdlow, Anthony J.
A1  - Tapper, William J.
A1  - Taylor, Jack A.
A1  - Teixeira, Manuel R.
A1  - Terry, Mary Beth
A1  - Teulé, Alex
A1  - Thomassen, Mads
A1  - Thöne, Kathrin
A1  - Thull, Darcy L.
A1  - Tischkowitz, Marc
A1  - Toland, Amanda E.
A1  - Torres, Diana
A1  - Truong, Thérèse
A1  - Tung, Nadine
A1  - Vachon, Celine M.
A1  - van Asperen, Christi J.
A1  - van den Ouweland, Ans M. W.
A1  - van Rensburg, Elizabeth J.
A1  - Vega, Ana
A1  - Viel, Alexandra
A1  - Wang, Qin
A1  - Wappenschmidt, Barbara
A1  - Weitzel, Jeffrey N.
A1  - Wendt, Camilla
A1  - Winqvist, Robert
A1  - Yang, Xiaohong R.
A1  - Yannoukakos, Drakoulis
A1  - Ziogas, Argyrios
A1  - Kraft, Peter
A1  - Antoniou, Antonis C.
A1  - Zheng, Wei
A1  - Easton, Douglas F.
A1  - Milne, Roger L.
A1  - Beesley, Jonathan
A1  - Chenevix-Trench, Georgia
T1  - Genome-wide association and transcriptome studies identify target genes and risk loci for breast cancer
JF  - Nature Communications
N2  - Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 170 breast cancer susceptibility loci. Here we hypothesize that some risk-associated variants might act in non-breast tissues, specifically adipose tissue and immune cells from blood and spleen. Using expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) reported in these tissues, we identify 26 previously unreported, likely target genes of overall breast cancer risk variants, and 17 for estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer, several with a known immune function. We determine the directional effect of gene expression on disease risk measured based on single and multiple eQTL. In addition, using a gene-based test of association that considers eQTL from multiple tissues, we identify seven (and four) regions with variants associated with overall (and ER-negative) breast cancer risk, which were not reported in previous GWAS. Further investigation of the function of the implicated genes in breast and immune cells may provide insights into the etiology of breast cancer.
KW  - cancer
KW  - genetics
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228024
VL  - 10
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Dörk, Thilo
A1  - Peterlongo, Peter
A1  - Mannermaa, Arto
A1  - Bolla, Manjeet K.
A1  - Wang, Qin
A1  - Dennis, Joe
A1  - Ahearn, Thomas
A1  - Andrulis, Irene L.
A1  - Anton-Culver, Hoda
A1  - Arndt, Volker
A1  - Aronson, Kristan J.
A1  - Augustinsson, Annelie
A1  - Beane Freeman, Laura E.
A1  - Beckmann, Matthias W.
A1  - Beeghly-Fadiel, Alicia
A1  - Behrens, Sabine
A1  - Bermisheva, Marina
A1  - Blomqvist, Carl
A1  - Bogdanova, Natalia V.
A1  - Bojesen, Stig E.
A1  - Brauch, Hiltrud
A1  - Brenner, Hermann
A1  - Burwinkel, Barbara
A1  - Canzian, Federico
A1  - Chan, Tsun L.
A1  - Chang-Claude, Jenny
A1  - Chanock, Stephen J.
A1  - Choi, Ji-Yeob
A1  - Christiansen, Hans
A1  - Clarke, Christine L.
A1  - Couch, Fergus J.
A1  - Czene, Kamila
A1  - Daly, Mary B.
A1  - dos-Santos-Silva, Isabel
A1  - Dwek, Miriam
A1  - Eccles, Diana M.
A1  - Ekici, Arif B.
A1  - Eriksson, Mikael
A1  - Evans, D. Gareth
A1  - Fasching, Peter A.
A1  - Figueroa, Jonine
A1  - Flyger, Henrik
A1  - Fritschi, Lin
A1  - Gabrielson, Marike
A1  - Gago-Dominguez, Manuela
A1  - Gao, Chi
A1  - Gapstur, Susan M.
A1  - García-Closas, Montserrat
A1  - García-Sáenz, José A.
A1  - Gaudet, Mia M.
A1  - Giles, Graham G.
A1  - Goldberg, Mark S.
A1  - Goldgar, David E.
A1  - Guenél, Pascal
A1  - Haeberle, Lothar
A1  - Haimann, Christopher A.
A1  - Håkansson, Niclas
A1  - Hall, Per
A1  - Hamann, Ute
A1  - Hartman, Mikael
A1  - Hauke, Jan
A1  - Hein, Alexander
A1  - Hillemanns, Peter
A1  - Hogervorst, Frans B. L.
A1  - Hooning, Maartje J.
A1  - Hopper, John L.
A1  - Howell, Tony
A1  - Huo, Dezheng
A1  - Ito, Hidemi
A1  - Iwasaki, Motoki
A1  - Jakubowska, Anna
A1  - Janni, Wolfgang
A1  - John, Esther M.
A1  - Jung, Audrey
A1  - Kaaks, Rudolf
A1  - Kang, Daehee
A1  - Kapoor, Pooja Middha
A1  - Khusnutdinova, Elza
A1  - Kim, Sung-Won
A1  - Kitahara, Cari M.
A1  - Koutros, Stella
A1  - Kraft, Peter
A1  - Kristensen, Vessela N.
A1  - Kwong, Ava
A1  - Lambrechts, Diether
A1  - Le Marchand, Loic
A1  - Li, Jingmei
A1  - Lindström, Sara
A1  - Linet, Martha
A1  - Lo, Wing-Yee
A1  - Long, Jirong
A1  - Lophatananon, Artitaya
A1  - Lubiński, Jan
A1  - Manoochehri, Mehdi
A1  - Manoukian, Siranoush
A1  - Margolin, Sara
A1  - Martinez, Elena
A1  - Matsuo, Keitaro
A1  - Mavroudis, Dimitris
A1  - Meindl, Alfons
A1  - Menon, Usha
A1  - Milne, Roger L.
A1  - Mohd Taib, Nur Aishah
A1  - Muir, Kenneth
A1  - Mulligan, Anna Marie
A1  - Neuhausen, Susan L.
A1  - Nevanlinna, Heli
A1  - Neven, Patrick
A1  - Newman, William G.
A1  - Offit, Kenneth
A1  - Olopade, Olufunmilayo I.
A1  - Olshan, Andrew F.
A1  - Olson, Janet E.
A1  - Olsson, Håkan
A1  - Park, Sue K.
A1  - Park-Simon, Tjoung-Won
A1  - Peto, Julian
A1  - Plaseska-Karanfilska, Dijana
A1  - Pohl-Rescigno, Esther
A1  - Presneau, Nadege
A1  - Rack, Brigitte
A1  - Radice, Paolo
A1  - Rashid, Muhammad U.
A1  - Rennert, Gad
A1  - Rennert, Hedy S.
A1  - Romero, Atocha
A1  - Ruebner, Matthias
A1  - Saloustros, Emmanouil
A1  - Schmidt, Marjanka K.
A1  - Schmutzler, Rita K.
A1  - Schneider, Michael O.
A1  - Schoemaker, Minouk J.
A1  - Scott, Christopher
A1  - Shen, Chen-Yang
A1  - Shu, Xiao-Ou
A1  - Simard, Jaques
A1  - Slager, Susan
A1  - Smichkoska, Snezhana
A1  - Southey, Melissa C.
A1  - Spinelli, John J.
A1  - Stone, Jennifer
A1  - Surowy, Harald
A1  - Swerdlow, Anthony J.
A1  - Tamimi, Rulla M.
A1  - Tapper, William J.
A1  - Teo, Soo H.
A1  - Terry, Mary Beth
A1  - Toland, Amanda E.
A1  - Tollenaar, Rob A. E. M.
A1  - Torres, Diana
A1  - Torres-Mejía, Gabriela
A1  - Troester, Melissa A.
A1  - Truong, Thérèse
A1  - Tsugane, Shoichiro
A1  - Untch, Michael
A1  - Vachon, Celine M.
A1  - van den Ouweland, Ans M. W.
A1  - van Veen, Elke M.
A1  - Vijai, Joseph
A1  - Wendt, Camilla
A1  - Wolk, Alicja
A1  - Yu, Jyh-Cherng
A1  - Zheng, Wei
A1  - Ziogas, Argyrios
A1  - Ziv, Elad
A1  - Dunnig, Alison
A1  - Pharaoh, Paul D. P.
A1  - Schindler, Detlev
A1  - Devilee, Peter
A1  - Easton, Douglas F.
T1  - Two truncating variants in FANCC and breast cancer risk
JF  - Scientific Reports
N2  - Fanconi anemia (FA) is a genetically heterogeneous disorder with 22 disease-causing genes reported to date. In some FA genes, monoallelic mutations have been found to be associated with breast cancer risk, while the risk associations of others remain unknown. The gene for FA type C, FANCC, has been proposed as a breast cancer susceptibility gene based on epidemiological and sequencing studies. We used the Oncoarray project to genotype two truncating FANCC variants (p.R185X and p.R548X) in 64,760 breast cancer cases and 49,793 controls of European descent. FANCC mutations were observed in 25 cases (14 with p.R185X, 11 with p.R548X) and 26 controls (18 with p.R185X, 8 with p.R548X). There was no evidence of an association with the risk of breast cancer, neither overall (odds ratio 0.77, 95%CI 0.44–1.33, p = 0.4) nor by histology, hormone receptor status, age or family history. We conclude that the breast cancer risk association of these two FANCC variants, if any, is much smaller than for BRCA1, BRCA2 or PALB2 mutations. If this applies to all truncating variants in FANCC it would suggest there are differences between FA genes in their roles on breast cancer risk and demonstrates the merit of large consortia for clarifying risk associations of rare variants.
KW  - oncology
KW  - risk factors
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-222838
VL  - 9
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kraft, Peter
A1  - Schuhmann, Michael K.
T1  - Cellular and molecular targets in acute ischemic stroke
JF  - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
N2  - No abstract available
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-288294
SN  - 1422-0067
VL  - 23
IS  - 19
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bieber, Michael
A1  - Foerster, Kathrin I.
A1  - Haefeli, Walter E.
A1  - Pham, Mirko
A1  - Schuhmann, Michael K.
A1  - Kraft, Peter
T1  - Treatment with edoxaban attenuates acute stroke severity in mice by reducing blood–brain barrier damage and inflammation
JF  - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
N2  - Patients with atrial fibrillation and previous ischemic stroke (IS) are at increased risk of cerebrovascular events despite anticoagulation. In these patients, treatment with non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOAC) such as edoxaban reduced the probability and severity of further IS without increasing the risk of major bleeding. However, the detailed protective mechanism of edoxaban has not yet been investigated in a model of ischemia/reperfusion injury. Therefore, in the current study we aimed to assess in a clinically relevant setting whether treatment with edoxaban attenuates stroke severity, and whether edoxaban has an impact on the local cerebral inflammatory response and blood–brain barrier (BBB) function after experimental IS in mice. Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in male mice receiving edoxaban, phenprocoumon or vehicle. Infarct volumes, functional outcome and the occurrence of intracerebral hemorrhage were assessed. BBB damage and the extent of local inflammatory response were determined. Treatment with edoxaban significantly reduced infarct volumes and improved neurological outcome and BBB function on day 1 and attenuated brain tissue inflammation. In summary, our study provides evidence that edoxaban might exert its protective effect in human IS by modulating different key steps of IS pathophysiology, but further studies are warranted.
KW  - edoxaban
KW  - thrombo-inflammation
KW  - blood–brain barrier
KW  - tMCAO
KW  - experimental stroke
KW  - hemorrhagic transformation
KW  - NOAC
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-284481
SN  - 1422-0067
VL  - 22
IS  - 18
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Jírů-Hillmann, Steffi
A1  - Gabriel, Katharina M. A.
A1  - Schuler, Michael
A1  - Wiedmann, Silke
A1  - Mühler, Johannes
A1  - Dötter, Klaus
A1  - Soda, Hassan
A1  - Rascher, Alexandra
A1  - Benesch, Sonka
A1  - Kraft, Peter
A1  - Pfau, Mathias
A1  - Stenzel, Joachim
A1  - von Nippold, Karin
A1  - Benghebrid, Mohamed
A1  - Schulte, Kerstin
A1  - Meinck, Ralf
A1  - Volkmann, Jens
A1  - Haeusler, Karl Georg
A1  - Heuschmann, Peter U.
T1  - Experiences of family caregivers 3-months after stroke: results of the prospective trans-regional network for stroke intervention with telemedicine registry (TRANSIT-Stroke)
JF  - BMC Geriatrics
N2  - Background
Long-term support of stroke patients living at home is often delivered by family caregivers (FC). We identified characteristics of stroke patients being associated with receiving care by a FC 3-months (3 M) after stroke, assessed positive and negative experiences and individual burden of FC caring for stroke patients and determined factors associated with caregiving experiences and burden of FC 3 M after stroke.

Methods
Data were collected within TRANSIT-Stroke, a regional telemedical stroke-network comprising 12 hospitals in Germany. Patients with stroke/TIA providing informed consent were followed up 3 M after the index event. The postal patient-questionnaire was accompanied by an anonymous questionnaire for FC comprising information on positive and negative experiences of FC as well as on burden of caregiving operationalized by the Caregiver Reaction Assessment and a self-rated burden-scale, respectively. Multivariable logistic and linear regression analyses were performed.

Results
Between 01/2016 and 06/2019, 3532 patients provided baseline and 3 M-follow-up- data and 1044 FC responded to questionnaires regarding positive and negative caregiving experiences and caregiving burden. 74.4% of FC were older than 55 years, 70.1% were women and 67.5% were spouses. Older age, diabetes and lower Barthel-Index in patients were significantly associated with a higher probability of receiving care by a FC at 3 M. Positive experiences of FC comprised the importance (81.5%) and the privilege (70.0%) of caring for their relative; negative experiences of FC included financial difficulties associated with caregiving (20.4%). Median overall self-rated burden was 30 (IQR: 0–50; range 0–100). Older age of stroke patients was associated with a lower caregiver burden, whereas younger age of FC led to higher burden. More than half of the stroke patients in whom a FC questionnaire was completed did self-report that they are not being cared by a FC. This stroke patient group tended to be younger, more often male with less severe stroke and less comorbidities who lived more often with a partner.

Conclusions
The majority of caregivers wanted to care for their relatives but experienced burden at the same time. Elderly patients, patients with a lower Barthel Index at discharge and diabetes are at higher risk of needing care by a family caregiver.

Trial registration
The study was registered at “German Clinical Trial Register”: DRKS00011696. https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00011696
KW  - family caregiver
KW  - informal care
KW  - stroke
KW  - stroke care
KW  - telemedicine network
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-313330
VL  - 22
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bellut, Maximilian
A1  - Bieber, Michael
A1  - Kraft, Peter
A1  - Weber, Alexander N. R.
A1  - Stoll, Guido
A1  - Schuhmann, Michael K.
T1  - Delayed NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition ameliorates subacute stroke progression in mice
JF  - Journal of Neuroinflammation
N2  - Background
Ischemic stroke immediately evokes a strong neuro-inflammatory response within the vascular compartment, which contributes to primary infarct development under vessel occlusion as well as further infarct growth despite recanalization, referred to as ischemia/reperfusion injury. Later, in the subacute phase of stroke (beyond day 1 after recanalization), further inflammatory processes within the brain parenchyma follow. Whether this second wave of parenchymal inflammation contributes to an additional/secondary increase in infarct volumes and bears the potential to be pharmacologically targeted remains elusive. We addressed the role of the NLR-family pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome in the subacute phase of ischemic stroke.

Methods
Focal cerebral ischemia was induced in C57Bl/6 mice by a 30-min transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). Animals were treated with the NLRP3 inhibitor MCC950 therapeutically 24 h after or prophylactically before tMCAO. Stroke outcome, including infarct size and functional deficits as well as the local inflammatory response, was assessed on day 7 after tMCAO.

Results
Infarct sizes on day 7 after tMCAO decreased about 35% after delayed and about 60% after prophylactic NLRP3 inhibition compared to vehicle. Functionally, pharmacological inhibition of NLRP3 mitigated the local inflammatory response in the ischemic brain as indicated by reduction of infiltrating immune cells and reactive astrogliosis.

Conclusions
Our results demonstrate that the NLRP3 inflammasome continues to drive neuroinflammation within the subacute stroke phase. NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition leads to a better long-term outcome—even when administered with a delay of 1 day after stroke induction, indicating ongoing inflammation-driven infarct progression. These findings may pave the way for eagerly awaited delayed treatment options in ischemic stroke.
KW  - ischemic stroke
KW  - secondary infarct growth
KW  - neuroinflammation
KW  - middle cerebral artery occlusion
KW  - NLRP3
KW  - inflammasome
Y1  - 2023
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300599
VL  - 20
IS  - 1
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bellut, Maximilian
A1  - Papp, Lena
A1  - Bieber, Michael
A1  - Kraft, Peter
A1  - Stoll, Guido
A1  - Schuhmann, Michael K.
T1  - NLPR3 inflammasome inhibition alleviates hypoxic endothelial cell death in-vitro and protects blood-brain barrier integrity in murine stroke
JF  - Cell Death & Disease
N2  - In ischemic stroke (IS) impairment of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) has an important role in the secondary deterioration of neurological function. BBB disruption is associated with ischemia-induced inflammation, brain edema formation, and hemorrhagic infarct transformation, but the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Dysfunction of endothelial cells (EC) may play a central role in this process. Although neuronal NLR-family pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome upregulation is an established trigger of inflammation in IS, the contribution of its expression in EC is unclear. We here used brain EC, exposed them to oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD) in vitro, and analyzed their survival depending on inflammasome inhibition with the NLRP3-specific drug MCC950. During OGD, EC death could significantly be reduced when targeting NLRP3, concomitant with diminished endothelial NLRP3 expression. Furthermore, MCC950 led to reduced levels of Caspase 1 (p20) and activated Gasdermin D as markers for pyroptosis. Moreover, inflammasome inhibition reduced the secretion of pro-inflammatory chemokines, cytokines, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) in EC. In a translational approach, IS was induced in C57Bl/6 mice by 60 mins transient middle cerebral artery occlusion and 23 hours of reperfusion. Stroke volume, functional outcome, the BBB integrity, and-in good agreement with the in vitro results-MMP9 secretion as well as EC survival improved significantly in MCC950-treated mice. In conclusion, our results establish the NLRP3 inflammasome as a critical pathogenic effector of stroke-induced BBB disruption by activating inflammatory signaling cascades and pyroptosis in brain EC.
KW  - inflammasome
KW  - preclinical research
KW  - stroke
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265693
VL  - 13
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Essig, Fabian
A1  - Babilon, Lilith
A1  - Vollmuth, Christoph
A1  - Kollikowski, Alexander M.
A1  - Pham, Mirko
A1  - Solymosi, László
A1  - Haeusler, Karl Georg
A1  - Kraft, Peter
A1  - Stoll, Guido
A1  - Schuhmann, Michael K.
T1  - High mobility group box 1 protein in cerebral thromboemboli
JF  - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
N2  - High-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) is a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) involved in neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation and thrombosis. NETs are regularly found in cerebral thromboemboli. We here analyzed associated HMGB1 expression in human thromboemboli retrieved via mechanical thrombectomy from 37 stroke patients with large vessel occlusion. HMGB1 was detected in all thromboemboli, accounting for 1.7% (IQR 0.6–6.2%) of the total thromboemboli area and was found to be colocalized with neutrophils and NETs and in spatial proximity to platelets. Correlation analysis revealed that the detection of HMGB1 was strongly related to the number of neutrophils (r = 0.58, p = 0.0002) and platelets (r = 0.51, p = 0.001). Our results demonstrate that HMGB1 is a substantial constituent of thromboemboli causing large vessel occlusion stroke.
KW  - acute ischemic stroke
KW  - thromboemboli
KW  - HMGB1
KW  - neutrophils
KW  - platelets
KW  - immunohistochemistry
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265568
SN  - 1422-0067
VL  - 22
IS  - 20
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kraft, Peter
A1  - Drechsler, Christiane
A1  - Gunreben, Ignaz
A1  - Heuschmann, Peter Ulrich
A1  - Kleinschnitz, Christoph
T1  - Regulation of Blood Coagulation Factors XI and XII in Patients with Acute and Chronic Cerebrovascular Disease: A Case-Control Study
JF  - Cerebrovascular Diseases
N2  - Background: Animal models have implicated an integral role for coagulation factors XI (FXI) and XII (FXII) in thrombus formation and propagation of ischemic stroke (IS). However, it is unknown if these molecules contribute to IS pathophysiology in humans, and might be of use as biomarkers for IS risk and severity. This study aimed to identify predictors of altered FXI and FXII levels and to determine whether there are differences in the levels of these coagulation factors between acute cerebrovascular events and chronic cerebrovascular disease (CCD). Methods: In this case-control study, 116 patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) or transitory ischemic attack (TIA), 117 patients with CCD, and 104 healthy volunteers (HVs) were enrolled between 2010 and 2013 at our University hospital. Blood sampling was undertaken once in the CCD and HV groups and on days 0, 1, and 3 after stroke onset in patients with AIS or TIA. Correlations between serum FXI and FXII levels and demographic and clinical parameters were tested by linear regression and analysis of variance. Results: The mean age of AIS/TIA patients was 70 ± 12. Baseline clinical severity measured with NIHSS and Barthel Index was 4.8 ± 6.0 and 74 ± 30, respectively. More than half of the patients had an AIS (58%). FXI levels were significantly correlated with different leukocyte subsets (p < 0.05). In contrast, FXII serum levels showed no significant correlation (p > 0.1). Neither FXI nor FXII levels correlated with CRP (p > 0.2). FXII levels were significantly higher in patients with CCD compared with those with AIS/TIA (mean ± SD 106 ± 26% vs. 97 ± 24%; univariate analysis: p < 0.05); these differences did not reach significance in multivariate analysis adjusted for sex and age. FXI levels did not differ significantly between study groups. Sex and age were significantly associated with FXI and/or FXII levels in patients with AIS/TIA (p < 0.05). In contrast, no statistical significant influence was found for treatment modality (thrombolysis or not), pre-treatment with platelet inhibitors, and severity of stroke. Conclusions: In this study, there was no differential regulation of FXI and FXII levels between disease subtypes but biomarker levels were associated with patient and clinical characteristics. FXI and FXII levels might be no valid biomarker for predicting stroke risk.
KW  - biomarker
KW  - factor XI
KW  - factor XII
KW  - ischemic stroke
KW  - chronic cerebrovascular disease
Y1  - 2014
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-199076
SN  - 1015-9770
SN  - 1421-9786
N1  - This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.
VL  - 38
IS  - 5
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Essig, Fabian
A1  - Kollikowski, Alexander M.
A1  - Pham, Mirko
A1  - Solymosi, László
A1  - Stoll, Guido
A1  - Haeusler, Karl Georg
A1  - Kraft, Peter
A1  - Schuhmann, Michael K.
T1  - Immunohistological analysis of neutrophils and neutrophil extracellular traps in human thrombemboli causing acute ischemic stroke
JF  - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
N2  - Ischemic stroke caused by thromboembolic occlusion of large cerebral arteries, such as the internal carotid (ICA) and/or the middle cerebral artery (MCA), is treated by mechanical thrombectomy (MT). MT allows salvage of the vessel-occluding thrombemboli, which most frequently originate from the left atrium or the left ventricle of the heart or from sites of plaque rupture within large arteries above the heart. Clot composition may influence the efficacy of (intravenous) thrombolysis and MT, respectively. We analyzed 37 human thrombemboli obtained from acute ischemic stroke patients during MT with special emphasis on histological staining of neutrophils and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). We found neutrophils as the main cellular component of cerebral thrombemboli but encountered considerable morphological heterogeneity. Neutrophils accumulated in the border region of fibrin-rich structures indicating possible interaction of neutrophils with distinct structural thrombembolus components. Web-like NETs were found in 35 of 37 thrombemboli in varying amounts. NETs were almost exclusively found within fibrin-rich areas. Importantly, stroke etiology, age and present oral anticoagulation was associated with morphological patterns and the amount of neutrophils. Correlation of histological data and imaging data revealed that relative Hounsfield units of cerebral thrombemboli positively correlated with the amount of red blood cells. In summary, our results demonstrate that neutrophils and NETs are substantial constituents of cerebral thrombemboli and contribute to their structural complexity.
KW  - acute ischemic stroke
KW  - thrombemboli
KW  - neutrophils
KW  - NETs
KW  - immunohistochemistry
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236192
SN  - 1422-0067
VL  - 21
IS  - 19
ER  -