TY - JOUR A1 - Düzel, Emrah A1 - van Praag, Henriette A1 - Sendtner, Michael T1 - Can physical exercise in old age improve memory and hippocampal function? JF - Brain N2 - Physical exercise can convey a protective effect against cognitive decline in ageing and Alzheimer’s disease. While the long-term health-promoting and protective effects of exercise are encouraging, it’s potential to induce neuronal and vascular plasticity in the ageing brain is still poorly understood. It remains unclear whether exercise slows the trajectory of normal ageing by modifying vascular and metabolic risk factors and/or consistently boosts brain function by inducing structural and neurochemical changes in the hippocampus and related medial temporal lobe circuitry—brain areas that are important for learning and memory. Hence, it remains to be established to what extent exercise interventions in old age can improve brain plasticity above and beyond preservation of function. Existing data suggest that exercise trials aiming for improvement and preservation may require different outcome measures and that the balance between the two may depend on exercise intensity and duration, the presence of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease pathology, vascular and metabolic risk factors and genetic variability. KW - hippocampus KW - exercise KW - cerebral blood flow KW - Alzheimer's disease KW - memory Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-190721 VL - 139 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Werner, Franziska A1 - Kojonazarov, Baktybek A1 - Gaßner, Birgit A1 - Abeßer, Marco A1 - Schuh, Kai A1 - Völker, Katharina A1 - Baba, Hideo A. A1 - Dahal, Bhola K. A1 - Schermuly, Ralph T. A1 - Kuhn, Michaela T1 - Endothelial actions of atrial natriuretic peptide prevent pulmonary hypertension in mice JF - Basic Research in Cardiology N2 - The cardiac hormone atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) regulates systemic and pulmonary arterial blood pressure by activation of its cyclic GMP-producing guanylyl cyclase-A (GC-A) receptor. In the lung, these hypotensive effects were mainly attributed to smooth muscle-mediated vasodilatation. It is unknown whether pulmonary endothelial cells participate in the homeostatic actions of ANP. Therefore, we analyzed GC-A/cGMP signalling in lung endothelial cells and the cause and functional impact of lung endothelial GC-A dysfunction. Western blot and cGMP determinations showed that cultured human and murine pulmonary endothelial cells exhibit prominent GC-A expression and activity which were markedly blunted by hypoxia, a condition known to trigger pulmonary hypertension (PH). To elucidate the consequences of impaired endothelial ANP signalling, we studied mice with genetic endothelial cell-restricted ablation of the GC-A receptor (EC GC-A KO). Notably, EC GC-A KO mice exhibit PH already under resting, normoxic conditions, with enhanced muscularization of small arteries and perivascular infiltration of inflammatory cells. These alterations were aggravated on exposure of mice to chronic hypoxia. Lung endothelial GC-A dysfunction was associated with enhanced expression of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and increased pulmonary levels of Angiotensin II. Angiotensin II/AT(1)-blockade with losartan reversed pulmonary vascular remodelling and perivascular inflammation of EC GC-A KO mice, and prevented their increment by chronic hypoxia. This experimental study indicates that endothelial effects of ANP are critical to prevent pulmonary vascular remodelling and PH. Chronic endothelial ANP/GC-A dysfunction, e.g. provoked by hypoxia, is associated with activation of the ACE-angiotensin pathway in the lung and PH. KW - Atrial natriuretic peptide KW - Endothelium KW - Guanylyl cyclase-A KW - Cyclic GMP KW - Pulmonary hypertension Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-190664 VL - 111 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Böhm, J. A1 - Scherzer, S. A1 - Shabala, S. A1 - Krol, E. A1 - Neher, E. A1 - Mueller, T. D. A1 - Hedrich, R. T1 - Venus flytrap HKT1-type channel provides for prey sodium uptake into carnivorous plant without conflicting with electrical excitability JF - Molecular Plant N2 - The animal diet of the carnivorous Venus flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, contains a sodium load that enters the capture organ via an HKT1-type sodium channel, expressed in special epithelia cells on the inner trap lobe surface. DmHKT1 expression and sodium uptake activity is induced upon prey contact. Here, we analyzed the HKT1 properties required for prey sodium osmolyte management of carnivorous Dionaea. Analyses were based on homology modeling, generation of model-derived point mutants, and their functional testing in Xenopus oocytes. We showed that the wild-type HKT1 and its Na\(^+\)- and K\(^+\)-permeable mutants function as ion channels rather than K\(^+\) transporters driven by proton or sodium gradients. These structural and biophysical features of a high-capacity, Na\(^+\)-selective ion channel enable Dionaea glands to manage prey-derived sodium loads without confounding the action potential-based information management of the flytrap. KW - sodium channel KW - HKT1 KW - Dionaea muscipula KW - action potential KW - glands KW - sodium uptake Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189803 VL - 9 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Motyka, M. A1 - Dyksik, M. A1 - Ryczko, K. A1 - Weih, R. A1 - Dallner, M. A1 - Höfling, S. A1 - Kamp, M. A1 - Sęk, G. A1 - Misiewicz, J. T1 - Type-II quantum wells with tensile-strained GaAsSb layers for interband cascade lasers with tailored valence band mixing JF - Applied Physics Letters N2 - Optical properties of modified type II W-shaped quantum wells have been investigated with the aim to be utilized in interband cascade lasers. The results show that introducing a tensely strained GaAsSb layer, instead of a commonly used compressively strained GaInSb, allows employing the active transition involving valence band states with a significant admixture of the light holes. Theoretical predictions of multiband k.p theory have been experimentally verified by using photoluminescence and polarization dependent photoreflectance measurements. These results open a pathway for practical realization of mid-infrared lasing devices with uncommon polarization properties including, for instance, polarization-independent midinfrared light emitters. KW - modulation spectroscopy KW - semiconductors KW - Type-II quantum well KW - interband cascade laser KW - GaAsSb Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189795 VL - 108 IS - 10 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cate, Marie-Sophie A1 - Gajendra, Sangeetha A1 - Alsbury, Samantha A1 - Raabe, Thomas A1 - Tear, Guy A1 - Mitchell, Kevin J. T1 - Mushroom body defect is required in parallel to Netrin for midline axon guidance in Drosophila JF - Development N2 - The outgrowth of many neurons within the central nervous system is initially directed towards or away from the cells lying at the midline. Recent genetic evidence suggests that a simple model of differential sensitivity to the conserved Netrin attractants and Slit repellents is insufficient to explain the guidance of all axons at the midline. In the Drosophila embryonic ventral nerve cord, many axons still cross the midline in the absence of the Netrin genes (NetA and NetB) or their receptor frazzled. Here we show that mutation of mushroom body defect (mud) dramatically enhances the phenotype of Netrin or frazzled mutants, resulting in many more axons failing to cross the midline, although mutations in mud alone have little effect. This suggests that mud, which encodes a microtubule-binding coiled-coil protein homologous to NuMA and LIN-5, is an essential component of a Netrin-independent pathway that acts in parallel to promote midline crossing. We demonstrate that this novel role of Mud in axon guidance is independent of its previously described role in neural precursor development. These studies identify a parallel pathway controlling midline guidance in Drosophila and highlight a novel role for Mud potentially acting downstream of Frizzled to aid axon guidance. KW - Drosophila KW - Axon guidance KW - Midline KW - Mud KW - NuMA KW - LIN-5 KW - Netrin Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189770 VL - 143 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Suliman, Salwa A1 - Sun, Yang A1 - Pedersen, Torbjorn O. A1 - Xue, Ying A1 - Nickel, Joachim A1 - Waag, Thilo A1 - Finne-Wistrand, Anna A1 - Steinmüller-Nethl, Doris A1 - Krueger, Anke A1 - Costea, Daniela E. A1 - Mustafa, Kamal T1 - In vivo host response and degradation of copolymer scaffolds functionalized with nanodiamonds and bone morphogenetic protein 2 JF - Advanced Healthcare Materials N2 - The aim is to evaluate the effect of modifying poly[(L-lactide)-co-(epsilon-caprolactone)] scaffolds (PLCL) with nanodiamonds (nDP) or with nDP+physisorbed BMP-2 (nDP+BMP-2) on in vivo host tissue response and degradation. The scaffolds are implanted subcutaneously in Balb/c mice and retrieved after 1, 8, and 27 weeks. Molecular weight analysis shows that modified scaffolds degrade faster than the unmodified. Gene analysis at week 1 shows highest expression of proinflammatory markers around nDP scaffolds; although the presence of inflammatory cells and foreign body giant cells is more prominent around the PLCL. Tissue regeneration markers are highly expressed in the nDP+BMP-2 scaffolds at week 8. A fibrous capsule is detectable by week 8, thinnest around nDP scaffolds and at week 27 thickest around PLCL scaffolds. mRNA levels of ALP, COL1 alpha 2, and ANGPT1 are signifi cantly upregulating in the nDP+BMP-2 scaffolds at week 1 with ectopic bone seen at week 8. Even when almost 90% of the scaffold is degraded at week 27, nDP are observable at implantation areas without adverse effects. In conclusion, modifying PLCL scaffolds with nDP does not aggravate the host response and physisorbed BMP-2 delivery attenuates infl ammation while lowering the dose of BMP-2 to a relatively safe and economical level. KW - inflammatory response KW - biocompatibility KW - BMP-2 delivery KW - inflammation KW - tissue engineering Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189764 VL - 5 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Martini, Rudolf A1 - Willison, Hugh T1 - Neuroinflammation in the peripheral nerve: cause, modulator, or bystander in peripheral neuropathies? JF - GLIA N2 - The role of innate and adaptive inflammation as a primary driver or modifier of neuropathy in premorbidly normal nerves, and as a critical player in amplifying neuropathies of other known causes (e.g., genetic, metabolic) is incompletely understood and under-researched, despite unmet clinical need. Also, cellular and humoral components of the adaptive and innate immune system are substantial disease modifying agents in the context of neuropathies and, at least in some neuropathies, there is an identified tight interrelationship between both compartments of the immune system. Additionally, the quadruple relationship between Schwann cell, axon, macrophage, and endoneurial fibroblast, with their diverse membrane bound and soluble signalling systems, forms a distinct focus for investigation in nerve diseases with inflammation secondary to Schwann cell mutations and possibly others. Identification of key immunological effector pathways that amplify neuropathic features and associated clinical symptomatology including pain should lead to realistic and timely possibilities for translatable therapeutic interventions using existing immunomodulators, alongside the development of novel therapeutic targets. KW - Charcot-Marie-Tooth KW - Guillain-Barré-Syndrom KW - familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy KW - motor axonal neuropathy KW - Schwann cell dedifferentiation KW - glycation end products KW - innate immune system KW - adaptive immune system KW - macrophage KW - fibroblast KW - lymphocytes KW - nodes of Ranvier Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189696 VL - 64 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Colvill, Emma A1 - Booth, Jeremy A1 - Nill, Simeon A1 - Fast, Martin A1 - Bedford, James A1 - Oelfke, Uwe A1 - Nakamura, Mitsuhiro A1 - Poulsen, Per A1 - Worm, Esben A1 - Hansen, Rune A1 - Ravkilde, Thomas A1 - Rydhög, Jonas Scherman A1 - Pommer, Tobias A1 - af Rosenschold, Per Munck A1 - Lang, Stephanie A1 - Guckenberger, Matthias A1 - Groh, Christian A1 - Herrmann, Christian A1 - Verellen, Dirk A1 - Poels, Kenneth A1 - Wang, Lei A1 - Hadsell, Michael A1 - Sothmann, Thilo A1 - Blanck, Oliver A1 - Keall, Paul T1 - A dosimetric comparison of real-time adaptive and non-adaptive radiotherapy: a multi-institutional study encompassing robotic, gimbaled, multileaf collimator and couch tracking JF - Radiotherapy and Oncology N2 - Purpose: A study of real-time adaptive radiotherapy systems was performed to test the hypothesis that, across delivery systems and institutions, the dosimetric accuracy is improved with adaptive treatments over non-adaptive radiotherapy in the presence of patient-measured tumor motion. Methods and materials: Ten institutions with robotic(2), gimbaled(2), MLC(4) or couch tracking(2) used common materials including CT and structure sets, motion traces and planning protocols to create a lung and a prostate plan. For each motion trace, the plan was delivered twice to a moving dosimeter; with and without real-time adaptation. Each measurement was compared to a static measurement and the percentage of failed points for gamma-tests recorded. Results: For all lung traces all measurement sets show improved dose accuracy with a mean 2%/2 mm gamma-fail rate of 1.6% with adaptation and 15.2% without adaptation (p < 0.001). For all prostate the mean 2%/2 mm gamma-fail rate was 1.4% with adaptation and 17.3% without adaptation (p < 0.001). The difference between the four systems was small with an average 2%/2 mm gamma-fail rate of <3% for all systems with adaptation for lung and prostate. Conclusions: The investigated systems all accounted for realistic tumor motion accurately and performed to a similar high standard, with real-time adaptation significantly outperforming non-adaptive delivery methods. KW - Robotic tracking KW - Gimbaled tracking KW - MLC tracking KW - Couch tracking KW - Organ motion Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189605 VL - 119 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhn, Manuel A1 - Scharfenort, Robert A1 - Schümann, Dirk A1 - Schiele, Miriam A. A1 - Münsterkötter, Anna L. A1 - Deckert, Jürgen A1 - Domschke, Katharina A1 - Haaker, Jan A1 - Kalisch, Raffael A1 - Pauli, Paul A1 - Reif, Andreas A1 - Romanos, Marcel A1 - Zwanzger, Peter A1 - Lonsdorf, Tina B. T1 - Mismatch or allostatic load? Timing of life adversity differentially shapes gray matter volume and anxious temperament JF - Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience N2 - Traditionally, adversity was defined as the accumulation of environmental events (allostatic load). Recently however, a mismatch between the early and the later (adult) environment (mismatch) has been hypothesized to be critical for disease development, a hypothesis that has not yet been tested explicitly in humans. We explored the impact of timing of life adversity (childhood and past year) on anxiety and depression levels (N = 833) and brain morphology (N = 129). Both remote (childhood) and proximal (recent) adversities were differentially mirrored in morphometric changes in areas critically involved in emotional processing (i.e. amygdala/hippocampus, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, respectively). The effect of adversity on affect acted in an additive way with no evidence for interactions (mismatch). Structural equation modeling demonstrated a direct effect of adversity on morphometric estimates and anxiety/depression without evidence of brain morphology functioning as a mediator. Our results highlight that adversity manifests as pronounced changes in brain morphometric and affective temperament even though these seem to represent distinct mechanistic pathways. A major goal of future studies should be to define critical time periods for the impact of adversity and strategies for intervening to prevent or reverse the effects of adverse childhood life experiences. KW - VBM KW - childhood maltreatment KW - adversity KW - stressful life events KW - mismatch KW - allostatic load Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189645 VL - 11 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Chiorean, E. G. A1 - Von Hoff, D. D. A1 - Reni, M. A1 - Arena, F. P. A1 - Infante, J. R. A1 - Bathini, V. G. A1 - Wood, T. E. A1 - Mainwaring, P. N. A1 - Muldoon, R. T. A1 - Clingan, P. R. A1 - Kunzmann, V. A1 - Ramanathan, R. K. A1 - Tabernero, J. A1 - Goldstein, D. A1 - McGovern, D. A1 - Lu, B. A1 - Ko, A. T1 - CA19-9 decrease at 8 weeks as a predictor of overall survival in a randomized phase III trial (MPACT) of weekly nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine versus gemcitabine alone in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer JF - Annals of Oncology N2 - Background A phase I/II study and subsequent phase III study (MPACT) reported significant correlations between CA19-9 decreases and prolonged overall survival (OS) with nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine (nab-P + Gem) treatment for metastatic pancreatic cancer (MPC). CA19-9 changes at week 8 and potential associations with efficacy were investigated as part of an exploratory analysis in the MPACT trial. Patients and methods Untreated patients with MPC (N = 861) received nab-P + Gem or Gem alone. CA19-9 was evaluated at baseline and every 8 weeks. Results Patients with baseline and week-8 CA19-9 measurements were analyzed (nab-P + Gem: 252; Gem: 202). In an analysis pooling the treatments, patients with any CA19-9 decline (80%) versus those without (20%) had improved OS (median 11.1 versus 8.0 months; P = 0.005). In the nab-P + Gem arm, patients with (n = 206) versus without (n = 46) any CA19-9 decrease at week 8 had a confirmed overall response rate (ORR) of 40% versus 13%, and a median OS of 13.2 versus 8.3 months (P = 0.001), respectively. In the Gem-alone arm, patients with (n = 159) versus without (n = 43) CA19-9 decrease at week 8 had a confirmed ORR of 15% versus 5%, and a median OS of 9.4 versus 7.1 months (P = 0.404), respectively. In the nab-P + Gem and Gem-alone arms, by week 8, 16% (40/252) and 6% (13/202) of patients, respectively, had an unconfirmed radiologic response (median OS 13.7 and 14.7 months, respectively), and 79% and 84% of patients, respectively, had stable disease (SD) (median OS 11.1 and 9 months, respectively). Patients with SD and any CA19-9 decrease (158/199 and 133/170) had a median OS of 13.2 and 9.4 months, respectively. Conclusion This analysis demonstrated that, in patients with MPC, any CA19-9 decrease at week 8 can be an early marker for chemotherapy efficacy, including in those patients with SD. CA19-9 decrease identified more patients with survival benefit than radiologic response by week 8. KW - CA19-9 KW - pancreatic cancer KW - chemotherapy KW - nab-paclitaxel KW - MPACT Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189659 VL - 27 IS - 4 ER -