Publications

188 Publications visible to you, out of a total of 188

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RATIONALE During pneumonia, pathogen-host interaction evokes inflammation and lung barrier dysfunction. Tie2-activation by Angiopoietin-1 reduces, while Tie2-blockade by Angiopoietin-2 increasess inflammation and permeability during sepsis. The role of Angiopoietin-1/-2 in pneumonia remains unidentified. OBJECTIVES To investigate the prognostic and pathogenetic impact of Angiopoietins in regulating pulmonary vascular barrier function and inflammation in bacterial pneumonia. METHODS Serum Angiopoietin levels were quantified in pneumonia patients of two independent cohorts (n=148, n=395). Human post mortem lung tissue, pneumolysin- or Angiopoietin-2-stimulated endothelial cells, isolated perfused and ventilated mouse lungs, and mice with pneumococcal pneumonia were investigated. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS In pneumonia patients, decreased serum Angiopoietin-1 and increased Angiopoietin-2 levels were observed as compared to healthy subjects. Higher Angiopoietin-2 serum levels were found in community-acquired pneumonia patients who died within 28 days after diagnosis compared to survivors. ROC analysis revealed improved prognostic accuracy of CURB-65 for 28-day survival, intensive care treatment and length of hospital stay if combined with Angiopoietin-2 serum levels. In vitro, pneumolysin enhanced endothelial Angiopoietin-2 release, Angiopoietin-2 increased endothelial permeability, and Angiopoietin-1 reduced pneumolysin-evoked endothelial permeability. Ventilated and perfused lungs of mice with Angiopoietin-2-knockdown showed reduced permeability upon pneumolysin stimulation. Increased pulmonary Angiopoietin-2 and reduced Angiopoietin-1 mRNA expression were observed in S. pneumoniae infected mice. Finally, Angiopoietin-1 therapy reduced inflammation and permeability in murine pneumonia. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest a central role of Angiopoietin-1/-2 in pneumonia-evoked inflammation and permeability. Increased Angiopoietin-2 serum levels predicted mortality and length of hospital stay, and Angiopoietin-1 may provide a therapeutic target for severe pneumonia.

Authors: Birgitt Gutbier, Anne-Kathrin Neuhauß, Katrin Reppe, Carolin Ehrler, Ansgar Santel, Jörg Kaufmann, Markus Scholz, Norbert Weissmann, Lars Morawietz, Timothy J. Mitchell, Stefano Aliberti, Stefan Hippenstiel, Norbert Suttorp, Martin Witzenrath

Date Published: 15th Jul 2018

Publication Type: Journal article

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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Acute pancreatitis (AP) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders often requiring hospitalization. Frequent aetiologies are gallstones and alcohol abuse. In contrastt to chronic pancreatitis (CP) few robust genetic associations have been described. Here we analysed whether common variants in the CLDN2-MORC4 and the PRSS1-PRSS2 locus that increase recurrent AP and CP risk associate with AP. METHODS We screened 1462 AP patients and 3999 controls with melting curve analysis for SNPs rs10273639 (PRSS1-PRSS2), rs7057398 (RIPPLY), and rs12688220 (MORC4). Calculations were performed for the overall group, aetiology, and gender sub-groups. To examine genotype-phenotype relationships we performed several meta-analyses. RESULTS Meta-analyses of all AP patients depicted significant (p-value \textless 0.05) associations for rs10273639 (odds ratio (OR) 0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81-0.97, p-value 0.01), rs7057398 (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.07-1.5, p-value 0.005), and rs12688220 (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.12-1.56, p-value 0.001). For the different aetiology groups a significant association was shown for rs10273639 (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.63-0.92, p-value 0.005), rs7057398 (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.07-1.92, p-value 0.02), and rs12688220 (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.07-1.93, p-value 0.02) in the alcoholic sub-group only. CONCLUSIONS The association of CP risk variants with different AP aetiologies, which is strongest in the alcoholic AP group, might implicate common pathomechanisms most likely between alcoholic AP and CP.

Authors: Frank Ulrich Weiss, Nico Hesselbarth, Andrea Párniczky, Dora Mosztbacher, Felix Lämmerhirt, Claudia Ruffert, Peter Kovacs, Sebastian Beer, Katharina Seltsam, Heidi Griesmann, Richard Böhme, Tom Kaune, Marcus Hollenbach, Hans-Ulrich Schulz, Peter Simon, Julia Mayerle, Markus M. Lerch, Giulia Martina Cavestro, Raffaella Alessia Zuppardo, Milena Di Leo, Pier Alberto Testoni, Ewa Malecka-Panas, Anita Gasirowska, Stanislaw Głuszek, Peter Bugert, Andrea Szentesi, Joachim Mössner, Heiko Witt, Patrick Michl, Peter Hégyi, Markus Scholz, Jonas Rosendahl

Date Published: 1st Jul 2018

Publication Type: Journal article

Abstract (Expand)

BACKGROUND Inhibition of PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9) is a novel strategy to treat hypercholesterolemia and reduce cardiovascular events. However, the potential role of circulatingg plasma PCSK9 concentrations as a diagnostic and predictive biomarker remains uncertain as of now. Here, we aimed to identify genetic variants associated with plasma PCSK9 and investigate possible causal effects on atherosclerotic vascular disease phenotypes. METHODS We performed the first genome-wide association study of plasma PCSK9 levels in a cohort of suspected and confirmed coronary artery disease (LIFE-Heart; n=3290). RESULTS Several independent variants at the PCSK9 gene locus were associated with circulating PCSK9 levels at genome-wide significance (lead SNP rs11591147, PCSK9-R46L; P=1.94\times10-17). We discovered 4 independent PCSK9 SNPs explaining 4.4% of the variance of plasma PCSK9. In addition, we identified a genome-wide significant locus at chromosome 7p22.1 (rs6957201; P=7.01\times10-9) and 7 suggestive hits (P\textless1\times10-6). Using MR (Mendelian Randomization), we detected significant causal effects of circulating PCSK9 on coronary artery disease status and severity, carotid plaques, and intima-media thickness. CONCLUSIONS Variants at the PCSK9 gene locus seem to be the major genetic determinants of plasma PCSK9 levels with 4 independent variants at the PCSK9 gene locus expressing allelic heterogeneity. The detected MR estimates support the hypothesis of a causal effect of PCSK9 on coronary artery disease and other vascular phenotypes. Other observed genetic associations for PCSK9 require validation in independent cohorts. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique Identifier: NCT00497887.

Authors: Janne Pott, Valentin Schlegel, Andrej Teren, Katrin Horn, Holger Kirsten, Christina Bluecher, Juergen Kratzsch, Markus Loeffler, Joachim Thiery, Ralph Burkhardt, Markus Scholz

Date Published: 1st May 2018

Publication Type: Journal article

Abstract (Expand)

Objective Adipose tissue-derived signals potentially link obesity and adipose tissue dysfunction with metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Although some adipocytokines have been closely related too metabolic and cardiovascular traits, it remains open which adipocytokine or adipocytokine cluster serve as meaningful marker of metabolic syndrome (MS) components. Therefore, this study investigates the associations of twelve adipocytokines with components of the MS to identify the most relevant cytokines potentially related to specific metabolic profiles. Research Design/Methods Twelve cytokines (adiponectin, adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein [AFABP], angiopoietin-related growth factor, chemerin, fibroblast growth factor [FGF] 19, FGF21, FGF23, insulin-like growth factor-1, interleukin 10, irisin, progranulin, vaspin) were quantified in a cross-sectional cohort of 1046 subjects. Hypothesis-free cluster analysis, multivariate regression analyses with parameters of the MS, and discriminant analysis were performed to assess associations and the relative importance of each cytokine for reflecting MS and its components. Results Among the studied adipocytokines, adiponectin, AFABP, chemerin, and FGF21 showed the strongest associations with MS and several MS components in discriminant analyses and multiple regression models. For certain metabolic components, these adipocytokines were better discriminators than routine metabolic markers. Other cytokines investigated in the present cohort are less potent to discriminate between metabolically healthy and unhealthy subjects. Conclusions Adiponectin, AFABP, chemerin, and FGF21 show strongest associations with MS components in a general population suggesting that adverse adipose tissue function represents a major contributor to these metabolic abnormalities. Future prospective studies need to address the question whether these adipocytokines are able to predict the development of metabolic disease states.

Authors: Thomas Ebert, Claudia Gebhardt, Markus Scholz, Tobias Wohland, Dorit Schleinitz, Mathias Fasshauer, Matthias Blüher, Michael Stumvoll, Peter Kovacs, Anke Tönjes

Date Published: 1st Mar 2018

Publication Type: Journal article

Abstract (Expand)

Progranulin is a secreted protein with important functions in processes including immune and inflammatory response, metabolism and embryonic development. The present study aimed at identification of genetic factors determining progranulin concentrations. We conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis for serum progranulin in three independent cohorts from Europe: Sorbs (N = 848) and KORA (N = 1628) from Germany and PPP-Botnia (N = 335) from Finland (total N = 2811). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with progranulin levels were replicated in two additional German cohorts: LIFE-Heart Study (Leipzig; N = 967) and Metabolic Syndrome Berlin Potsdam (Berlin cohort; N = 833). We measured mRNA expression of genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by micro-arrays and performed mRNA expression quantitative trait and expression-progranulin association studies to functionally substantiate identified loci. Finally, we conducted siRNA silencing experiments in vitro to validate potential candidate genes within the associated loci. Heritability of circulating progranulin levels was estimated at 31.8% and 26.1% in the Sorbs and LIFE-Heart cohort, respectively. SNPs at three loci reached study-wide significance (rs660240 in CELSR2-PSRC1-MYBPHL-SORT1, rs4747197 in CDH23-PSAP and rs5848 in GRN) explaining 19.4%/15.0% of the variance and 61%/57% of total heritability in the Sorbs/LIFE-Heart Study. The strongest evidence for association was at rs660240 (P = 5.75 x 10-50), which was also associated with mRNA expression of PSRC1 in PBMC (P = 1.51 x 10-21). Psrc1 knockdown in murine preadipocytes led to a consecutive 30% reduction in progranulin secretion. In conclusion, the present meta-GWAS combined with mRNA expression identified three loci associated with progranulin and supports the role of PSRC1 in the regulation of progranulin secretion.

Authors: A. Tonjes, M. Scholz, J. Kruger, K. Krause, D. Schleinitz, H. Kirsten, C. Gebhardt, C. Marzi, H. Grallert, C. Ladenvall, H. Heyne, E. Laurila, J. Kriebel, C. Meisinger, W. Rathmann, C. Gieger, L. Groop, I. Prokopenko, B. Isomaa, F. Beutner, J. Kratzsch, A. Fischer-Rosinsky, A. Pfeiffer, K. Krohn, J. Spranger, J. Thiery, M. Bluher, M. Stumvoll, P. Kovacs

Date Published: 1st Feb 2018

Publication Type: Journal article

Abstract (Expand)

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the perioperative course of urine levels of the renal damage biomarkers tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2 (TIMP-2) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7)) and to evaluate the predictive value of elevated TIMP-2 \times IGFBP7 concentrations to predict acute kidney injury (AKI) early after cardiac on-pump surgery. DESIGN Prospective, observational cohort study. SETTING University hospital. PARTICIPANTS The study comprised 110 consecutive patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) between January and March 2014. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Urinary TIMP-2 \times IGFBP7 levels were quantified using a commercially available kit at the following measurement points: before surgery, 1 hour after starting CPB, 4 hours after weaning from CPB, and 24 hours after weaning from CPB (time points 1-4). Postoperative AKI was defined according to Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria. AKI after cardiac surgery was diagnosed in 9 patients (8%). The perioperative course of TIMP-2 \times IGFBP7 was significantly different in patients with and without postoperative AKI (p \textless 0.001). TIMP-2 \times IGFBP7 levels were significantly higher in patients with AKI 1 hour after CPB start and 24 hours after weaning from CPB (p \textless 0.05). TIMP-2 \times IGFBP7 levels \textgreater0.40 (ng/mL)(2)/1,000 measured at 1 hour after starting CPB were found to be the optimal cut-off, with a sensitivity of 0.778 and a specificity of 0.641. The negative predictive value was 0.972. CONCLUSIONS Urine levels of TIMP-2 \times IGFBP7 are predictive for AKI at an early time point (1 hour after starting CPB). Renal damage biomarkers such as TIMP-2 and IGFBP7 might be recommended as a supplement to traditionally used criteria of AKI prediction.

Authors: Tanja Mayer, Daniel Bolliger, Markus Scholz, Oliver Reuthebuch, Michael Gregor, Patrick Meier, Martin Grapow, Manfred D. Seeberger, Jens Fassl

Date Published: 1st Dec 2017

Publication Type: Journal article

Abstract (Expand)

Transcript co-expression is regulated by a combination of shared genetic and environmental factors. Here, we estimate the proportion of co-expression that is due to shared genetic variance. To do so, we estimated the genetic correlations between each pairwise combination of 2469 transcripts that are highly heritable and expressed in whole blood in 1748 unrelated individuals of European ancestry. We identify 556 pairs with a significant genetic correlation of which 77% are located on different chromosomes, and report 934 expression quantitative trait loci, identified in an independent cohort, with significant effects on both transcripts in a genetically correlated pair. We show significant enrichment for transcription factor control and physical proximity through chromatin interactions as possible mechanisms of shared genetic control. Finally, we construct networks of interconnected transcripts and identify their underlying biological functions. Using genetic correlations to investigate transcriptional co-regulation provides valuable insight into the nature of the underlying genetic architecture of gene regulation.Covariance of gene expression pairs is due to a combination of shared genetic and environmental factors. Here the authors estimate the genetic correlation between highly heritable pairs and identify transcription factor control and chromatin interactions as possible mechanisms of correlation.

Authors: Samuel W. Lukowski, Luke R. Lloyd-Jones, Alexander Holloway, Holger Kirsten, Gibran Hemani, Jian Yang, Kerrin Small, Jing Zhao, Andres Metspalu, Emmanouil T. Dermitzakis, Greg Gibson, Timothy D. Spector, Joachim Thiery, Markus Scholz, Grant W. Montgomery, Tonu Esko, Peter M. Visscher, Joseph E. Powell

Date Published: 1st Dec 2017

Publication Type: Journal article

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