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The Reconstruction of Life Processes requires both Genomics and Metabolomics to explain Phenotypes and Phylogenetics

Posted in Amino acids, Ca2+ triggered activation, Cell Biology, Signaling & Cell Circuits, Chemical Biology and its relations to Metabolic Disease, Curation, Cytoskeleton, De novo synthesis, Developmental biology, Dialectic, Discovery process, Disease Biology, Embryology, Epigenetics and Cardiovascular Risks, Evolutionary cognition, Explanatory, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Genome Biology, Historical relevance, Innovations in Neurophysiology & Neuropsychology, Metabolism, Metabolomics, Mutant Gene Expression, Na-K-ATPase, Nitric Oxide in Health and Disease, Nutrition, Pentose monophosphate shunt, Proteins, Proteomics, RNA Biology, Signaling, Signaling & Cell Circuits, tagged adaptiaton, Evolution, habitats, metabolites, oligomers, oligonucleotides, phenotypes, predators, protein conformation, protein interactions, protein synthesis, respiration, temperature, trrain, water salinity on February 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The Reconstruction of Life Processes requires both Genomics and Metabolomics to explain Phenotypes and Phylogenetics

Writer and Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

phylogenetics

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/CollapsedtreeLabels-simplified.svg/200px-CollapsedtreeLabels-simplified.svg.png

This discussion that completes and is an epicrisis (summary and critical evaluation) of the series of discussions that preceded it.

Innervation of Heart and Heart Rate
Action of hormones on the circulation
Allogeneic Transfusion Reactions
Graft-versus Host reaction
Unique problems of perinatal period
High altitude sickness
Deep water adaptation
Heart-Lung-and Kidney
Acute Lung Injury

The concept inherent in this series is that the genetic code is an imprint that is translated into a message. It is much the same as a blueprint, or a darkroom photographic image that has to be converted to a print. It is biologically an innovation of evolutionary nature because it establishes a simple and reproducible standard for the transcription of the message through the transcription of the message using strings of nucleotides (oligonucleotides) that systematically transfer the message through ribonucleotides that communicate in the cytoplasm with the cytoskeleton based endoplasmic reticulum (ER), composing a primary amino acid sequence. This process is a quite simple and convenient method of biological activity. However, the simplicity ends at this step. The metabolic components of the cell are organelles consisting of lipoprotein membranes and a cytosol which have particularly aligned active proteins, as in the inner membrane of the mitochondrion, or as in the liposome or phagosome, or the structure of the ER, each of which is critical for energy transduction and respiration, in particular, for the mitochondria, cellular remodeling or cell death, with respect to the phagosome, and construction of proteins with respect to the ER, and anaerobic glycolysis and the hexose monophosphate shunt in the cytoplasmic domain. All of this refers to structure and function, not to leave out the membrane assigned transport of inorganic, and organic ions (electrolytes and metabolites).

I have identified a specific role of the ER, the organelles, and cellular transactions within and between cells that is orchestrated. But what I have outlined is a somewhat limited and rigid model that does not reach into the dynamics of cellular transactions. The DNA has expression that may be old, no longer used messages, and this is perhaps only part of a significant portion of “dark matter”. There is also nuclear DNA that is enmeshed with protein, mRNA that is a copy of DNA, and mDNA is copied to ribosomal RNA (rRNA). There is also rDNA. The classic model is DNA to RNA to protein. However, there is also noncoding RNA, which plays an important role in regulation of transcription.

This has been discussed in other articles. But the important point is that proteins have secondary structure through disulfide bonds, which is determined by position of sulfur amino acids, and by van der Waal forces, attraction and repulsion. They have tertiary structure, which is critical for 3-D structure. When like subunits associate, or dissimilar oligomers, then you have heterodimers and oligomers. These constructs that have emerged over time interact with metabolites within the cell, and also have an important interaction with the extracellular environment.

When you take this into consideration then a more complete picture emerges. The primitive cell or the multicellular organism lives in an environment that has the following characteristics – air composition, water and salinity, natural habitat, temperature, exposure to radiation, availability of nutrients, and exposure to chemical toxins or to predators. In addition, there is a time dimension that proceeds from embryonic stage to birth in mammals, a rapid growth phase, a tapering, and a decline. The time span is determined by body size, fluidity of adaptation, and environmental factors. This is covered in great detail in this work. The last two pieces are in the writing stage that completes the series. Much content has already be presented in previous articles.

The function of the heart, kidneys and metabolism of stressful conditions have already been extensively covered in http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com in the following and more:

The Amazing Structure and Adaptive Functioning of the Kidneys: Nitric Oxide – Part I

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2012/11/26/the-amazing-structure-and-adaptive-functioning-of-the-kidneys/

Nitric Oxide and iNOS have Key Roles in Kidney Diseases – Part II

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2012/11/26/nitric-oxide-and-inos-have-key-roles-in-kidney-diseases/

The pathological role of IL-18Rα in renal ischemia/reperfusion injury – Nature.com

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2014/10/24/the-pathological-role-of-il-18r%CE%B1-in-renal-ischemiareperfusion-injury-nature-com/

Summary, Metabolic Pathways

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2014/10/23/summary-metabolic-pathways/

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Depth Underwater and Underground

Posted in Amino acids, Best evidence, Biochemical pathways, Biological Networks, Biological Networks, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Biomedical Measurement Science, Cell Biology, Cell Biology, Signaling & Cell Circuits, Curation, Curation methodology, Developmental biology, Diabetes Mellitus, Dialectic, Discovery process, Electrophysiology, Evolutionary cognition, Explanatory, Fatty acids, Gene Regulation, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Genome Biology, Hematopoiesis, Historical relevance, Innovations, Lipid metabolism, Metabolism, Mutant Gene Expression, Myocardial Ischemia, Myocardial Metabolism, Na-K transport, Na-K-ATPase, Neurological Diseases, Nutrition, Proteins, Proteomics, Signaling & Cell Circuits, Theoretic convergence, Translational Research, Translational Science, tagged Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics, Biology, blind mole rat, Cell Biology, cellular stress, climate, decompression, Hemoglobin, human diving, mtDNA, myoglobin, nitrogen sickness, oxygen delivery, sea lion, seals and otters, whales on February 24, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Depth Underwater and Underground

Writer and Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

Introduction

Deep diving for mammals is dangerous for humans and land based animals for too long, and it has dangerous consequences, most notable in nitrogen emboli with very deep underwater diving. Other mammals live in water and have adapted to a water habitat. This is another topic that needs further exploration.

Deep diving has different meanings depending on the context. Even in recreational diving the meaning may vary:

In recreational diving, a depth below about 30 metres (98 ft), where nitrogen narcosis becomes a significant hazard for most divers, may be considered a “deep dive”

In technical diving, a depth below about 60 metres (200 ft) where hypoxic breathing gas becomes necessary to avoid oxygen toxicity may be considered a “deep dive”.

Early experiments carried out by Comex S.A. (Compagnie maritime d’expertises) using hydrox and trimix attained far greater depths than any recreational technical diving. One example being the Comex Janus IV open-sea dive to 501 metres (1,644 ft) in 1977. The open-sea diving depth record was achieved in 1988 by a team of Comex divers who performed pipe line connection exercises at a depth of 534 metres (1,752 ft) in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the Hydra 8 program. These divers needed to breathe special gas mixtures because they were exposed to very high ambient pressure (more than 50 times atmospheric pressure).

Then there is the adaptation to the water habitat as a living environment. The two main types of aquatic ecosystems are marine ecosystems and freshwater ecosystems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_diving

Marine ecosystems are part of the earth’s aquatic ecosystem. The habitats that make up this vast system range from the productive nearshore regions to the barren ocean floor. The marine waters may be fully saline, brackish or nearly fresh. The saline waters have a salinity of 35-50 ppt (= parts per thousand). The freshwater has a salinity of less than 0.5 ppt. The brackish water lies in between these 2. Marine habitats are situated from the coasts, over the continental shelf to the open ocean and deep sea. The ecosystems are sometimes linked with each other and are sometimes replacing each other in other geographical regions. The reason why habitats differ from another is because of the physical factors that influence the functioning and diversity of the habitats. These factors are temperature, salinity, tides, currents, wind, wave action, light and substrate.

Marine ecosystems are home to a host of different species ranging from planktonic organisms that form the base of the marine food web to large marine mammals. Many species rely on marine ecosystems for both food and shelter from predators. They are very important to the overall health of both marine and terrestrial environments. Coastal habitats are those above the spring high tide limit or above the mean water level in non-tidal waters. They are close to the sea and include habitats such as coastal dunes and sandy shores, beaches , cliffs and supralittoral habitats. Coastal habitats alone account for approximately 30% of all marine biological productivity.

http://www.marbef.org/wiki/marine_habitats_and_ecosystems

All plant and animal life forms are included from the microscopic picoplankton all the way to the majestic blue whale, the largest creature in the sea—and for that matter in the world. It wasn’t until the writings of Aristotle from 384-322 BC that specific references to marine life were recorded. Aristotle identified a variety of species including crustaceans, echinoderms, mollusks, and fish.
Today’s classification system was developed by Carl Linnaeus external link as an important tool for use in the study of biology and for use in the protection of biodiversity. Without very specific classification information and a naming system to identify species’ relationships, scientists would be limited in attempts to accurately describe the relationships among species. Understanding these relationships helps predict how ecosystems can be altered by human or natural factors.

Preserving biodiversity is facilitated by taxonomy. Species data can be better analyzed to determine the number of different species in a community and to determine how they might be affected by environmental stresses. Family, or phylogenetic, trees for species help predict environmental impacts on individual species and their relatives.

http://marinebio.org/oceans/marine-taxonomy/

For generations, whales and other marine mammals have intrigued humans. 2,400 years ago, Aristotle, a Greek scientist and philosopher, recognized that whales are mammals, not fish, because they nurse their young and breathe air like other mammals. There are numerous myths and legends surrounding marine mammals. The Greeks believed that killing a dolphin was as bad as murdering a human. An Amazon legend said that river dolphins came to shore dressed as men to woo pretty girls during fiestas. During the Middle Ages, there were numerous legends surrounding the narwhals’ amazing tusk, which was thought to have come from the unicorn.

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Marine mammals evolved from their land dwelling ancestors over time by developing adaptations to life in the water. To aid swimming, the body has become streamlined and the number of body projections has been reduced. The ears have shrunk to small holes in size and shape. Mammary glands and sex organs are not part of the external physiology, and posterior (hind) limbs are no longer present.

Mechanisms to prevent heat loss have also been developed. The cylindrical body shape with small appendages reduces the surface area to volume ratio of the body, which reduces heat loss. Marine mammals also have a counter current heat exchange mechanism created by convergent evolution external link where the heat from the arteries is transferred to the veins as they pass each other before getting to extremities, thus reducing heat loss. Some marine mammals also have a thick layer of fur with a water repellent undercoat and/or a thick layer of blubber that can’t be compressed. The blubber provides insulation, a food reserve, and aids with buoyancy. These heat loss adaptations can also lead to overheating for animals that spend time out of the water. To prevent overheating, seals or sea lions will swim close to the surface with their front flippers waving in the air. They also flick sand onto themselves to keep the sun from directly hitting their skin. Blood vessels can also be expanded to act as a sort of radiator.

One of the major behavioral adaptations of marine mammals is their ability to swim and dive. Pinnipeds swim by paddling their flippers while sirenians and cetaceans move their tails or flukes up and down.

Some marine mammals can swim at relatively high speeds. Sea lions swim up to 35 kph and orcas can reach 50 kph. The fastest marine mammal, however, is the common dolphin, which reaches speeds up to 64 kph. While swimming, these animals take very quick breaths. For example, fin whales can empty and refill their huge lungs in less than 2 seconds. Marine mammals’ larynx and esophagus close automatically when they open their mouths to catch prey during dives. Oxygen is stored in hemoglobin in the blood and in myoglobin in the muscles. The lungs are also collapsible so that air is pushed into the windpipe preventing excess nitrogen from being absorbed into the tissues. Decreasing pressure can cause excess nitrogen to expand in the tissues as animals ascend to shallower depths, which can lead to decompression sickness, aka “the bends.” Bradycardia, the reduction of heart rate by 10 to 20%, also takes place to aid with slowing respiration during dives and the blood flow to non-essential body parts. These adaptations allow sea otters to stay submerged for 4 to 5 minutes and dive to depths up to 55 m. Pinnipeds can often stay down for 30 minutes and reach average depths of 150-250 m. One marine mammal with exceptional diving skills is the Weddell seal, which can stay submerged for at least 73 minutes at a time at depths up to 600 m. The length and depth of whale dives depends on the species. Baleen whales feed on plankton near the surface of the water and have no need to dive deeply so they are rarely seen diving deeper than 100 m external link. Toothed whales seek larger prey at deeper depths and some can stay down for hours at depths of up to 2,250 m external link.

http://marinebio.org/oceans/marine-mammals/

Human Experience

Albert Behnke: Nitrogen Narcosis

Casey A. Grover and David H. Grover
The Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2014; 46(2):225–227
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2013.08.080

As early as 1826, divers diving to great depths noted that descent often resulted in a phenomenon of intoxication and euphoria. In 1935, Albert Behnke discovered nitrogen as the cause of this clinical syndrome, a condition now known as nitrogen narcosis. Nitrogen narcosis consists of the development of euphoria, a false sense of security, and impaired judgment upon underwater descent using compressed air below 34 atmospheres (99 to 132 feet). At greater depths, symptoms can progress to loss of consciousness. The syndrome remains relatively unchanged in modern diving when compressed air is used. Behnke’s use of non-nitrogencontaining gas mixtures subsequent to his discovery during the 1939 rescue of the wrecked submarine USS Squalus pioneered the use of non-nitrogencontaining gas mixtures, which are used by modern divers when working at great depth to avoid the effects of nitrogen narcosis.

Behnke’s first duty station as a licensed physician was as assistant medical officer for Submarine Division 20 in San Diego, which was then commanded by one of the Navy’s rising stars, Captain Chester W. Nimitz of World War II fame.
In this setting, Dr. Behnke spent his free time constructively by learning to dive, using the traditional ‘‘hard-hat’’ gear aboard the USS Ortalon, a submarine rescue vessel to which he also rotated. Diving was not a notable specialty of the Navy at the time, and the service was slow in developing the infrastructure for it. Dr. Behnke devoted his efforts to research on the topic of diving medicine, as well as developing a more sound understanding of the biophysics of diving. In 1932, he wrote a letter to the Surgeon General describing some of his observations on arterial gas embolism, which earned him some accolades from the Navy and resulted in his transfer to Harvard’s School of Public Health as a graduate fellow. After 2 years at Harvard, the Navy assigned duty to Dr. Behnke at the Navy’s submarine escape training tower at Pearl Harbor. He worked extensively here on developing techniques for rescuing personnel from disabled submarines on the sea floor. In 1937, he was one of three Navy physicians assigned to the Navy’s Experimental Diving Unit. This team worked on improving the rescue system, plus updating the diving recompression tables originally developed by the British in 1908.

The intoxicating effects of diving were first described by a French physician named Colladon in 1826, who reported that descent in a diving bell resulted in his feeling a ‘‘state of excitement as though I had drunk some alcoholic liquor’’.
The etiology of this phenomenon remained largely unknown until the 1930s, when the British military researcher Damant again highlighted the issue, and reported very unpredictable behavior in his divers during descents as deep as 320 feet during the British Admiralty Deep Sea diving trials. Two initial theories arose as to the etiology for this effect, the first being from psychological causes by Hill and Phillip in 1932, and the second being from oxygen toxicity by Haldane in 1935.

Dr. Behnke and his colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health had another idea as to the etiology of this phenomenon. In 1935, based on observation of individuals in experiments with a pressure chamber, Dr. Behnke published an article in the American Journal of Physiology in which he posited that nitrogen was the etiology of the intoxicating effects of diving.

Nitrogen narcosis, described as ‘‘rapture of the deep’’ by Jacques Cousteau, still remains a relatively common occurrence in modern diving, despite major advances in diving technology since Behnke’s initial description of the pathophysiologic cause of the condition in 1935. The development of symptoms of this condition varies from diver to diver, but usually begins when a depth of 4 atmospheres (132 feet) is reached in divers using compressed air. More sensitive divers can develop symptoms at only 3 atmospheres (99 feet), and other divers may not be affected up to depths as high as 6 atmospheres (198 feet). Interestingly, tolerance to nitrogen narcosis can be developed by frequent diving and exposure to the effects of compressed air at depth.

Acott C. A brief history of diving and decompression illness. SPUMS J 1999;29:98–109.
2. Bornmann R. Dr. Behnke, founder of UHMS, dies. Pressure 1992; 21:14.
3. Behnke AR, Thomson RM, Motley P. The psychologic effects from breathing air at 4 atmospheric pressures. Am J Physiol 1935; 112:554–8.
4. Behnke AR, Johnson FS, Poppen JR, Motley P. The effect of oxygen on man at pressures from 1 to 4 atmospheres. AmJ Physiol 1934; 110:565–72.

Exhaled nitric oxide concentration and decompression-induced bubble formation: An index of decompression severity in humans?

J.-M. Pontier, Buzzacott, J. Nastorg, A.T. Dinh-Xuan, K. Lambrechts
Nitric Oxide 39 (2014) 29–34
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.niox.2014.04.005

Introduction: Previous studies have highlighted a decreased exhaled nitric oxide concentration (FE NO) in divers after hyperbaric exposure in a dry chamber or following a wet dive. The underlying mechanisms of this decrease remain however unknown. The aim of this study was to quantify the separate effects of submersion, hyperbaric hyperoxia exposure and decompression-induced bubble formation on FE NO after a wet dive.
Methods: Healthy experienced divers (n = 31) were assigned to either

a group making a scuba-air dive (Air dive),
a group with a shallow oxygen dive protocol (Oxygen dive) or

a group making a deep dive breathing a trimix gas mixture (deep-dive).
Bubble signals were graded with the KISS score. Before and after each dive FE NO values were measured using a hand-held electrochemical analyzer.
Results: There was no change in post-dive values of FE NO values (expressed in ppb = parts per billion) in the Air dive group (15.1 ± 3.6 ppb vs. 14.3 ± 4.7 ppb, n = 9, p = 0.32). There was a significant decrease in post-dive values of FE NO in the Oxygen dive group (15.6 ± 6 ppb vs. 11.7 ± 4.7 ppb, n = 9, p = 0.009). There was an even more pronounced decrease in the deep dive group (16.4 ± 6.6 ppb vs. 9.4 ± 3.5 ppb, n = 13, p < 0.001) and a significant correlation between KISS bubble score >0 (n = 13) and percentage decrease in post-dive FE NO values (r = -0.53, p = 0.03). Discussion: Submersion and hyperbaric hyperoxia exposure cannot account entirely for these results suggesting the possibility that, in combination, one effect magnifies the other. A main finding of the present study is a significant relationship between reduction in exhaled NO concentration and dive-induced bubble formation. We postulate that exhaled NO concentration could be a useful index of decompression severity in healthy human divers.

Brain Damage in Commercial Breath-Hold Divers

Kiyotaka Kohshi, H Tamaki, F Lemaıtre, T Okudera, T Ishitake, PJ Denoble
PLoS ONE 9(8): e105006 http://dx.doi.org:/10.1371/journal.pone.0105006

Background: Acute decompression illness (DCI) involving the brain (Cerebral DCI) is one of the most serious forms of diving related injuries which may leave residual brain damage. Cerebral DCI occurs in compressed air and in breath-hold divers, likewise. We conducted this study to investigate whether long-term breath-hold divers who may be exposed to repeated symptomatic and asymptomatic brain injuries, show brain damage on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Subjects and Methods: Our study subjects were 12 commercial breath-hold divers (Ama) with long histories of diving work in a district of Japan. We obtained information on their diving practices and the presence or absence of medical problems, especially DCI events. All participants were examined with MRI to determine the prevalence of brain lesions.
Results: Out of 12 Ama divers (mean age: 54.965.1 years), four had histories of cerebral DCI events, and 11 divers demonstrated ischemic lesions of the brain on MRI studies. The lesions were situated in the cortical and/or subcortical area (9 cases), white matters (4 cases), the basal ganglia (4 cases), and the thalamus (1 case). Subdural fluid collections were seen in 2 cases. Conclusion: These results suggest that commercial breath-hold divers are at a risk of clinical or subclinical brain injury which may affect the long-term neuropsychological health of divers.

Decompression illness

Richard D Vann, Frank K Butler, Simon J Mitchell, Richard E Moon
Lancet 2010; 377: 153–64

Decompression illness is caused by intravascular or extravascular bubbles that are formed as a result of reduction in environmental pressure (decompression). The term covers both arterial gas embolism, in which alveolar gas or venous gas emboli (via cardiac shunts or via pulmonary vessels) are introduced into the arterial circulation, and decompression sickness, which is caused by in-situ bubble formation from dissolved inert gas. Both syndromes can occur in divers, compressed air workers, aviators, and astronauts, but arterial gas embolism also arises from iatrogenic causes unrelated to decompression. Risk of decompression illness is
affected by immersion, exercise, and heat or cold. Manifestations range from itching and minor pain to neurological symptoms, cardiac collapse, and death. First aid treatment is 100% oxygen and definitive treatment is recompression to increased pressure, breathing 100% oxygen. Adjunctive treatment, including fluid administration and prophylaxis against venous thromboembolism in paralyzed patients, is also recommended. Treatment is, in most cases, effective although residual deficits can remain in serious cases, even after several recompressions.

Bubbles can have mechanical, embolic, and biochemical effects with manifestations ranging from trivial to fatal. Clinical manifestations can be caused by direct effects from extravascular (autochthonous) bubbles such as mechanical distortion of tissues causing pain, or vascular obstruction causing stroke-like signs and symptoms. Secondary effects can cause delayed symptom onset up to 24 h after surfacing. Endothelial damage by intravascular bubbles can cause capillary leak, extravasation of plasma, and haemoconcentration. Impaired endothelial function, as measured by decreased effects of vasoactive compounds, has been reported in animals and might occur in man. Hypotension can occur in severe cases. Other effects include platelet activation and deposition, leucocyte-endothelial adhesion, and possibly consequences of vascular occlusion believed to occur in thromboembolic stroke such as ischaemia-reperfusion injury, and apoptosis.

Classification of initial and of all eventual manifestations of decompression illness in 2346 recreational diving accidents reported to the Divers Alert Network from 1998 to 2004 For all instances of pain, 58% consisted of joint pain, 35% muscle pain, and 7% girdle pain. Girdle pain often portends spinal cord involvement. Constitutional symptoms included headache, lightheadedness, inappropriate fatigue, malaise, nausea or vomiting, and anorexia. Muscular discomfort included stiffness, pressure, cramps, and spasm but excluded pain. Pulmonary manifestations included dyspnoea and cough.

Other than depth and time, risk of decompression sickness is affected by other factors that affect inert gas exchange and bubble formation, such as immersion (vs dry hyperbaric chamber exposure), exercise, and temperature. Immersion decreases venous pooling and increases venous return and cardiac output. Warm environments improve peripheral perfusion by promoting vasodilation, whereas cool temperatures decrease perfusion through vasoconstriction. Exercise increases both peripheral perfusion and temperature. The effect of environmental conditions on risk of decompression sickness is dependent on the phase of the pressure exposure. Pressure, exercise, immersion, or a hot environment increase inert gas uptake and risk of decompression sickness. During decom-pression these factors increase inert gas elimination and therefore decrease the risk of decompression sickness. Conversely, uptake is reduced during rest or in a cold environment, hence a diver resting in a cold environment on the bottom has decreased risk of decompression sickness. Rest or low temperatures during decompression increase the risk. If exercise occurs after decompression when super-saturation is present, bubble formation increases and risk of decompression sickness rises.

Exercise at specific times before a dive can decrease the risk of serious decompression sickness in animals and incidence of venous gas emboli in both animals and man. The mechanisms of these effects are unknown but might involve modulation of nitric oxide production and effects on endothelium. Venous gas emboli and risk of decompression sickness increase slightly with age and body-mass index.

Arterial gas embolism should be suspected if a diver has a new onset of altered consciousness, confusion, focal cortical signs, or seizure during ascent or within a few minutes after surfacing from a compressed gas dive.

If the diver spends much time at depth and might have absorbed substantial inert gas before surfacing, arterial gas embolism and serious decompression sickness can coexist, and in such cases, spinal cord manifestations can predominate. Other organ systems, such as the heart, can also be affected, but the clinical diagnosis of gas embolism is not reliable without CNS manifestations. Arterial gas embolism is rare in altitude exposure; if cerebral symptoms occur after altitude exposure, the cause is usually decompression sickness.

Nondermatomal hypoaesthesia and truncal ataxia are common in neurological decompression sickness and can be missed by cursory examination. Pertinent information includes level of consciousness and mental status, cranial nerve function, and motor strength. Coordination can be affected disproportionately, and abnormalities can be detected by assessment of finger-nose movement, and, with eyes open and closed, ability to stand and walk and do heel-toe walking backwards and forwards. Many of these simple tests can be done on the scene by untrained companions.

Panel: Differential diagnosis of decompression illness

Inner-ear barotrauma

Middle-ear or maxillary sinus overinfl ation

Contaminated diving gas and oxygen toxic effects

Musculoskeletal strains or trauma sustained before, during, or after diving

Seafood toxin ingestion (ciguatera, pufferfish, paralytic shellfish poisoning)

Immersion pulmonary edema

Water aspiration

Decompression chamber

Decompression chamber. fluidic or pneumatic ventilator is shown at the left. The infusion pump is contained within a plastic cover, in which 100% nitrogen is used to decrease the fi re risk in the event of an electrical problem. The monitor screen is outside the chamber and can be seen through the viewing port. Photo from Duke University Medical Center, with permission.

Long-term outcomes of 69 divers with spinal cord decompressionsickness, by manifestation
	n	%
No residual symptoms	34	49·3
Any residual symptom	35	50·7
Mild paraesthesias, weakness, or pain	14	20·3
Some impairment of daily activities	21	30·4
Difficulty walking	11	15·9
Impaired micturition	13	18·8
Impaired defecation	15	21·7
Impaired sexual function	15	21·7

Decompression illness occurs in a small population but is an international problem that few physicians are trained to recognise or manage. Although its manifestations are often mild, the potential for permanent injury exists in severe cases, especially if unrecognised or inadequately treated. Emergency medical personnel should be aware of manifestations of decompression illness in the setting of a patient with a history of recent diving or other exposure to substantial pressure change, and should contact an appropriate consultation service for advice.

Diving Medicine: Contemporary Topics and Their Controversies

Michael B. Strauss and Robert C. Borer, Jr
Am J Emerg Med 2001; 19:232-238
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1053/ajem.2001.22654

SCUBA diving is a popular recreational sport. Although serious injuries occur infrequently, when they do knowledge of diving medicine and/or where to obtain appropriate consultation is essential. The emergency physician is likely to be the first physician contact the injured diver has. We discuss 8 subjects
in diving medicine which are contemporary, yet may have controversies associated with them. From this information the physician dealing primarily with the injured diver will have a basis for understanding and managing, as
well as where to find additional help, for his/her patients’ diving injuries.

Over the past 10 years, new knowledge and equipment improvements have made diving safer and more enjoyable. Estimates of actively participating sports divers show a striking increase over this time interval while the number of SCUBA diving deaths annually has remained nearly level at approximately 100. A further indicator of recreational diving safety is that reflected in the nearly constant number of diving injuries (1000 per annum) over the most recent 5 reported years, or approximately 0.53 to 3.4 incidents/10,000 dives.

Divers Alert Network.
The Divers Alert Network (DAN) is a nonprofit organization directed and staffed by experts in the specialty of diving medicine.6 DAN provides immediate consultation for both divers and physicians in the diagnosis and initial management of diving injuries. This 24-hour service is available free world-wide through a dedicated emergency telephone line: 1-919-684-4326. The DAN staff will also identify the nearest appropriate recompression treatment facility and knowledgeable physicians for an expedient referral. General diving medical inquiries can be answered during normal weekday hours either through an information telephone line: 1-919-684-2948 or through an interactive web site http://www.diversalertnetwork.org.

Use of 100% Oxygen for Initial, on the Scene, Management of Diving Accidents
The breathing of pure oxygen is crucial for the initial management of the diving related problems of arterial gas embolism (AGE), decompression sickness (DCS), pulmonary barotrauma (thoracic squeeze), aspiration pneumonitis, and hypoxic encephalopathy associated with near drowning. In 1985, Dick reported that in many cases the neurologic symptoms of AGE and DCS were resolved with the immediate breathing of pure oxygen on the surface. The breathing of pure oxygen reduces bubble size by increasing the differential pressure for the inert gas to diffuse out of the bubble and it also speeds the washout of inert gas from body tissues. The early elimination of the bubble prevents hypoxia and the interaction of the bubble with the blood vessel lining. This interaction leads to secondary problems of capillary leak, bleeding, inflammation, ischemia, and cell death. These secondary problems are the reasons not all DCS symptoms resolve with recompression chamber treatment. The immediate use of pure oxygen for the medical management of these diving problems is analogous to the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation for the witnessed cardiac arrest; the sooner initiated the better the results.

Diving Education

Medical Fitness for Diving

Asthma has the potential risk for AGE. Neuman reviewed the subject of asthma and diving. He and his coauthors recommend that asthmatics who are asymptomatic, not on medications and have no exercised induced abnormality on pulmonary function studies be allowed to dive.

Conditions leading to loss of consciousness, such as insulin dependent diabetes and epilepsy, can result in drowning. Carefully controlled diving studies in diabetics, who are free from complications, are now defining the safe requirements for diving. Epilepsy remains as a disqualification except in individuals with a history of febrile seizures ending prior to 5 years of age.

Availability of Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment Facilities

The availability of these chambers makes it possible for divers who become symptomatic after SCUBA diving to readily receive recompression treatment. This is important because the closer the initiation of recompression treatment to the onset of DCS (and AGE) signs and symptoms, the greater the likelihood of full recovery.

Improved Diving Equipment

Mixed and Rebreather Gas Diving
Mixed gas diving involves changing the breathing gas from air which has 20% oxygen to higher oxygen percentages (nitrox). As the amount of oxygen is increased in the gas mixture, the amount of the inert gas (nitrogen) is reduced. With oxygen enriched air there is less tissue deposition of inert gas per unit of time under water for any given depth. However, because of increased oxygen partial pressures, the seizure threshold for oxygen toxicity is lowered. For normal sports diving activities, oxygen toxicity with mixed gas diving is only a theoretical concern.

Decompression Illness is More Than Bubbles

When AGE occurs, DCS symptoms may be concurrent or appear during or after recompression treatment even though the decompression tables were not violated on the dive. When DCS occurs in this situation it appears resistant to recompression treatment (Neuman) perhaps because of the inflammatory reaction generated by the bubble-blood vessel interaction from the AGE. In cases of DCI where components of both DCS and AGE are suspected, the diver should be observed for a minimum of 24 hours after the recompression treatment is completed for the delayed onset of DCS.

No theory of DCS discounts the primary role of bubbles in this condition. However, new information suggests that there are precursors to bubble formation and post-bubbling events that occur as a consequence of the bubbles. As mentioned earlier, venous gas emboli are a common occurrence diving ascent and ordinarily are filtered out harmlessly by the lungs. Precursors to DCS include stasis, dehydration and too rapid of ascents. These conditions allow the ubiquitous VGE to enlarge, coalesce and occlude the venous side of the circulation. Massive venous bubbling to the lungs can cause pulmonary vessel obstruction described as the chokes. If right to left shunts occur in the heart, VGE can become AGE to the brain. If the arterial flow is slow enough and/or the gradients large enough, autochthonus (ie, spontaneous) bubbles can form in the arterial circulation and lead to any of the consequences of AGE. In such situations it could be difficult to determine whether the DCI event was from AGE or DCS even after careful analysis of the dive profile. Hollenbeck’s model for diving paraplegia includes the setting of venous stasis (Batson’s plexus of veins) in the spinal canal, bubble formation, bubble enlargement possibly from off gassing of the spinal cord, blood vessel occlusion, and venous side infarctions of the spinal cord.
Contemporary Management of DCS

Problem	Intervention	Effect
Bubble	Recompression with HBO	Reduce bubble size 1. Washout inert gas. 2. Change bubble composition by diffusion.
Stasis and dehydration	Hydration: oral fluids if alert, IV fluids otherwise.	Improve blood flow.
InflammationCell Ischemia	? Anti-inflammatory medicationsHBO	Reduce interaction between bubble and blood vessel endothelium. Improve oxygen availability to hypoxic tissues, reduce edema and also reduces the interaction between bubble and blood vessel endothelium.

Conclusions

We anticipate that in the future there will be further improvements for the safety and enjoyment of the recreational SCUBA diver. For example, the dive computer of the future will be able to individualize dive profiles for different personal medical parameters such as age, body composition and fitness level. Diver locators could quickly target a missing diver and save time and gas consumption as well as prevent serious diving mishaps. Drugs may be developed that would minimize the effect of bubbles interacting with body tissues and prevent DCS and AGE.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy for pulmonary decompression illness

Yutaka Kondo, Masataka Fukami and Ichiro Kukita
Kondo et al. Critical Care 2014; 18:438 http://ccforum.com/content/18/3/438/10.1186/cc13935

Pulmonary decompression illness is rarely observed in clinical settings, and most patients die prior to hospitalization. We administered ECMO therapy to rescue a patient, even though this therapy has rarely been reported with good outcome in patients with decompression illness. In addition, we had to select venovenous ECMO even with the patient showing right ventricular failure. A lot of physicians may select venoarterial ECMO if the patient shows right ventricular failure, but the important physiological mechanism of pulmonary decompression illness is massive air embolism in the pulmonary arteries, and the bubbles diminish within the first 24 hours. The management of decompression illness therefore differs substantially from the usual right-sided heart failure.

Extremes of barometric pressure

Jane E Risdall, David P Gradwell
Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine 16:2
Ascent to elevated altitude, commonly achieved through flight, by climbing or by residence in highland regions, exposes the individual to reduced ambient pressure. Although there are physical manifestations of this exposure as a consequence of Boyle’s law, the primary physiological challenge is of hypobaric hypoxia. The acute physiological and longer-term adaptive responses of the cardiovascular, respiratory, hematological and neurological systems to altitude are described, together with an outline of the presentation and management of acute mountain sickness, high-altitude pulmonary edema and high-altitude cerebral edema. While many millions experience modest exposure to altitude as a result of flight in pressurized aircraft, fewer individuals are exposed to increased ambient pressure. The pressure changes during diving and hyperbaric exposures result in greater changes in gas load and gas toxicity. Physiological effects include the consequences of increased work of breathing and redistribution of circulating volume. Neurological manifestations may be the direct result of pressure or a consequence of gas toxicity at depth. Increased tissue gas loads may result in decompression illness on return to surface or subsequent ascent in flight.

understand the physical effects of changes in ambient pressure and the physiological consequences on the cardiovascular respiratory and neurological systems
gain an awareness that exposure to reduced ambient pressure produces both acute and more chronic effects, with differing signs, symptoms and time to onset at various altitudes
develop an awareness of the toxic effects of ‘inert’ gases at increased ambient pressures and the pathogenesis and management of decompression illness

Decompression illness According to Henry’s law, at a constant temperature the amount of gas which dissolves in a liquid is proportional to the pressure of that gas or its partial pressure, if it is part of a mixture of gases. Breathing gases at increased ambient pressure will increase the amount of each gas dissolved in the fluid phases of body tissues. On ascent this excess gas has to be given up. If the ascent is controlled at a sufficiently slow rate, elimination will be via the respiratory system. If the ascent is too fast, excess gas may come out of solution and form free bubbles in the tissues or circulation. Bubbles may contain any of the gases in the breathing mixture, but it is the presence of inert gas bubbles (nitrogen or helium) that are thought most likely to give rise to problems, since the elimination of excess oxygen is achieved by metabolism as well as ventilation. These bubbles may act as venous emboli or may trigger inflammatory tissue responses giving rise to symptoms of decompression illness (DCI). Signs and symptoms of DCI may appear up to 48 hours after exposure to increased ambient pressure and include joint pains, motor and sensory deficits, dyspnoea, cough and skin rashes.

Neurological effects of deep diving

Marit Grønning, Johan A. Aarli
Journal of the Neurological Sciences 304 (2011) 17–21
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.jns.2011.01.021

Deep diving is defined as diving to depths more than 50 m of seawater (msw), and is mainly used for occupational and military purposes. A deep dive is characterized by the compression phase, the bottom time and the decompression phase. Neurological and neurophysiologic effects are demonstrated in divers during the compression phase and the bottom time. Immediate and transient neurological effects after deep dives have been shown in some divers. However, the results from the epidemiological studies regarding long term neurological effects from deep diving are conflicting and still not conclusive.

Possible immediate neurological effects of deep diving
Syndrome	Pressure
Hyperoxia/oxygen seizures	>152 kPa (5 msw)
HypoxiaHypercapnia
Nitrogen narcosis	>354 kPa (25 msw)
High pressure nervous syndrome	>1.6 MPa (150 msw)
Neurological decompression sickness

Neurological effects have been demonstrated, both clinically and neurophysiologically in divers during the compression phase and the bottom time. Studies of divers before and after deep dives have shown immediate and transient neurological effects in some divers. However, the results from the epidemiological and clinical studies regarding long term neurological effects from deep diving are conflicting and still not conclusive. Prospective clinical studies with sufficient power and sensitivity are needed to solve this important issue.

Today deep diving to more than 100 msw is routinely performed globally in the oil- and gas industry. In the North Sea remote underwater intervention and maintenance is performed by the use of remotely operated vehicles (ROV), both in conjunction to and as an alternative to manned underwater operations. There will, however, always be a need for human divers in the technically more advanced underwater operations and for contingency repair operations.

P300 latency indexes nitrogen narcosis

Barry Fowler, Janice Pogue and Gerry Porlier
Electroencephalography, and clinical Neurophysiology, 1990, 75:221-229

This experiment investigated the effects of nitrogen narcosis on reaction time (RT) and P300 latency and amplitude, Ten subjects breathed either air or a non-narcotic 20% oxygen-80% helium (heliox) mixture in a hyperbaric chamber at 6.5, 8.3 and 10 atmospheres absolute (ATA), The subjects responded under controlled accuracy conditions to visually presented male or female names in an oddball paradigm. Single-trial analysis revealed a strong relationship between RT and P300 latency, both of which were slowed in a dose-related manner by hyperbaric air but not by heliox. A clear-cut dose-response relationship could not be established for P300 amplitude. These results indicate that P300 latency indexes nitrogen narcosis and are interpreted as support for the slowed processing model of inert gas narcosis.

Adaptation to Deep Water Habitat

Effects of hypoxia on ionic regulation, glycogen utilization and antioxidative ability in the gills and liver of the aquatic air-breathing fish Trichogaster microlepis

Chun-Yen Huang, Hui-Chen Lina, Cheng-Huang Lin
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 179 (2015) 25–34
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2014.09.001

We examined the hypothesis that Trichogaster microlepis, a fish with an accessory air-breathing organ, uses a compensatory strategy involving changes in both behavior and protein levels to enhance its gas exchange ability. This compensatory strategy enables the gill ion-regulatory metabolism to maintain homeostasis during exposure to hypoxia. The present study aimed to determinewhether ionic regulation, glycogen utilization and antioxidant activity differ in terms of expression under hypoxic stresses; fish were sampled after being subjected to 3 or 12 h of hypoxia and 12 h of recovery under normoxia. The air-breathing behavior of the fish increased under hypoxia. No morphological modification of the gills was observed. The expression of carbonic anhydrase II did not vary among the treatments. The Na+/K+-ATPase enzyme activity did not decrease, but increases in Na+/K+-ATPase protein expression and ionocyte levels were observed. The glycogen utilization increased under hypoxia as measured by glycogen phosphorylase protein expression and blood glucose level, whereas the glycogen content decreased. The enzyme activity of several components of the antioxidant system in the gills, including catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxidase dismutase, increased in enzyme activity. Based on the above data, we concluded that T. microlepis is a hypoxia-tolerant species that does not exhibit ion-regulatory suppression but uses glycogen to maintain energy utilization in the gills under hypoxic stress. Components of the antioxidant system showed increased expression under the applied experimental treatments.

Divergence date estimation and a comprehensive molecular tree of extant cetaceans

Michael R. McGowen , Michelle Spaulding, John Gatesy
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 53 (2009) 891–906
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2009.08.018

Cetaceans are remarkable among mammals for their numerous adaptations to an entirely aquatic existence, yet many aspects of their phylogeny remain unresolved. Here we merged 37 new sequences from the nuclear genes RAG1 and PRM1 with most published molecular data for the group (45 nuclear loci, transposons, mitochondrial genomes), and generated a supermatrix consisting of 42,335 characters. The great majority of these data have never been combined. Model-based analyses of the supermatrix produced a solid, consistent phylogenetic hypothesis for 87 cetacean species. Bayesian analyses corroborated odontocete (toothed whale) monophyly, stabilized basal odontocete relationships, and completely resolved branching events within Mysticeti (baleen whales) as well as the problematic speciose clade Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins). Only limited conflicts relative to maximum likelihood results were recorded, and discrepancies found in parsimony trees were very weakly supported. We utilized the Bayesian supermatrix tree to estimate divergence dates among lineages using relaxed-clock methods. Divergence estimates revealed rapid branching of basal odontocete lineages near the Eocene–Oligocene boundary, the antiquity of river dolphin lineages, a Late Miocene radiation of balaenopteroid mysticetes, and a recent rapid radiation of Delphinidae beginning [1]10 million years ago. Our comprehensive, time calibrated tree provides a powerful evolutionary tool for broad-scale comparative studies of Cetacea.

Mitogenomic analyses provide new insights into cetacean origin and evolution

Ulfur Arnason, Anette Gullberg, Axel Janke
Gene 333 (2004) 27–34
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.gene.2004.02.010

The evolution of the order Cetacea (whales, dolphins, porpoises) has, for a long time, attracted the attention of evolutionary biologists. Here we examine cetacean phylogenetic relationships on the basis of analyses of complete mitochondrial genomes that represent all extant cetacean families. The results suggest that the ancestors of recent cetaceans had an explosive evolutionary radiation 30–35 million years before present. During this period, extant cetaceans divided into the two primary groups, Mysticeti (baleen whales) and Odontoceti (toothed whales). Soon after this basal split, the Odontoceti diverged into the four extant lineages, sperm whales, beaked whales, Indian river dolphins and delphinoids (iniid river dolphins, narwhals/belugas, porpoises and true dolphins). The current data set has allowed test of two recent morphological hypotheses on cetacean origin. One of these hypotheses posits that Artiodactyla and Cetacea originated from the extinct group Mesonychia, and the other that Mesonychia/Cetacea constitutes a sister group to Artiodactyla. The current results are inconsistent with both these hypotheses. The findings suggest that the claimed morphological similarities between Mesonychia and Cetacea are the result of evolutionary convergence rather than common ancestry.

The order Cetacea traditionally includes three suborders: the extinct Archaeoceti and the recent Odontoceti and Mysticeti. It is commonly believed that the evolution of ancestral cetaceans from terrestrial to marine (aquatic) life was accompanied by a fast and radical morphological adaptation. Such a scenario may explain why it was, for a long time, difficult to morphologically establish the position of Cetacea in the mammalian tree and even to settle whether Cetacea constituted a monophyletic group.

Biochemical analyses in the 1950s and 1960s had shown a closer relationship between cetaceans and artiodactyls (even-toed hoofed mammals) than between cetaceans and any other eutherian order and karyological studies in the late 1960s and early 1970s unequivocally supported cetacean monophyly (Arnason, 1969, 1974). The nature of the relationship between cetaceans and artiodactyls was resolved in phylogenetic studies of mitochondrial (mt) cytochrome b (cytb) genes (Irwin and Arnason, 1994; Arnason and Gullberg, 1996) that placed Cetacea within the order Artiodactyla itself as the sister group of the Hippopotamidae (see also Sarich, 1993). The Hippopotamidae/ Cetacea relationship was subsequently supported in studies of nuclear data (Gatesy et al., 1996; Gatesy, 1997) and statistically established in analysis of complete mt genomes (Ursing and Arnason, 1998). The relationship has also been confirmed in analyses of combined nuclear and mt sequences (Gatesy et al., 1999; Cassens et al., 2000) and in studies of short interspersed repetitive elements (SINEs). Artiodactyla and Cetacea are now commonly referred to as Cetartiodactyla.

Previous analyses of the complete cytb gene of more than 30 cetacean species (Arnason and Gullberg, 1996) identified five primary lineages of recent cetaceans, viz., Mysticeti and the four odontocete lineages Physeteridae (sperm whales), Platanistidae (Indian river dolphins), Ziphiidae (beaked whales) and Delphinoidea (iniid river dolphins, porpoises, narwhals and dolphins). However, these studies left unresolved the relationships of the five lineages as well as those between the three delphinoid families Monodontidae (narwhals, belugas), Phocoenidae (porpoises) and Delphinidae (dolphins). Similarly, the relationships between the four mysticete families Balaenidae (right whales), Neobalaenidae (pygmy right whales), Eschrichtiidae (gray whales) and Balaenopteridae (rorquals) were not conclusively resolved in analyses of cytb genes.

Fig. (not shown). Cetartiodactyl relationships and the estimated times of their divergences. The tree was established on the basis of maximum likelihood analysis of the concatenated amino acid (aa) sequences of 12 mt protein-coding genes. Length of alignment 3610 aa. Support values for branches A–H are shown in the insert.
Cetruminantia (branch A) receives moderate support and Cetancodonta (B) strong support. Cetacea (C) splits into monophyletic Mysticeti (baleen whales) and monophyletic Odontoceti (toothed whales). Odontoceti has four basal lineages, Physeteridae (sperm whales: represented by the sperm and pygmy sperm whales), Ziphiidae (beaked whales: bottlenose and Baird’s beaked whales), Platanistidae (Indian river dolphins: Indian river dolphin) and Delphinoidea. Delphinoidea encompasses the families Iniidae (iniid river dolphins: Amazon river dolphin, La Plata dolphin), Monodontidae (narwhals/belugas: narwhal), Phocoenidae (porpoises: harbour porpoise) and Delphinidae (dolphins: white-beaked dolphin). The common odontocete branch and the branches separating the four cetacean lineages are short. These relationships are therefore somewhat unstable (cf. Section 3.1 and Table 1). Iniid river dolphins (F) are solidly nested within the Delphinoidea (E). Thus, traditional river dolphins (Platanistidae + Iniidae) do not form a monophyletic unit. Molecular estimates of divergence times (Sanderson 2002) were based on two calibration points, A/C-60 and O/M-35 (cf. Section 3.2). Due to the short lengths of internal branches, some estimates for these divergences overlap. NJ: neighbor joining; MP: maximum parsimony; LBP: local bootstrap probability; QP: quartet puzzling. The bar shows the number of aa substitutions per site.

The limited molecular resolution among basal cetacean lineages has been known for some time. Studies of hemoglobin and myoglobin (Goodman, 1989; Czelusniak et al., 1990) have either joined Physeteridae and Mysticeti to the exclusion of Delphinoidea (myoglobin data) or Mysticeti and Delphinoidea to the exclusion of Physeteridae (hemoglobin data). Thus, neither of the data sets identified monophyletic Odontoceti by joining the two odontocete lineages (Physeteridae and Delphinoidea) to the exclusion of Mysticeti. A similar instability was recognized and cautioned against in analyses of some mt data, notably, sequences of rRNA genes (Arnason et al., 1993b). The suggestion (Milinkovitch et al., 1993) of a sister group relationship between Physeteridae and the mysticete family Balaenopteridae (rorquals) was based on a myoglobin data set (which joins Physeteridae and Mysticeti to the exclusion of Delphinoidea) that was complemented with partial data of the mt 16S rRNA gene.

The cetancodont divergence times calculated using A/C-60 and O/M-35 as references have been included in Fig. 1. As a result of the short branches separating several cetacean lineages, the estimates of these divergences overlap. The same observation has been made in calculations based on SINE flanking sequences (Nikaido et al., 2001). There is a general consistency between the current and the flanking sequence datings, except for those involving the Balaenopteridae, which are somewhat younger in our analysis than in the SINEs study. The currently estimated age of the divergence between Hippopotamus and Cetacea (c53.5 MYBP) is consistent with the age (>50 MY) of the oldest archaeocete fossils identified so far (Bajpai and Gingerich, 1998). This suggests that the ages allocated to the two references, A/C-60 (the divergence between ruminant artiodactyls and cetancodonts) and O/M-35 (the divergence between odontocetes and mysticetes) are reasonably accurate.

The dating of the divergence between the blue and fin whales is of interest regarding hybridization between closely related mammalian species. Previous molecular analyses (Arnason et al., 1991b; Spilliaert et al., 1991) demonstrated the occurrence of hybridization between these two species. These studies, which were based on three hybrids (one female and two males), showed that either species could be the mother or father in these hybridizations. The two male hybrids had rudimentary testes, whereas the female hybrid was in her second pregnancy. This suggests that the blue and fin whales may be close to the limit for permissible species hybridization among mammals.

The current data set has allowed examination of the coherence between the molecular results and two prevalent morphological hypotheses related to cetacean evolution. The first hypothesis, which in essence originates from Van Valen (1966, 1968), postulates that monophyletic Artiodactyla and monophyletic Cetacea evolved separately from the extinct Palaeocene group Mesonychia. This hypothesis was recently reinforced in a morphological study (Thewissen et al., 2001) that included mesonychians, two archaeocete taxa (Ambuloocetus and Pakicetus) and some extant and fossil artiodactyls. The study of Thewissen et al. (2001) showed a sister group relationship between monophyletic Artiodactyla and monophyletic Cetacea, with Mesonychia as the basal sister group of Artiodactyla/Cetacea, a conclusion consistent with the palaeontological age of Mesonychia relative to that of Artiodactyla and Cetacea. The second hypothesis favours a sister group relationship between Mesonychia and Cetacea with the Mesonychia/Cetacea clade as the sister group of monophyletic Artiodactyla (O’Leary and Geisler, 1999; see also Gatesy and O’Leary, 2001).

Although the position of Mesonychia differs in the two morphological hypotheses, both correspond to a sister group relationship between Cetacea and monophyletic Artiodactyla among extant cetartiodactyls. Thus, both hypotheses can be tested against the current data set. The result of such a test has been included in Table 1, topology (m)(not shown). As evident, both these morphological hypotheses are incongruent with the mitogenomic findings.

Morphological studies have not provided an answer to the question whether mysticetes and odontocetes had separate origins among the archaeocetes (Fordyce and de Muizon, 2001). However, the long common cetacean branch and the short branches separating the five extant cetacean lineages strongly suggest an origin of modern cetaceans from the same archaeocete group (probably the Dorudontidae).

The limbs of Ambulocetus constitute somewhat of an evolutionary enigma. As evident in Thewissen et al.’s (1994) paper, Ambulocetus has very large hind limbs compared to its forelimbs, a difference that is less pronounced in later silhouette drawings of the animal. It is nevertheless evident that evolution from the powerful hindlimbs of Ambulocetus to their rudimentation in archaeocetes constitutes a remarkable morphological reversal if Ambulocetus is connected to the cetacean branch after the separation of the hippopotamid and cetacean lineages.

For natural reasons, systematic schemes have traditionally been based on external morphological characteristics. The rates of morphological and molecular evolution are rarely (if ever) strictly correlated, however, and this may give rise to inconsistency between traditional systematics and molecular findings. The emerging consensus that the order Cetacea resides within another traditional order, Artiodactyla, makes apparent the incongruity in cetartiodactyl nomenclature (Graur and Higgins, 1994). In this instance, a possible solution for maintaining reasonable consistency between nomenclature and phylogeny would be to recognize Cetartiodactyla as an order with three suborders: Suina, Tylopoda and Cetruminantia. According to such a scheme, Cetacea would (together with the Hippopotamidae) constitute a parvorder within the infraorder Cetancodonta.

Cytochrome b and Bayesian inference of whale phylogeny

Laura May-Collado, Ingi Agnarsson
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 38 (2006) 344–354
http://dx.doi.org//10.1016/j.ympev.2005.09.019

In the mid 1990s cytochrome b and other mitochondrial DNA data reinvigorated cetacean phylogenetics by proposing many novel

and provocative hypotheses of cetacean relationships. These results sparked a revision and reanalysis of morphological datasets, and the collection of new nuclear DNA data from numerous loci. Some of the most controversial mitochondrial hypotheses have now become benchmark clades, corroborated with nuclear DNA and morphological data; others have been resolved in favor of more traditional views. That major conflicts in cetacean phylogeny are disappearing is encouraging. However, most recent papers aim specifically to resolve higher-level conflicts by adding characters, at the cost of densely sampling taxa to resolve lower-level relationships. No molecular study to date has included more than 33 cetaceans. More detailed molecular phylogenies will provide better tools for evolutionary studies. Until more genes are available for a high number of taxa, can we rely on readily available single gene mitochondrial data? Here, we estimate the phylogeny of 66 cetacean taxa and 24 outgroups based on Cytb sequences. We judge the reliability of our phylogeny based on the recovery of several deep-level benchmark clades. A Bayesian phylogenetic analysis recovered all benchmark clades and for the Wrst time supported Odontoceti monophyly based exclusively on analysis of a single mitochondrial gene. The results recover the monophyly, with the exception of only one taxa within Cetacea, and the most recently proposed super- and subfamilies. In contrast, parsimony never recovered all benchmark clades and was sensitive to a priori weighting decisions. These results provide the most detailed phylogeny of Cetacea to date and highlight the utility of both Bayesian methodology in general, and of Cytb in cetacean phylogenetics. They furthermore suggest that dense taxon sampling, like dense character sampling, can overcome problems in phylogenetic reconstruction.

Some long standing debates are all but resolved: our understanding of deeper level cetacean phylogeny has grown strong. However, the strong focus of most recent studies, aiming specifically to resolve these higher level conflicts by adding mostly characters rather than taxa, has left our understanding of lower level relationships among whale species lagging behind. Mitogenomic data, for example, is available only for 16 cetacean species, and no molecular study to date has included more than 33 cetaceans. It seems timely to focus on more detailed (genus, and species level) molecular phylogenies. These will provide better tools for detailed evolutionary studies, and are necessary to test existing morphological phylogenetic hypotheses, and current cetacean classification.

We judge the reliability of our phylogeny based on the recovery of the previously mentioned benchmark clades, in addition to the less controversial clades Perissodactyla, Euungulata (sensu Waddell et al., 2001; Perissodactyla+ Cetartiodactyla), Cetacea, and Mysticeti. Because Cytb is thought to be most reliable at lower taxonomic levels (due to high substitution rates), recovering ‘known’ deeper clades gives credibility to these new findings which have not been addressed by studies using few taxa. We compare the performance of Bayesian analyses versus parsimony under four different models, and briefly examine the sensitivity of the results to taxon sampling. We use our results to discuss agreement and remaining conflict in cetacean phylogenetics, and provide comments on current classification.

The Bayesian analysis recovered all seven benchmark clades. Support for five of the benchmark clades is high (100 posterior probabilities) but rather low for Cetancodonta (79) and marginal for the monophyly of Odontoceti. The analysis also recovered all but one family level, and most sub- and superfamily level cetacean taxa. The results broadly corroborate current cetacean classiffcation, while also pointing to some lower-level groups that may need redefinition.

Many recent cetacean phylogenetic studies include relatively few taxa, in part due to a focus on generating more characters to resolve higher level phylogenetics. While addressing crucial questions and providing the backbone for lower level phylogenies, such studies have limited utility for classification, and for comparative evolutionary studies. In some cases sparse taxon sampling may also confound the results. Of course, taxon sampling is usually simply constrained by the availability of character data, but for some reason many studies have opted to include only one, or a few outgroup taxa, even if many are available.

We find that as long as outgroup taxon sampling was extensive, Bayesian analyses of Cytb recovered all the a priori identified benchmark clades. When only a few outgroups were chosen, however, the Bayesian analysis negated Odontoceti monophyly, as have many previous parsimony analyses of mitochondrial DNA. Furthermore, in almost every detailed comparison possible our results mirror the findings O’Leary et al. (2004), the most ‘character-complete’ (but including relatively few cetacean taxa) analysis to date (37,000 characters from morphology, SINE, and 51 gene fragments). This result gives credibility to our findings, including previously untested lower level clades.

Monophyly and placement of Mysticeti (baleen whales).
Monophyly of Odontoceti (toothed whales)
Delphinoids
River Dolphins
Beaked and sperm whales

A major goal of phylogenetics is a phylogeny of life (i.e., many taxa), based on multiple lines of evidence (many characters of many types). However, when phylogenies based on relatively few characters can be judged reliable based on external evidence (taxonomic congruence with other phylogenies using many characters, but few taxa), they seem like very promising and useful ‘first guess’ hypotheses. The evolution of sexual dimorphism, echolocation, social behavior, and whistles and other communicative signals, and major ecological shifts (e.g., transition to fresh water) are among the numerous interesting questions in cetacean biology that this phylogeny can help answer.

Deep-diving sea lions exhibit extreme bradycardia in long duration dives

Birgitte I. McDonald1, and Paul J. Ponganis
The Journal of Experimental Biology (2014) 217, 1525-1534 http://dx.doi.org:/10.1242/jeb.098558

Heart rate and peripheral blood flow distribution are the primary determinants of the rate and pattern of oxygen store utilization and ultimately breath-hold duration in marine endotherms. Despite this, little is known about how otariids (sea lions and fur seals) regulate heart rate (fH) while diving. We investigated dive fH in five adult female California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) during foraging trips by instrumenting them with digital electrocardiogram (ECG) loggers and time depth recorders. In all dives, dive fH (number of beats/duration; 50±9 beats min⁻¹) decreased compared with surface rates (113±5 beats min⁻¹), with all dives exhibiting an instantaneous fH below resting (<54 beats min⁻¹) at some point during the dive. Both dive fH and minimum instantaneous fH significantly decreased with increasing dive duration. Typical instantaneous fH profiles of deep dives (>100 m) consisted of:

(1) an initial rapid decline in fH resulting in the lowest instantaneous fH of the dive at the end of descent, often below 10 beats min⁻¹ in dives longer than 6 min in duration;
(2) a slight increase in fH to ~10–40 beats min⁻¹ during the bottom portion of the dive; and
(3) a gradual increase in fH during ascent with a rapid increase prior to surfacing.

Thus, fH regulation in deep-diving sea lions is not simply a progressive bradycardia. Extreme bradycardia and the presumed associated reductions in pulmonary and peripheral blood flow during late descent of deep dives should

(a) contribute to preservation of the lung oxygen store,
(b) increase dependence of muscle on the myoglobin-bound oxygen store,
(c) conserve the blood oxygen store and
(d) help limit the absorption of nitrogen at depth.

This fH profile during deep dives of sea lions may be characteristic of deep-diving marine endotherms that dive on inspiration as similar fH profiles have been recently documented in the emperor penguin, another deep diver that dives on inspiration.

The resting ƒH measured in this study (54±6 beats min⁻¹) was lower than predicted for an animal of similar size (~80 beats min⁻¹ for an 80 kg mammal). In part, this may be due to the fact that the sea lions were probably sleeping. The resting ƒH in our study was also lower than previous measurements in captive juvenile California sea lions (87±17 beats min⁻¹, average mass 30 kg) and wild Antarctic fur seals (78±5 beats min⁻¹, body mass 30–50 kg). However, we found a significant negative relationship between mass and resting ƒH even with our small sample size of five sea lions (resting ƒH = –0.58 Mb +100.26, r²=0.81, F_1,3=12.37, P=0.039). For a 30 kg sea lion, this equation predicts a resting ƒH of 83 beats min⁻¹, which is similar to what was measured previously in juvenile sea lions, suggesting this equation may be useful in estimating resting ƒH in sea lions.

The sea lions exhibited a distinct sinus arrhythmia fluctuating between a minimum of 42±9 and a maximum of 87±12 beats min⁻¹, comparable to the sinus arrhythmias described in other diving birds and mammals, including sea lions. The minimum instantaneous ƒH during the sinus arrhythmia was similar to the mean minimum ƒH in dives less than 3 min (37±7 beats min⁻¹), indicating that in dives less than 3 min (estimated cADL), ƒH only decreased to levels observed during exhalation at rest. This is consistent with observations in emperor penguins and elephant seals, where it was proposed that in dives shorter than the aerobic dive limit (ADL) the reduction in ƒH is regulated by a mechanism of cardiorespiratory control similar to that governing the respiratory sinus arrhythmia, with a further reduction only occurring in dives longer than the ADL.

Fig. 3. (not shown) Instantaneous fH and dive depth profiles of a California sea lion (CSL12_2). Data are from (A) a short, shallow dive (1.3 min, 45 m), (B) a mid-duration dive (4.8 min, 239 m) and (C) a long-duration dive (8.5 min, 305 m). Minimum instantaneous fH reached 37 beats min⁻¹ in the short dive
(A) 19 beats min⁻¹ in the mid-duration dive
(B) and 7 beats min⁻¹ in the long duration dive
(C) Prominent features typical of mid- and long-duration dives include

a surface interval tachycardia (pre- and post-dive);
a steady rapid decrease in fH during initial descent;
a gradual decline in fH towards the end of descent with the lowest fH of the dive at the end of descent;
a slight increase and sometimes variable fH during the bottom portion of the dive; and
a slow increase in fH during ascent,
often ending in a rapid increase just before surfacing.

We obtained the first diving ƒH data from wild sea lions on natural foraging trips, demonstrating how they regulate ƒH over a range of dive durations. Sea lions always decreased dive ƒH from surface ƒH values; however, individual sea lions exhibited different dive ƒH, accounting for a significant amount of the variation in the relationship between dive duration and ƒH (intra-individual correlation: 75–81%)). The individual differences in dive ƒH exhibited in this study suggest that different dive capacities of individual sea lions may partially account for the range of dive strategies exhibited in a previous study (Villegas-Amtmann et al., 2011). Despite the individual differences in ƒH, the pattern of the dive ƒH response was similar in all the sea lions. As predicted, sea lions only consistently displayed a true bradycardia on mid- to long- duration dives (>4 min) (Fig. 5A). Additionally, as seen in freely diving phocids, dive ƒH and minimum ƒH were negatively related to dive duration, with the longest duration dives having the lowest dive ƒH and displaying the most intense bradycardia, often below 10 beats min⁻¹ (Fig. 5A,B).

Profiles of mean fH at 10 s intervals of dives

Fig 4. Profiles of mean fH at 10 s intervals of dives for (A) six duration categories and (B) five depth categories. Standard error bars are shown. Data were pooled from 461 dives performed by five sea lions. The number of dives in each category and the number of sea lions performing the dives in each category are provided in the keys.

The mild bradycardia and the dive ƒH profiles observed in the shorter duration dives (<3 min) were similar to those observed in trained juvenile California sea lions and adult Stellar sea lions, but much more intense than ƒH observed in freely diving Antarctic fur seals. Surprisingly, although dive ƒH of trained Steller sea lions was similar, Steller sea lions regularly exhibited lower minimum ƒH, with minimum ƒH almost always less than 20 beats min⁻¹ in dives less than 2 min in duration. In the wild, California sea lions rarely exhibited a minimum ƒH less than 20 beats min⁻¹ in similar duration dives (Fig. 5B), suggesting greater blood oxygen transport during these natural short-duration dives.

Fig. 5. (not shown) fH decreases with increasing dive duration. Dive duration versus (A) dive fH (total number of beats/dive duration), (B) minimum instantaneous fH and (C) bottom fH (total beats at bottom of dive/bottom time) for California sea lions (461 dives from five sea lions).

Although California sea lions are not usually considered exceptional divers, they exhibited extreme bradycardia, comparable to that of the best diving phocids, during their deep dives. In dives greater than 6 min in duration, minimum ƒH was usually less than 10 beats min⁻¹ and sometimes as low as 6 beats mins⁻¹ (Fig. 5B), which is similar to extreme divers such as emperor penguins (3 beats min−1), elephant seals (3 beats min⁻¹), grey seals (2 beats min−1) and Weddell seals (<10 beats min⁻¹), and even as low as what was observed in forced submersion studies. Thus, similar to phocids, the extreme bradycardia exhibited during forced submersions is also a routine component of the sea lion’s physiological repertoire, allowing them to perform long-duration dives.

While the degree of bradycardia observed in long dives of California sea lions was similar to the extreme bradycardia observed in phocids, the ƒH profiles were quite different. In general, phocid ƒH decreases abruptly upon submergence. The intensity of the initial phocid bradycardia either remains relatively stable or intensifies as the dive progresses, and does not start to increase until the seal begins its ascent. In contrast, the ƒH profiles of sea lions were more complex, showing a more gradual decrease during descent, with the minimum ƒH of the dive usually towards the end of descent (Figs 3, 6). There was often a slight increase in ƒH during the bottom portion of the dive, and as soon as the sea lions started to ascend, the ƒH slowly started to increase, often becoming irregular during the middle of ascent, before increasing rapidly as the sea lion approached the surface.

Fig. 6. (not shown) Instantaneous fH and dive depth profiles of the longest dive (10.0 min, 385 m) from a California sea lion (CSL12_1). During this dive, instantaneous fH reached 7 beats min⁻¹ and was less than 20 beats min⁻¹ for over 5.5 min. Post-dive fH was high in the first 0.5–1 min after surfacing, but then declined to ~100 beats min⁻¹ towards the end of the surface interval.

Implications for pulmonary gas exchange

The moderate dive ƒH in short, shallow dives compared with the much slower ƒH of deep long-duration dives suggests more pulmonary blood flow and greater potential for reliance on lung O2. Most of these dives were to depths of less than 100 m (well below the estimated depth of lung collapse near 200 m), so maintenance of a moderate ƒH during these dives may allow sea lions to maximise use of the potentially significant lung O2 stores (~16% of total body O2 stores) throughout the dive. This is supported by venous blood O2 profiles, where, occasionally, there was no decrease in venous blood O2 between the beginning and end of the dive; this can only occur if pulmonary gas exchange continues throughout the dive. Greater utilization of the lung O2 store in sea lions is consistent with higher dive ƒH in other species that both dive on inspiration and typically perform shallow dives (dolphins, porpoises, some penguin species), and in deeper diving species when they perform shallow dives (emperor penguins).

In deeper dives of sea lions, although ƒH was lower and bradycardia more extreme, the diving ƒH profiles suggest that pulmonary gas exchange is also important. In long-duration dives, even though ƒH started to decrease upon or shortly after submergence, the decrease was not as abrupt as in phocids. Additionally, in long deep dives, despite having overall low dive ƒH, there were more heart beats before resting ƒH was reached compared with short, shallow dives. In dives less than 3 min in duration, there were ~10–15 beats until instantaneous ƒH reached resting values. In longer duration dives (>3 min), there were usually ~30–40 beats before instantaneous ƒH reached resting values. We suggest the greater number of heart beats early in these deeper dives enables more gas exchange and blood O2 uptake at shallow depths, thus allowing utilisation of the postulated larger respiratory O2 stores in deeper dives The less abrupt decline in ƒH we observed in sea lions is similar to the more gradual declines documented in emperor penguins and porpoises, where it has also been proposed that the gradual decrease in ƒH allows them to maximise pulmonary gas exchange at shallower depths. However, as sea lions swam deeper, ƒH decreased further (Figs 3, 6), and by 200 m depth (the approximate depth of lung collapse, instantaneous ƒH was 14 beats min⁻¹. Such an extreme decline in ƒH in conjunction with increased pulmonary shunting due to lung compression at greater depths will result in minimization of both O2 and N2 uptake by blood, even before the depth of full lung collapse (100% pulmonary shunt) is reached.

Implications for blood flow

ƒH is often used as a proxy to estimate blood flow and perfusion during diving because of the relative ease of its measurement. This is based on the assumption that stroke volume does not change during diving in sea lions, and, hence, changes in ƒH directly reflect changes in cardiac output. As breath-hold divers maintain arterial pressure while diving, changes in cardiac output should be associated with changes in peripheral vascular resistance and changes in blood flow to tissues. In Weddell seals, a decrease in cardiac output of ~85% during forced submersions resulted in an 80–100% decrease in tissue perfusion in all tissues excluding the brain, adrenal glands and lung. Sea lions exhibited extremely low instantaneous ƒH values that often remained low for significant portions of the dive (Figs 4, 6), suggesting severe decreases in tissue perfusion in dives greater than 5 min in duration. In almost all dives greater than 6 min in duration, instantaneous ƒH reached 10 beats min⁻¹, and stayed below 20 beats min⁻¹ for more than a minute. At a ƒH of 20 beats min⁻¹, cardiac output will be ~36% of resting cardiac output and only about 18% of average surface cardiac output. At these levels of cardiac suppression, most of this flow should be directed towards the brain and heart.

Conclusions

We successfully obtained diving ƒH profiles from a deep-diving otariid during natural foraging trips. We found that

(1) ƒH decreases during all dives, but true and more intense bradycardia only occurred in longer duration dives and
(2) in the longest duration dives, ƒH and presumed cardiac output were as low as 20% of resting values.

We conclude that, although initial high ƒH promotes gas exchange early in deep dives, the extremely low ƒH in late descent of deep dives (a) preserves lung O2, (b) conserves blood O2, (c) increases the dependence of muscle on myoglobin-bound O2 and (d) limits N2 absorption at depth. This ƒH profile, especially during the late descent/early bottom phase of deep dives is similar to that of deep-diving emperor penguins, and may be characteristic of deep diving endotherms that dive on inspiration.

Dive duration was the fixed effect in all models, and to account for the lack of independence caused by having many dives from the same individual, individual (sea lion ID) was included as a random effect. Covariance and random effect structures of the full models were evaluated using Akaike’s information criterion (AIC) and examination of residual plots. AICs from all the tested models are presented with the best model in bold.

Additionally, dives were classified as short-duration (less than 3 min, minimum cADL), mid-duration (3–5 min, range of cADLs) or long-duration (>5 min) dives. Differences in pre-dive ƒH, dive ƒH, minimum ƒH, post-dive ƒH, and heart beats to resting between the categories were investigated using mixed effects ANOVA, followed by post hoc Tukey tests. In all models, dive duration category was the fixed effect and individual (sea lion ID) was included as a random effect. Model fit was accessed by examination of the residuals. All means are expressed ±s.d. and results of the Tukey tests were considered significant at P<0.05. Statistical analysis was performed in R.

Investigating Annual Diving Behaviour by Hooded Seals (Cystophora cristata) within the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Julie M. Andersen, Mette Skern-Mauritzen, Lars Boehme
PLoS ONE 8(11): e80438. http://dx.doi.org:/10.1371/journal.pone.0080438

With the exception of relatively brief periods when they reproduce and molt, hooded seals, Cystophora cristata, spend most of the year in the open ocean where they undergo feeding migrations to either recover or prepare for the next fasting period. Valuable insights into habitat use and diving behavior during these periods have been obtained by attaching Satellite Relay Data Loggers (SRDLs) to 51 Northwest (NW) Atlantic hooded seals (33 females and 18 males) during icebound fasting periods (200422008). Using General Additive Models (GAMs) we describe habitat use in terms of First Passage Time (FPT) and analyze how bathymetry, seasonality and FPT influence the hooded seals’ diving behavior described by maximum dive depth, dive duration and surface duration. Adult NW Atlantic hooded seals exhibit a change in diving activity in areas where they spend .20 h by increasing maximum dive depth, dive duration and surface duration, indicating a restricted search behavior. We found that male and female hooded seals are spatially segregated and that diving behavior varies between sexes in relation to habitat properties and seasonality. Migration periods are described by increased dive duration for both sexes with a peak in May, October and January. Males demonstrated an increase in dive depth and dive duration towards May (post-breeding/pre-molt) and August–October (post-molt/pre-breeding) but did not show any pronounced increase in surface duration. Females dived deepest and had the highest surface duration between December and January (post-molt/pre-breeding). Our results suggest that the smaller females may have a greater need to recover from dives than that of the larger males. Horizontal segregation could have evolved as a result of a resource partitioning strategy to avoid sexual competition or that the energy requirements of males and females are different due to different energy expenditure during fasting periods.

Novel locomotor muscle design in extreme deep-diving whales

P. Velten, R. M. Dillaman, S. T. Kinsey, W. A. McLellan and D. A. Pabst
The Journal of Experimental Biology 216, 1862-1871
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1242/jeb.081323

Most marine mammals are hypothesized to routinely dive within their aerobic dive limit (ADL). Mammals that regularly perform deep, long-duration dives have locomotor muscles with elevated myoglobin concentrations that are composed of predominantly large, slow-twitch (Type I) fibers with low mitochondrial volume densities (Vmt). These features contribute to extending ADL by increasing oxygen stores and decreasing metabolic rate. Recent tagging studies, however, have challenged the view that two groups of extreme deep-diving cetaceans dive within their ADLs. Beaked whales (including Ziphius cavirostris and Mesoplodon densirostris) routinely perform the deepest and longest average dives of any air-breathing vertebrate, and short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) perform high-speed sprints at depth. We investigated the locomotor muscle morphology and estimated total body oxygen stores of several species within these two groups of cetaceans to determine whether they

(1) shared muscle design features with other deep divers and
(2) performed dives within their calculated ADLs.

Muscle of both cetaceans displayed high myoglobin concentrations and large fibers, as predicted, but novel fiber profiles for diving mammals. Beaked whales possessed a sprinterʼs fiber-type profile, composed of ~80% fast-twitch (Type II) fibers with low Vmt. Approximately one-third of the muscle fibers of short-finned pilot whales were slow-twitch, oxidative, glycolytic fibers, a rare fiber type for any mammal. The muscle morphology of beaked whales likely decreases the energetic cost of diving, while that of short-finned pilot whales supports high activity events. Calculated ADLs indicate that, at low metabolic rates, both beaked and short-finned pilot whales carry sufficient onboard oxygen to aerobically support their dives.

Serial cross-sections of the m. longissimus dorsi of Mesoplodon densirostris

Fig. Serial cross-sections of the m. longissimus dorsi of Mesoplodon densirostris (A–D) and Globicephala macrorhynchus (E–H). Scale bars, 50μm. Muscle sections stained for the alkaline (A,E) and acidic (B,F) preincubations of myosin ATPase were used to distinguish Type I and II fibers. Muscle sections stained for succinate dehydrogenase (C,G) and α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (D,H) were used to distinguish glycolytic (gl), oxidative (o) and intermediate (i) fibers.

Previous studies of the locomotor muscles of deep-diving marine mammals have demonstrated that these species share a suite of adaptations that increase onboard oxygen stores while slowing the rate at which these stores are utilized, thus extending ADL. Their locomotor muscles display elevated myoglobin concentrations and are composed predominantly of large Type I fibers. Vmt are also lower in deep divers than in shallow divers or athletic terrestrial species. The results of this study indicate that beaked whales and short-finned pilot whales do not uniformly display these characteristics and that each possesses a novel fiber profile compared with those of other deep divers.

The phylogeny of Cetartiodactyla: The importance of dense taxon sampling, missing data, and the remarkable promise of cytochrome b to provide reliable species-level phylogenies

Ingi Agnarsson, Laura J. May-Collado
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 48 (2008) 964–985
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.ympev.2008.05.046

We perform Bayesian phylogenetic analyses on cytochrome b sequences from 264 of the 290 extant cetartiodactyl mammals (whales plus even-toed ungulates) and two recently extinct species, the ‘Mouse Goat’ and the ‘Irish Elk’. Previous primary analyses have included only a small portion of the species diversity within Cetartiodactyla, while a complete supertree analysis lacks resolution and branch lengths limiting its utility for comparative studies. The benefits of using a single-gene approach include rapid phylogenetic estimates for a large number of species. However, single-gene phylogenies often differ dramatically from studies involving multiple datasets suggesting that they often are unreliable. However, based on recovery of benchmark clades—clades supported in prior studies based on multiple independent datasets—and recovery of undisputed traditional taxonomic groups, Cytb performs extraordinarily well in resolving cetartiodactyl phylogeny when taxon sampling is dense. Missing data, however, (taxa with partial sequences) can compromise phylogenetic accuracy, suggesting a tradeoff between the benefits of adding taxa and introducing question marks. In the full data, a few species with a short sequences appear misplaced, however, sequence length alone seems a poor predictor of this phenomenon as other taxa.

The mammalian superorder Cetartiodactyla (whales and eventoed ungulates) contains nearly 300 species including many of immense commercial importance (cow, pig, and sheep) and of conservation interest and aesthetic value (antelopes, deer, giraffe, dolphins, and whales) (MacDonald, 2006). Certain members of this superorder count among the best studied organisms on earth, whether speaking morphologically, behaviorally, physiologically or genetically. Understanding the interrelationships among cetartiodactyl species, therefore, is of obvious importance with equally short sequences were not conspicuously misplaced. Although we recommend awaiting a better supported phylogeny based on more character data to reconsider classification and taxonomy within Cetartiodactyla, the new phylogenetic hypotheses provided here represent the currently best available tool for comparative species-level studies within this group. Cytb has been sequenced for a large percentage of mammals and appears to be a reliable phylogenetic marker as long as taxon sampling is dense. Therefore, an opportunity exists now to reconstruct detailed phylogenies of most of the major mammalian clades to rapidly provide much needed tools for species-level comparative studies.

Our results support the following relationship among the four major cetartiodactylan lineages (((Tylopoda ((Cetancodonta (Ruminantia + Suina))), with variable support. This arrangement has not been suggested previously, to our knowledge (see review in O’Leary and Gatesy, 2008 and discussion).

Relationships among clades within Cetancodonta are identical to those found by May-Collado and Agnarsson (2006).

Within Ruminantia all our analyzes suggest the following relationships among families: (((((Tragulidae((((Antilocapridae(((Giraffidae(( Cervidae(Moschidae + Bovidae))))) with relatively high support, supporting the subdivision of Ruminantia into Tragulina and Pecora.
In the rare cases where our results are inconsistent with benchmark clades, ad hoc explanations seem reasonable. The placement of M. meminna (Tragulidae) within Bovidae is likely an artifact of missing data, although remarkably it is the only conspicuous misplacement of a species across the whole phylogeny at the family level (while three species appear to be misplaced at the subfamily level within Cervidae in the full analysis, see Fig. 5a). This is supported by the fact that the placement of Moschiola receives low support, and the removal of Moschiola prior to analysis increases dramatically the support for clades close to where it nested (not shown, analysis available from authors), suggesting it had a tendency to ‘jump around’. Two other possibilities cannot be ruled out, however. One, that possibly the available sequence in Genbank may be mislabeled. And second, it should be kept in mind that the validity of Tragulidae has never been tested with molecular data including more than two species.

Oxygen and carbon dioxide fluctuations in burrows of subterranean blind mole rats indicate tolerance to hypoxic–hypercapnic stresses

Imad Shams, Aaron Avivi, Eviatar Nevo
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 142 (2005) 376 – 382
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.cbpa.2005.09.003

The composition of oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and soil humidity in the underground burrows from three species of the Israeli subterranean mole rat Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies were studied in their natural habitat. Two geographically close populations of each species from contrasting soil types were probed. Maximal CO2 levels (6.1%) and minimal O2 levels (7.2%) were recorded in northern Israel in the breeding mounds of S. carmeli in a flooded, poor drained field of heavy clay soil with very high volumetric water content. The patterns of gas fluctuations during the measurement period among the different Spalax species studied were similar. The more significant differentiation in gas levels was not among species, but between neighboring populations inhabiting heavy soils or light soils: O2 was lower and CO2 was higher in the heavy soils (clay and basaltic) compared to the relatively light soils (terra rossa and rendzina). The extreme values of gas concentration, which occurred during the rainy season, seemed to fluctuate with partial flooding of the tunnels, animal digging activity, and over-crowded breeding mounds inhabited by a nursing female and her offspring. The gas composition and soil water content in neighboring sites with different soil types indicated large differences in the levels of hypoxic–hypercapnic stress in different populations of the same species. A growing number of genes associated with hypoxic stress have been shown to exhibit structural and functional differences between the subterranean Spalax and the aboveground rat (Rattus norvegicus), probably reflecting the molecular adaptations that Spalax went through during 40 million years of evolution to survive efficiently in the severe fluctuations in gas composition in the underground habitat.

map of the studied sites

Schematic map of the studied sites: S. galili (2n =52): 1— Rehania (chalk); 2— Dalton (basaltic); S. golani (2n =54): 3— Majdal Shams (terra tossa); 4—Masa’ada (basaltic soils); S. carmeli (2n =58): 5— Al-Maker (heavy clay); 6— Muhraqa (terra rossa).

Comparison of gas composition (O2 and CO2) and water content between light and heavy soils inhabited by S. carmeli

Comparison of gas composition (O2 and CO2) and water content between light and heavy soils inhabited by S. carmeli, Al-Maker (heavy soil) and Muhraqa (light soil). AverageTSD of measurements in the burrows of approximately 10 animals at a given date is presented. **p <0.01, T-test and Mann– Whitney test).

Subterranean mammals, which live in closed underground burrow systems, experience an atmosphere that is different from the atmosphere above-ground. Gas exchange between these two atmospheres depends on diffusion through the soil, which in turn, depends on soil particle size, water content, and burrow depth. Heavy soils (clay and basaltic), hold water and have little air space for gas diffusion. A large deviation from external gas composition is found in the burrows of Spalax living in these soil types. The maximal measured concentration of CO2 was 6.1% in Spalax breeding mounds, which is one of the highest concentrations among studied mammals in natural conditions. At the same time 7.2% O2 was measured in water saturated heavy clay soil

seasonal variation from August to March in mean O2, CO2, and soil water content

Example of seasonal variation from August to March in mean O2, CO2, and soil water content (VWC) in the Al-Maker population (2n =58, heavy soil). Values are presented as mean TSD.

In this study new data were presented for a wild mammal that survives in an extreme hypoxic–hypercapnic environment. Interestingly, the very low concentrations of O2 experienced by Spalax are correlated with the expression pattern of hypoxia related genes. So far, we have shown higher and longer-term mRNA expression of erythropoietin, the main factor that regulates the level of circulating red blood cells, in subterranean Spalax compared to the above-ground rat in response to hypoxic stress, as well as differences in the response of erythropoietin to hypoxia in different populations of Spalax experiencing different hypoxic stress in nature. We also demonstrated that erythropoietin pattern of expression is different in Spalax than in Rattus throughout development, a pattern suggesting more efficient hypoxic tolerance in Spalax starting as early as in the embryonic stages. Furthermore, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is a critical angiogenic factor that responds to hypoxia, is constitutively expressed at maximal levels in Spalax muscles, the most energy consuming tissue during digging. This level is 1.6-fold higher than in Rattus muscles and is correlated with significantly higher blood vessel concentration in the Spalax muscles compared to the Rattus muscles. Likewise, myoglobin the globin involved in oxygen homeostasis in skeletal muscles, exhibits different expression pattern under normoxia and in response to hypoxia in Spalax muscles compared to rat muscles as well as between different populations of Spalax exposed to different hypoxic stress in nature (unpublished results). Similarly, neuroglobin, a brain-specific globin involved in reversible oxygen binding, i.e., presumably in cellular homeostasis, is expressed differently in the Spalax brain compared to Rattus brain. Like erythropoietin and myoglobin also neuroglobin is expressed differently in Spalax populations experiencing different oxygen supply (unpublished results). Furthermore, Spalax p53 harbors two amino acid substitutions in its binding domain, which are identical to mutations found in p53 of human cancer cells. These substitutions endow Spalax p53 with several-fold higher activation of cell arrest and DNA repair genes compared to human p53 and favor activation of DNA repair genes over apoptotic genes. The study of specific tumoral variants indicates that such preference of growth arrest over apoptosis possibly results as a response to the hypoxic environmental stress known in tumors. Differences in the structure of other molecules related to homeostasis, namely, hemoglobin, haptoglobin (Nevo, 1999), and cytoglobin (unpublished) were also observed in Spalax.

Stress, adaptation, and speciation in the evolution of the blind mole rat, Spalax, in Israel

Eviatar Nevo
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 66 (2013) 515–525
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2012.09.008

Environmental stress played a major role in the evolution of the blind mole rat superspecies Spalax ehrenbergi, affecting its adaptive evolution and ecological speciation underground. Spalax is safeguarded all of its life underground from aboveground climatic fluctuations and predators. However, it encounters multiple stresses in its underground burrows including darkness, energetics, hypoxia, hypercapnia, food scarcity, and pathogenicity. Consequently, it evolved adaptive genomic, proteomic, and phenomic complexes to cope with those stresses. Here I describe some of these adaptive complexes, and their theoretical and applied perspectives. Spalax mosaic molecular and organismal evolution involves reductions or regressions coupled with expansions or progressions caused by evolutionary tinkering and natural genetic engineering. Speciation of Spalax in Israel occurred in the Pleistocene, during the last 2.00–2.35 Mya, generating four species associated intimately with four climatic regimes with increasing aridity stress southwards and eastwards representing an ecological speciational adaptive trend: (Spalax golani, 2n = 54?S. galili, 2n = 52?S. carmeli, 2n = 58?S. judaei, 2n = 60). Darwinian ecological speciation occurred gradually with relatively little genetic change by Robertsonian chromosomal and genic mutations. Spalax genome sequencing has just been completed. It involves multiple adaptive complexes to life underground and is an evolutionary model to a few hundred underground mammals. It involves great promise in the future for medicine, space flight, and deep-sea diving.

Stress is a major driving force of evolution (Parsons, 2005; Nevo, 2011). Parsons defined stress as the ‘‘environmental factor causing potential injurious changes to biological systems with a potential for impacts on evolutionary processes’’. The global climatic transition from the middle Eocene to the early Oligocene (45–35 Ma = Million years ago) led to extensive convergent evolution underground of small subterranean mammals across the planet (Nevo, 1999; Lacey et al., 2000; Bennett and Faulkes, 2000; Begall et al., 2007). The subterranean ecotope provided small mammals with shelter from predators and extreme aboveground climatic stressful fluctuations of temperature and humidity. However, they had to evolve genomic adaptive complexes for the immense underground stresses of darkness, energy for burrowing in solid soil, low productivity and food scarcity, hypoxia, hypercapnia, and high infectivity. These stresses have been described in Nevo (1999, 2011) and Nevo et al. (2001); and Nevo list of Spalax publication at http://evolution.haifa.ac.il with many cited references relevant to these stresses).

blind subterranean mole rat of the Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies

The blind subterranean mole rat of the Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies in Israel. An extreme example of adaptation to life underground

Circadian rhythm and genes

adaptive circadian genes. We identified the circadian rhythm of Spalax
(Nevo et al., 1982) and described, cloned, sequenced, and expressed several circadian genes in Spalax. These include Clock, MOP3, three Period (Per), and cryptochromes (Avivi et al., 2001, 2002, 2003). The Spalax circadian genes are differentially conserved, yet characterized by a significant number of amino acid substitutions. The glutamine-rich area of Clock, which is assumed to function in circadian rhythmicity, is expanded in Spalax compared with that of mice and humans and is different in amino acid composition from that of rats. All three Per genes of Spalax oscillate with a periodicity of 24 h in the suprachaismatic nucleus, eye, and Harderian gland and are expressed in peripheral organs. Per genes are involved in clock resetting. Spalax Per 3 is unique in mammals though its function is still unresolved. The Spalax Per genes contribute to the unique adaptive circadian rhythm to life underground. The cryptochrome (Cry) genes, found in animals and plants, act both as photoreceptors and as ingredients of the negative feedback mechanism of the biological Clock. The CRY 1 protein is significantly closer to the human homolog than to that of mice, as was also shown in parts of the immunogenetic system. Both Cry 1 and Cry 2 mRNAs were found in the SCN, eye, harderian gland, and in peripheral tissues. Remarkably, the distinctly hypertrophied harderian gland is central in Spalax’s unique underground circadian rhythmicity (Pevet et al., 1984).

Spalax eye mosaic evolution
Gene expression in the eye of Spalax
Brain evolution in Spalax to underground stresses
Spalax: four species in Israel

The morphological, physiological, and behavioral Spalax eye patterns are underlain by gene expression representing regressive and progressive associated transcripts. Regressive transcripts involve B-2 microglobulin, transketolase, four keratins, alpha enolase, and different heat shock proteins. Several proteins may be involved in eye degeneration. These include heat shock protein 90alpha (hsp90alpha), found also in the blind fish Astyanax mexicanus, two transcripts of programmed cell death proteins, oculospanin, and peripherin 2, both belonging to the Tetraspanin family, in which 60 different mutations cause eye degeneration in humans. Several progressive transcripts in the Spalax eye are found in the retina of many mammals involving gluthatione, peroxidase 4, B spectrin, and Ankyrin; the last two characterize rod cells in the retina. Some transcripts are involved in metabolic processing of retinal, a vertebrate key component in phototransduction, and a relative of vitamin A.

cross section of the developing eye of the mole rat

Light micrographs showing cross section of the developing eye of the mole rat Spalax ehrenbergi. (A) Optic cup and lens vesicle initially develop normally (x100). (B) Eye at a later embryonic stage. Note appearance of iris-ciliary body rudiment (arrows), and development of the lens nucleus (L). ON, optic nerve (x100). (C) Eye at a still later fetal stage. Note massive growth of the iris-ciliary body complex colobomatous opening (arrow) (x100). (D) Early postnatal stage. The iris-ciliary body complex completely fills the chamber. The lens is vascularized and vacuolated (x100). (E) Adult eye. Eyelids are completely closed and pupil is absent. Note atrophic appearance of the optic disc region (arrow) (x65). (F) Higher magnification of the adult retina. The different retinal layers are retained: PE, pigment epithelium: RE, receptor layer; ON, outer nuclear layer: IN, inner nuclear layer; GC, ganglion cell layer (x500) (from Sanyal et al., 1990, Fig. 1).

The brains of subterranean mammals underwent dramatic evolution in accordance with underground stresses for digging and photoperiodic perception associated with vibrational, tactile, vocal, olfactory, and magnetic communication systems replacing sight, as is seen in Spalax. The brain of Spalax is twice as large as that of the laboratory rat of the same body size. The somatosensory region in the isocortex of Spalax is 1.7 times, the thalamic nuclei 1.3 times, and the motor cortex 3.1 times larger than in the sighted laboratory rat Rattus norvegicus matched to body size.

The ecological stress determinant in Spalax brain evolution is highlighted by the four species of the Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies in Israel. They differentiated chromosomally (by means of Robertsonian mutations and fission), allopatrically, and clinally southwards into four species associated with different climatic regimes, following the gradient of increasing aridity stress and decreasing predictability southwards towards the desert: Spalax galili (2n = 52) ->S. golani (2n = 54)->S. carmeli (2n = 58)->S. judaei (2n = 60), and eastwards S. galili ->S. golani (2n = 52–>54) (Fig. 2). This chromosomal speciation trend southwards is associated with the regional aridity stress southwards (and eastwards) in Israel, budding new species adapted genomically, proteomically, and phenomically (i.e., in morphology, physiology, and behavior) to increasing stresses of higher solar radiation, temperature, and drought southwards (Nevo, 1999; Nevo et al., 2001; Nevo
list of Spalax at http://evolution.haifa.ac.il). A uniquely recent discovery of incipient sympatric ecological speciation at a microscale in Spalax triggered by local stresses occurs within Spalax galili.

retinal input to primary visual structures in Spalax

Relative degree of retinal input to primary visual structures in Spalax, hamster, rat, and Spalacopus cyanus (South American Octodontidae, ‘‘coruro’’). These rodents are of similar body size (120–140 g). B. Relative degree of change in the proportions of retinal input to different primary visual structures in Spalax compared with measures obtained in other rodents. A relative progressive development in Spalax is seen in structures involved in photoperiodic and neuroendocrine functions (SCN, BNST).The main regressive feature is the drastic relative reduction of retinal input to the superior colliculus. The main regressive feature is the drastic reduction of retinal input to the superior colliculus. The relative size of other visual structures in Spalax is modified compared to that of the other species. c. Comparison of the absolute size (volume, mm³ x 10^-4) of visual structures in Spalax and other rodents. The size of the SCN is equivalent in all species. The vLGN and dLGN are reduced by 87–93% in Spalax. The retino-recipient layers of the superior colliculus are reduced by 97%. Abbreviations: SCN: suprachiasmatic nucleus; BNST: bed nucleus of the stria terminalis; dLGN: dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus; SC: superior colliculus [From Cooper et al., 1993 (Fig 3)].

Subterranean life has a high energetic cost if an animal has to burrow in order to obtain its food. For a 150 g Thomomys bottae, burrowing 1 m may be 360–3400 times more expensive energetically than moving the same distance on the surface (Vleck, 1979). Mean rates of oxygen consumption during burrowing at 22 ^oC are from 2.8 to 7.1 times the RMR. Vleck developed a model examining the energetics of foraging by burrowing and found that, in the desert, Thomomys adjusts the burrow segment length to minimize the cost of burrowing. Since burrowing becomes less economic as body size increases, Vleck (1981) predicted that the maximum possible body size that a subterranean mammal can attain depends on a balance between habitat productivity and the cost of burrowing in local soils. Vleck’s cost of burrowing hypothesis has been verified in multiple cases. Heth (1989) demonstrated longer burrows in the rendzina soil and shorter ones in the terra rossa soil, associating lower productivity in the former for Spalax.

Food is a limiting factor for subterranean mammals. The abundance and distribution of food explain some of the ecological, physiological, and behavioral characteristics of subterranean mammals. In a field test of Spalax foraging strategy, we concluded that Spalax was a generalist due to the constraints of the subterranean ecotope. Restricted foraging time primarily during the winter when soil is wet, and the high energetic investment of tunneling to get to food items is significantly reduced than in summertime.
We also identified a decrease in the basic metabolic rate towards the desert, i.e., economizing energetics. The maintenance of adequate O2 transport in a subterranean mammal confronting hypoxia requires adaptation along the O2 transport system, achieved by increasing the flow of O2 in the convection systems (ventilation and perfusion) and by reduction of oxygen pressure (PO2) gradients at the diffusion barriers (lung blood, blood-tissue (Arieli, 1990). The PO2 gradient between blood capillaries and respiring mitochondria capillaries is large, and any adaptation at this level could be significant for O2 transport. Reduction of diffusion distance in a muscle can be achieved, like in Spalax, by increasing the number of capillaries that surround muscle fiber or by reducing fiber areas.

Geographic distribution in Israel of the four chromosomal species belonging to the S. ehrenbergi superspecies

Geographic distribution in Israel of the four chromosomal species belonging to the S. ehrenbergi superspecies that are separated by narrow hybrid zones (2n = 52, 54, 58, and 60, now named as S. galili, S. golani, S. carmeli, and S. judaei, respectively; see Nevo et al., 2001).

Spalacid evolution, based on mtDNA, is driven by climatic oscillations and stresses. The underground ecotope provided subterranean mammals with shelter from extreme climate (temperature and humidity) fluctuations, and predators. However, they had to extensively and intensively adapt to the multiple underground stresses (darkness, energetic, low productivity and
food scarcity, hypoxia, hypercapnia, and high infectivity). All subterranean mammals, including spalacids as an extreme case, share convergent molecular and organismal adaptations to their shared unique underground ecotope. Evolution underground, as exemplified here in spalacids, led to mosaic molecular and organismal evolutionary syndromes to cope with multiple stresses.

Speciation involves all rates – from gradual to rapid. Subterranean mammals, with the spalacid example discussed above, provide uniquely rich evolutionary global tests of speciation and adaptation, convergence, regression, progression, and mosaic evolutionary processes. Adaptation and speciation underground was one of the most dramatic natural experiments verifying Darwinian evolution.

The Spalax genome sequencing has just been completed. It is being analyzed and will soon be published in 2012. This will be a milestone in understanding how numerous mammals across the globe, who found underground shelter from climatic fluctuations and stresses above ground, cope with the new suite of stresses they encountered underground, demanding a new engineering overhaul on all organizational levels, selecting for adaptive complexes to cope with the new underground stresses. The main current and future challenges are to compare and contrast genome sequences and identify the genomic basis of adaptation and speciation.

This global Cenozoic experiment could answer the following open questions: How heterozygous is the whole genome? How prevalent are retrotransposons and what is their functional role? How many genes are involved in the Spalax genome and how are they regulated? What are the genic and regulatory networks resisting the multiple stresses underground? How much of the Spalax genome is conserved and how much is reorganized to cope with the underground stresses? How is the solitary blind mole rat, Spalax, different from the social naked mole rat Heterocephalus? How are the processes of reduction, expansion, and genetic tinkering and engineering reflected across the genome? How effective is copy number variation in regulation? Is there similarity in the transcriptomes of subterranean mammals? How could we harness the rich genome repertoire of Spalax to revolutionize medicine, especially in the realm of hypoxia tolerance and the related major diseases of the western world, e.g., cancer, stroke, and cardiovascular diseases? What is the phylogenetic origin of Spalax? How much of the Spalax genome represents its phylogenetic roots and how much of coding and noncoding genomic regions are shared with other subterranean mammals across the globe in adapting to life underground?

The Atmospheric Environment of the Fossorial Mole Rat (Spalax Ehrenbergi): Effects of Season, Soil Texture, Rain, Temperature and Activity

Arieli
Comp Biochen Physiol. 1978; 63A:569-5151. The fossorial mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi) may inhabit heavy soil with low gas permeability.
Air composition in burrows in heavy soil deviates from atmospheric air more than that of burrows in light soil.
In winter and spring O2 and CO2 concentrations in breeding mounds were 16.5% O2 and 2.5-3x CO2 and the extreme values measured were 14.0% O2 and 4.8% Cot.
Hypoxia and hypercapnia in the burrow develop shortly after rain and when ambient temperature drops.
Composition of the burrows air is influenced by the solubility of CO2 in soil water and by faster penetration of oxygen than outflowing of CO2.

Hypo-osmotic stress-induced physiological and ion-osmoregulatory responses in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) are modulated differentially by nutritional status

Amit Kumar Sinha, AF Dasan, R Rasoloniriana, N Pipralia, R Blust, G De Boeck
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 181 (2015) 87–99
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2014.11.024

We investigated the impact of nutritional status on the physiological, metabolic and ion-osmoregulatory performance of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)when acclimated to seawater (32 ppt), brackishwater (20 and 10 ppt) and hyposaline water (2.5 ppt) for 2 weeks. Following acclimation to different salinities, fish were either fed or fasted (unfed for 14 days). Plasma osmolality, [Na+], [Cl−] and muscle water contentwere severely altered in fasted fish acclimated to 10 and 2.5 ppt in comparison to normal seawater-acclimated fish, suggesting ion regulation and acid–base balance disturbances. In contrast to feed-deprived fish, fed fish were able to avoid osmotic perturbation more effectively. This was accompanied by an increase in Na+/K+-ATPase expression and activity, transitory activation of H+-ATPase (only at 2.5 ppt) and down-regulation of Na+/K+/2Cl− gene expression. Ammonia excretion rate was inhibited to a larger extent in fasted fish acclimated to low salinities while fed fish were able to excrete efficiently. Consequently, the build-up of ammonia in the plasma of fed fish was relatively lower. Energy stores, especially glycogen and lipid, dropped in the fasted fish at low salinities and progression towards the anaerobic metabolic pathway became evident by an increase in plasma lactate level. Overall, the results indicate no osmotic stress in both feeding treatments within the salinity range of 32 to 20 ppt. However, at lower salinities (10–2.5 ppt) feed deprivation tends to reduce physiological, metabolic, ion-osmo-regulatory and molecular compensatory mechanisms and thus limits the fish’s abilities to adapt to a hypo-osmotic environment.

The absence of ion-regulatory suppression in the gills of the aquatic air-breathing fish Trichogaster lalius during oxygen stress

Chun-Yen Huang, Hsueh-Hsi Lin, Cheng-Huang Lin, Hui-Chen Lin
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 179 (2015) 7–16
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2014.08.017

The strategy for most teleost to survive in hypoxic or anoxic conditions is to conserve energy expenditure, which can be achieved by suppressing energy-consuming activities such as ion regulation. However, an air-breathing fish can cope with hypoxic stress using a similar adjustment or by enhancing gas exchange ability, both behaviorally and physiologically. This study examined Trichogaster lalius, an air-breathing fish without apparent gill modification, for their gill ion-regulatory abilities and glycogen utilization under a hypoxic treatment. We recorded air-breathing frequency, branchial morphology, and the expression of ion-regulatory proteins (Na+/K+-ATPase and vacuolar-type H+-ATPase) in the 1st and 4th gills and labyrinth organ (LO), and the expression of glycogen utilization (GP, glycogen phosphorylase protein expression and glycogen content) and other protein responses (catalase, CAT; carbonic anhydrase II, CAII; heat shock protein 70, HSP70; hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, HIF-1α; proliferating cell nuclear antigen, PCNA; superoxidase dismutase, SOD) in the gills of T. lalius after 3 days in hypoxic and restricted conditions. No morphological modification of the 1st and 4th gills was observed. The air breathing behavior of the fish and CAII protein expression both increased under hypoxia. Ion-regulatory abilities were not suppressed in the hypoxic or restricted groups, but glycogen utilization was enhanced within the groups. The expression of HIF-1α, HSP70 and PCNA did not vary among the treatments. Regarding the antioxidant system, decreased CAT enzyme activity was observed among the groups. In conclusion, during hypoxic stress, T. lalius did not significantly reduce energy consumption but enhanced gas exchange ability and glycogen expenditure.

The combined effect of hypoxia and nutritional status on metabolic and ionoregulatory responses of common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Sofie Moyson, HJ Liew, M Diricx, AK Sinha, R Blusta, G De Boeck
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 179 (2015) 133–143
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2014.09.017

In the present study, the combined effects of hypoxia and nutritional status were examined in common carp (Cyprinus carpio), a relatively hypoxia tolerant cyprinid. Fish were either fed or fasted and were exposed to hypoxia (1.5–1.8mgO2 L−1) at or slightly above their critical oxygen concentration during 1, 3 or 7 days followed by a 7 day recovery period. Ventilation initially increased during hypoxia, but fasted fish had lower ventilation frequencies than fed fish. In fed fish, ventilation returned to control levels during hypoxia, while in fasted fish recovery only occurred after reoxygenation. Due to this, C. carpio managed, at least in part, to maintain aerobic metabolism during hypoxia: muscle and plasma lactate levels remained relatively stable although they tended to be higher in fed fish (despite higher ventilation rates). However, during recovery, compensatory responses differed greatly between both feeding regimes: plasma lactate in fed fish increased with a simultaneous breakdown of liver glycogen indicating increased energy use, while fasted fish seemed to economize energy and recycle decreasing plasma lactate levels into increasing liver glycogen levels. Protein was used under both feeding regimes during hypoxia and subsequent recovery: protein levels reduced mainly in liver for fed fish and in muscle for fasted fish. Overall, nutritional status had a greater impact on energy reserves than the lack of oxygen with a lower hepatosomatic index and lower glycogen stores in fasted fish. Fasted fish transiently increased Na+/K+-ATPase activity under hypoxia, but in general ionoregulatory balance proved to be only slightly disturbed, showing that sufficient energy was left for ion regulation.

The effect of temperature and body size on metabolic scope of activity in juvenile Atlantic cod Gadus morhua L.

Bjørn Tirsgaard, Jane W. Behrens, John F. Steffensen
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 179 (2015) 89–94
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2014.09.033

Changes in ambient temperature affect the physiology and metabolism and thus the distribution of fish. In this study we used intermittent flow respirometry to determine the effect of temperature (2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 °C) and wet body mass (BM) (~30–460 g) on standard metabolic rate (SMR, mg O2 h−1), maximum metabolic rate (MMR, mg O2 h−1) and metabolic scope (MS, mg O2 h−1) of juvenile Atlantic cod. SMR increased with BM irrespectively of temperature, resulting in an average scaling exponent of 0.87 (0.82–0.92). Q10 values were 1.8–2.1 at temperatures between 5 and 15 °C but higher (2.6–4.3) between 2 and 5 °C and lower (1.6–1.4) between 15 and 20 °C in 200 and 450 g cod. MMR increased with temperature in the smallest cod (50 g) but in the larger cod MMR plateaued between 10, 15 and 20 °C. This resulted in a negative correlation between the optimal temperature for MS (T_opt) and BM, T_opt being respectively 14.5, 11.8 and 10.9 °C in a 50, 200 and 450 g cod. Irrespective of BM cold water temperatures resulted in a reduction (30–35%) of MS whereas the reduction of MS at warm temperatures was only evident for larger fish (200 and 450 g), caused by plateauing of MMR at 10 °C and above. Warm temperatures thus seem favorable for smaller (50 g) juvenile cod, but not for larger conspecifics (200 and 450 g).

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Neonatal Pathophysiology

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Neonatal Pathophysiology

Writer and Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

Introduction

This curation deals with a large and specialized branch of medicine that grew since the mid 20th century in concert with the developments in genetics and as a result of a growing population, with large urban populations, increasing problems of premature deliveries. The problems of prematurity grew very preterm to very low birth weight babies with special problems. While there were nurseries, the need for intensive care nurseries became evident in the 1960s, and the need for perinatal care of pregnant mothers also grew as a result of metabolic problems of the mother, intrauterine positioning of the fetus, and increasing numbers of teen age pregnancies as well as nutritional problems of the mother. There was also a period when the manufacturers of nutritional products displaced the customary use of breast feeding, which was consequential. This discussion is quite comprehensive, as it involves a consideration of the heart, the lungs, the brain, and the liver, to a large extent, and also the kidneys and skeletal development.

It is possible to outline, with a proportionate emphasis based on frequency and severity, this as follows:

Genetic and metabolic diseases
Nervous system
Cardiovascular
Pulmonary
Skeletal – bone and muscle
Hematological
Liver
Esophagus, stomach, and intestines
Kidneys
Immune system

Fetal Development

Gestation is the period of time between conception and birth when a baby grows and develops inside the mother’s womb. Because it’s impossible to know exactly when conception occurs, gestational age is measured from the first day of the mother’s last menstrual cycle to the current date. It is measured in weeks. A normal gestation lasts anywhere from 37 to 41 weeks.

Week 5 is the start of the “embryonic period.” This is when all the baby’s major systems and structures develop. The embryo’s cells multiply and start to take on specific functions. This is called differentiation. Blood cells, kidney cells, and nerve cells all develop. The embryo grows rapidly, and the baby’s external features begin to form.

Week 6-9: Brain forms into five different areas. Some cranial nerves are visible. Eyes and ears begin to form. Tissue grows that will the baby’s spine and other bones. Baby’s heart continues to grow and now beats at a regular rhythm. Blood pumps through the main vessels. Your baby’s brain continues to grow. The lungs start to form. Limbs look like paddles. Essential organs begin to grow.

Weeks 11-18: Limbs extended. Baby makes sucking motion. Movement of limbs. Liver and pancreas produce secretions. Muscle and bones developing.

Week 19-21: Baby can hear. Mom feels baby – and quickening.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002398.htm

fetal-development

https://polination.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/abortion-new-research-into-fetal-development.jpg

Inherited Metabolic Disorders

The original cause of most genetic metabolic disorders is a gene mutation that occurred many, many generations ago. The gene mutation is passed along through the generations, ensuring its preservation.

Each inherited metabolic disorder is quite rare in the general population. Considered all together, inherited metabolic disorders may affect about 1 in 1,000 to 2,500 newborns. In certain ethnic populations, such as Ashkenazi Jews (Jews of central and eastern European ancestry), the rate of inherited metabolic disorders is higher.

Hundreds of inherited metabolic disorders have been identified, and new ones continue to be discovered. Some of the more common and important genetic metabolic disorders include:

Lysosomal storage disorders : Lysosomes are spaces inside cells that break down waste products of metabolism. Various enzyme deficiencies inside lysosomes can result in buildup of toxic substances, causing metabolic disorders including:

Hurler syndrome (abnormal bone structure and developmental delay)
Niemann-Pick disease (babies develop liver enlargement, difficulty feeding, and nerve damage)
Tay-Sachs disease (progressive weakness in a months-old child, progressing to severe nerve damage; the child usually lives only until age 4 or 5)
Gauchers disease and others

Galactosemia: Impaired breakdown of the sugar galactose leads to jaundice, vomiting, and liver enlargement after breast or formula feeding by a newborn.

Maple syrup urine disease: Deficiency of an enzyme called BCKD causes buildup of amino acids in the body. Nerve damage results, and the urine smells like syrup.

Phenylketonuria (PKU): Deficiency of the enzyme PAH results in high levels of phenylalanine in the blood. Mental retardation results if the condition is not recognized.

Glycogen storage diseases: Problems with sugar storage lead to low blood sugar levels, muscle pain, and weakness.

Metal metabolism disorders: Levels of trace metals in the blood are controlled by special proteins. Inherited metabolic disorders can result in protein malfunction and toxic accumulation of metal in the body:

Wilson disease (toxic copper levels accumulate in the liver, brain, and other organs)

Hemochromatosis (the intestines absorb excessive iron, which builds up in the liver, pancreas, joints, and heart, causing damage)

Organic acidemias: methylmalonic acidemia and propionic acidemia.

Urea cycle disorders: ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency and citrullinemia

Hemoglobinopathies – thalassemias, sickle cell disease

Red cell enzyme disorders – glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinase

This list is by no means complete.

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/inherited-metabolic-disorder-types-and-treatments

New variations in the galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase (GALT) gene

Clinical and molecular spectra in galactosemic patients from neonatal screening in northeastern Italy: Structural and functional characterization of new variations in the galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase (GALT) gene

E Viggiano, A Marabotti, AP Burlina, C Cazzorla, MR D’Apice, et al.
Gene 559 (2015) 112–118
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gene.2015.01.013
Galactosemia (OMIM 230400) is a rare autosomal recessive inherited disorder caused by deficiency of galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase (GALT; OMIM 606999) activity. The incidence of galactosemia is 1 in 30,000–60,000, with a prevalence of 1 in 47,000 in the white population. Neonates with galactosemia can present acute symptoms, such as severe hepatic and renal failure, cataract and sepsis after milk introduction. Dietary restriction of galactose determines the clinical improvement in these patients. However, despite early diagnosis by neonatal screening and dietary treatment, a high percentage of patients develop long-term complications such as cognitive disability, speech problems, neurological and/or movement disorders and, in females, ovarian dysfunction.

With the benefit of early diagnosis by neonatal screening and early therapy, the acute presentation of classical galactosemia can be prevented. The objectives of the current study were to report our experience with a group of galactosemic patients identified through the neonatal screening programs in northeastern Italy during the last 30 years.

No neonatal deaths due to galactosemia complications occurred after the introduction of the neonatal screening program. However, despite the early diagnosis and dietary treatment, the patients with classical galactosemia showed one or more long-term complications.

A total of 18 different variations in the GALT gene were found in the patient cohort: 12 missense, 2 frameshift, 1 nonsense, 1 deletion, 1 silent variation, and 1 intronic. Six (p.R33P, p.G83V, p.P244S, p.L267R, p.L267V, p.E271D) were new variations. The most common variation was p.Q188R (12 alleles, 31.5%), followed by p.K285N (6 alleles, 15.7%) and p.N314D (6 alleles, 15.7%). The other variations comprised 1 or 2 alleles. In the patients carrying a new mutation, the biochemical analysis of GALT activity in erythrocytes showed an activity of < 1%. In silico analysis (SIFT, PolyPhen-2 and the computational analysis on the static protein structure) showed potentially damaging effects of the six new variations on the GALT protein, thus expanding the genetic spectrum of GALT variations in Italy. The study emphasizes the difficulty in establishing a genotype–phenotype correlation in classical galactosemia and underlines the importance of molecular diagnostic testing prior to making any treatment.

Diagnosis and Management of Hereditary Hemochromatosis

Reena J. Salgia, Kimberly Brown
Clin Liver Dis 19 (2015) 187–198
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cld.2014.09.011

Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a diagnosis most commonly made in patients with elevated iron indices (transferrin saturation and ferritin), and HFE genetic mutation testing showing C282Y homozygosity.

The HFE mutation is believed to result in clinical iron overload through altering hepcidin levels resulting in increased iron absorption.

The most common clinical complications of HH include cirrhosis, diabetes, nonischemic cardiomyopathy, and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Liver biopsy should be performed in patients with HH if the liver enzymes are elevated or serum ferritin is greater than 1000 mg/L. This is useful to determine the degree of iron overload and stage the fibrosis.

Treatment of HH with clinical iron overload involves a combination of phlebotomy and/or chelation therapy. Liver transplantation should be considered for patients with HH-related decompensated cirrhosis.

Health economic evaluation of plasma oxysterol screening in the diagnosis of Niemann–Pick Type C disease among intellectually disabled using discrete event simulation

CDM van Karnebeek, Tima Mohammadi, Nicole Tsaod, Graham Sinclair, et al.
Molecular Genetics and Metabolism 114 (2015) 226–232
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ymgme.2014.07.004

Background: Recently a less invasive method of screening and diagnosing Niemann–Pick C (NP-C) disease has emerged. This approach involves the use of a metabolic screening test (oxysterol assay) instead of the current practice of clinical assessment of patients suspected of NP-C (review of medical history, family history and clinical examination for the signs and symptoms). Our objective is to compare costs and outcomes of plasma oxysterol screening versus current practice in diagnosis of NP-C disease among intellectually disabled (ID) patients using decision-analytic methods.
Methods: A discrete event simulation model was conducted to follow ID patients through the diagnosis and treatment of NP-C, forecast the costs and effectiveness for a cohort of ID patients and compare the outcomes and costs in two different arms of the model: plasma oxysterol screening and routine diagnosis procedure (anno 2013) over 5 years of follow up. Data from published sources and clinical trials were used in simulation model. Unit costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were discounted at a 3% annual rate in the base case analysis. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted.
Results: The outcomes of the base case model showed that using plasma oxysterol screening for diagnosis of NP-C disease among ID patients is a dominant strategy. It would result in lower total cost and would slightly improve patients’ quality of life. The average amount of cost saving was $3642 CAD and the incremental QALYs per each individual ID patient in oxysterol screening arm versus current practice of diagnosis NP-C was 0.0022 QALYs. Results of sensitivity analysis demonstrated robustness of the outcomes over the wide range of changes in model inputs.
Conclusion: Whilst acknowledging the limitations of this study, we conclude that screening ID children and adolescents with oxysterol tests compared to current practice for the diagnosis of NP-C is a dominant strategy with clinical and economic benefits. The less costly, more sensitive and specific oxysterol test has potential to save costs to the healthcare system while improving patients’ quality of life and may be considered as a routine tool in the NP-C diagnosis armamentarium for ID. Further research is needed to elucidate its effectiveness in patients presenting characteristics other than ID in childhood and adolescence.

Neurological and Behavioral Disorders

Estrogen receptor signaling during vertebrate development

Maria Bondesson, Ruixin Hao, Chin-Yo Lin, Cecilia Williams, Jan-Åke Gustafsson
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1849 (2015) 142–151
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbagrm.2014.06.005

Estrogen receptors are expressed and their cognate ligands produced in all vertebrates, indicative of important and conserved functions. Through evolution estrogen has been involved in controlling reproduction, affectingboth the development of reproductive organs and reproductive behavior. This review broadly describes the synthesis of estrogens and the expression patterns of aromatase and the estrogen receptors, in relation to estrogen functions in the developing fetus and child. We focus on the role of estrogens for the development of reproductive tissues, as well as non-reproductive effects on the developing brain. We collate data from human, rodent, bird and fish studies and highlight common and species-specific effects of estrogen signaling on fetal development. Morphological malformations originating from perturbed estrogen signaling in estrogen receptor and aromatase knockout mice are discussed, as well as the clinical manifestations of rare estrogen receptor alpha and aromatase gene mutations in humans. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Nuclear receptors in animal development.

Memory function and hippocampal volumes in preterm born very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) young adults

Synne Aanes, Knut Jørgen Bjuland, Jon Skranes, Gro C.C. Løhaugen
NeuroImage 105 (2015) 76–83
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.10.023

The hippocampi are regarded as core structures for learning and memory functions, which is important for daily functioning and educational achievements. Previous studies have linked reduction in hippocampal volume to working memory problems in very low birth weight (VLBW; ≤1500 g) children and reduced general cognitive ability in VLBW adolescents. However, the relationship between memory function and hippocampal volume has not been described in VLBW subjects reaching adulthood. The aim of the study was to investigate memory function and hippocampal volume in VLBW young adults, both in relation to perinatal risk factors and compared to term born controls, and to look for structure–function relationships. Using Wechsler Memory Scale-III and MRI, we included 42 non-disabled VLBW and 61 control individuals at age 19–20 years, and related our findings to perinatal risk factors in the VLBW-group. The VLBW young adults achieved lower scores on several subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale-III, resulting in lower results in the immediate memory indices (visual and auditory), the working memory index, and in the visual delayed and general memory delayed indices, but not in the auditory delayed and auditory recognition delayed indices. The VLBW group had smaller absolute and relative hippocampal volumes than the controls. In the VLBW group inferior memory function, especially for the working memory index, was related to smaller hippocampal volume, and both correlated with lower birth weight and more days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Our results may indicate a structural–functional relationship in the VLBW group due to aberrant hippocampal development and functioning after preterm birth.

The relation of infant attachment to attachment and cognitive and behavioural outcomes in early childhood

Yan-hua Ding, Xiu Xua, Zheng-yan Wang, Hui-rong Li, Wei-ping Wang
Early Human Development 90 (2014) 459–464
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2014.06.004

Background: In China, research on the relation of mother–infant attachment to children’s development is scarce.
Aims: This study sought to investigate the relation of mother–infant attachment to attachment, cognitive and behavioral development in young children. Study design: This study used a longitudinal study design.
Subjects: The subjects included healthy infants (n=160) aged 12 to 18 months.
Outcome measures: Ainsworth’s “Strange Situation Procedure” was used to evaluate mother–infant attachment types. The attachment Q-set (AQS) was used to evaluate the attachment between young children and their mothers. The Bayley scale of infant development-second edition (BSID-II) was used to evaluate cognitive developmental level in early childhood. Achenbach’s child behavior checklist (CBCL) for 2- to 3-year-oldswas used to investigate behavioral problems.
Results: In total, 118 young children (73.8%) completed the follow-up; 89.7% of infants with secure attachment and 85.0% of infants with insecure attachment still demonstrated this type of attachment in early childhood (κ = 0.738, p b 0.05). Infants with insecure attachment collectively exhibited a significantly lower mental development index (MDI) in early childhood than did infants with secure attachment, especially the resistant type. In addition, resistant infants were reported to have greater social withdrawal, sleep problems and aggressive behavior in early childhood.
Conclusion: There is a high consistency in attachment development from infancy to early childhood. Secure mother–infant attachment predicts a better cognitive and behavioral outcome; whereas insecure attachment, especially the resistant attachment, may lead to a lower cognitive level and greater behavioral problems in early childhood.

representations of the HPA axis

representations of limbic stress-integrative pathways from the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and hippocampus

Fetal programming of schizophrenia: Select mechanisms

Monojit Debnatha, Ganesan Venkatasubramanian, Michael Berk
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 49 (2015) 90–104
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.12.003

Mounting evidence indicates that schizophrenia is associated with adverse intrauterine experiences. An adverse or suboptimal fetal environment can cause irreversible changes in brain that can subsequently exert long-lasting effects through resetting a diverse array of biological systems including endocrine, immune and nervous. It is evident from animal and imaging studies that subtle variations in the intrauterine environment can cause recognizable differences in brain structure and cognitive functions in the offspring. A wide variety of environmental factors may play a role in precipitating the emergent developmental dysregulation and the consequent evolution of psychiatric traits in early adulthood by inducing inflammatory, oxidative and nitrosative stress (IO&NS) pathways, mitochondrial dysfunction, apoptosis, and epigenetic dysregulation. However, the precise mechanisms behind such relationships and the specificity of the risk factors for schizophrenia remain exploratory. Considering the paucity of knowledge on fetal programming of schizophrenia, it is timely to consolidate the recent advances in the field and put forward an integrated overview of the mechanisms associated with fetal origin of schizophrenia.

NMDA receptor dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders

Eun-Jae Lee, Su Yeon Choi and Eunjoon Kim
Current Opinion in Pharmacology 2015, 20:8–13
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.coph.2014.10.007

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) represent neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by two core symptoms;

(1) impaired social interaction and communication, and
(2) restricted and repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities.

ASDs affect ~ 1% of the population, and are considered to be highly genetic in nature. A large number (~600) of ASD-related genetic variations have been identified (sfari.org), and target gene functions are apparently quite diverse. However, some fall onto common pathways, including synaptic function and chromosome remodeling, suggesting that core mechanisms may exist.

Abnormalities and imbalances in neuronal excitatory and inhibitory synapses have been implicated in diverse neuropsychiatric disorders including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Increasing evidence indicates that dysfunction of NMDA receptors (NMDARs) at excitatory synapses is associated with ASDs. In support of this, human ASD-associated genetic variations are found in genes encoding NMDAR subunits. Pharmacological enhancement or suppression of NMDAR function ameliorates ASD symptoms in humans. Animal models of ASD display bidirectional NMDAR dysfunction, and correcting this deficit rescues ASD-like behaviors. These findings suggest that deviation of NMDAR function in either direction contributes to the development of ASDs, and that correcting NMDAR dysfunction has therapeutic potential for ASDs.

Among known synaptic proteins implicated in ASD are metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). Functional enhancement and suppression of mGluR5 are associated with fragile X syndrome and tuberous sclerosis, respectively, which share autism as a common phenotype. More recently, ionotropic glutamate receptors, namely NMDA receptors (NMDARs) and AMPA receptors (AMPARs), have also been implicated in ASDs. In this review, we will focus on NMDA receptors and summarize evidence supporting the hypothesis that NMDAR dysfunction contributes to ASDs, and, by extension, that correcting NMDAR dysfunction has therapeutic potential for ASDs. ASD-related human NMDAR genetic variants.

Chemokines roles within the hippocampus

IL-1 mediates stress-induced activation of the HPA axis

A systemic model of the beneficial role of immune processes in behavioral and neural plasticity

Three Classes of Glutamate Receptors

Clinical studies on ASDs have identified genetic variants of NMDAR subunit genes. Specifically, de novo mutations have been identified in the GRIN2B gene, encoding the GluN2B subunit. In addition, SNP analyses have linked both GRIN2A (GluN2A subunit) and GRIN2B with ASDs. Because assembled NMDARs contain four subunits, each with distinct properties, ASD-related GRIN2A/ GRIN2B variants likely alter the functional properties of NMDARs and/or NMDAR-dependent plasticity.

Pharmacological modulation of NMDAR function can improve ASD symptoms. D-cycloserine (DCS), an NMDAR agonist, significantly ameliorates social withdrawal and repetitive behavior in individuals with ASD. These results suggest that reduced NMDAR function may contribute to the development of ASDs in humans.

We can divide animal studies into two groups. The first group consists of animals in which NMDAR modulators were shown to normalize both NMDAR dysfunction and ASD-like behaviors, establishing strong association between NMDARs and ASD phenotypes (Fig.). In the second group, NMDAR modulators were shown to rescue ASD-like behaviors, but NMDAR dysfunction and its correction have not been demonstrated.

ASD models with data showing rescue of both NMDAR dysfunction and ASD like behaviors Mice lacking neuroligin-1, an excitatory postsynaptic adhesion molecule, show reduced NMDAR function in the hippocampus and striatum, as evidenced by a decrease in NMDA/AMPA ratio and long-term potentiation (LTP). Neuroligin-1 is thought to enhance synaptic NMDAR function, by directly interacting with and promoting synaptic localization of NMDARs.

Fig not shown.

Bidirectional NMDAR dysfunction in animal models of ASD. Animal models of ASD with bidirectional NMDAR dysfunction can be positioned on either side of an NMDAR function curve. Model animals were divided into two groups.

Group 1: NMDAR modulators normalize both NMDAR dysfunction and ASD-like behaviors (green).

Group 2: NMDAR modulators rescue ASD-like behaviors, but NMDAR dysfunction and its rescue have not been demonstrated (orange). Note that Group 2 animals are tentatively placed on the left-hand side of the slope based on the observed DCS rescue of their ASD-like phenotypes, but the directions of their NMDAR dysfunctions remain to be experimentally determined.

ASD models with data showing rescue of ASD-like behaviors but no demonstrated NMDAR dysfunction

Tbr1 is a transcriptional regulator, one of whose targets is the gene encoding the GluN2B subunit of NMDARs. Mice haploinsufficient for Tbr1 (Tbr1+/-) show structural abnormalities in the amygdala and limited GluN2B induction upon behavioral stimulation. Both systemic injection and local amygdalar infusion of DCS rescue social deficits and impaired associative memory in Tbr1+/- mice. However, reduced NMDAR function and its DCS-dependent correction have not been demonstrated.

Spatial working memory and attention skills are predicted by maternal stress during pregnancy

André Plamondon, Emis Akbari, Leslie Atkinson, Meir Steiner
Early Human Development 91 (2015) 23–29
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2014.11.004

Introduction: Experimental evidence in rodents shows that maternal stress during pregnancy (MSDP) negatively impacts spatial learning and memory in the offspring. We aim to investigate the association between MSDP (i.e., life events) and spatial working memory, as well as attention skills (attention shifting and attention focusing), in humans. The moderating roles of child sex, maternal anxiety during pregnancy and postnatal care are also investigated. Methods: Participants were 236mother–child dyads that were followed from the second trimester of pregnancy until 4 years postpartum. Measurements included questionnaires and independent observations.
Results: MSDP was negatively associated with attention shifting at 18monthswhen concurrent maternal anxiety was low. MSDP was associated with poorer spatial working memory at 4 years of age, but only for boys who experienced poorer postnatal care.
Conclusion: Consistent with results observed in rodents, MSDP was found to be associated with spatial working memory and attention skills. These results point to postnatal care and maternal anxiety during pregnancy as potential targets for interventions that aim to buffer children from the detrimental effects of MSDP.

Acute and massive bleeding from placenta previa and infants’ brain damage

Ken Furuta, Shuichi Tokunaga, Seishi Furukawa, Hiroshi Sameshima
Early Human Development 90 (2014) 455–458
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2014.06.002

Background: Among the causes of third trimester bleeding, the impact of placenta previa on cerebral palsy is not well known.
Aims: To clarify the effect ofmaternal bleeding fromplacenta previa on cerebral palsy, and in particular when and how it occurs.
Study design: A descriptive study.
Subjects: Sixty infants born to mothers with placenta previa in our regional population-based study of 160,000 deliveries from 1998 to 2012. Premature deliveries occurring atb26 weeks of gestation and placenta accrete were excluded.
Outcome measures: Prevalence of cystic periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) and cerebral palsy (CP).
Results: Five infants had PVL and 4 of these infants developed CP (1/40,000 deliveries). Acute and massive bleeding (>500 g) within 8 h) occurred at around 30–31 weeks of gestation, and was severe enough to deliver the fetus. None of the 5 infants with PVL underwent antenatal corticosteroid treatment, and 1 infant had mild neonatal hypocapnia with a PaCO2 < 25 mm Hg. However, none of the 5 PVL infants showed umbilical arterial academia with pH < 7.2, an abnormal fetal heart rate monitoring pattern, or neonatal hypotension.
Conclusions: Our descriptive study showed that acute and massive bleeding from placenta previa at around 30 weeks of gestation may be a risk factor for CP, and requires careful neonatal follow-up. The underlying process connecting massive placental bleeding and PVL requires further investigation.

Impact of bilirubin-induced neurologic dysfunction on neurodevelopmental outcomes

Courtney J. Wusthoff, Irene M. Loe
Seminars in Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 20 (2015) 52e57
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.siny.2014.12.003

Extreme neonatal hyperbilirubinemia has long been known to cause the clinical syndrome of kernicterus, or chronic bilirubin encephalopathy (CBE). Kernicterus most usually is characterized by choreoathetoid cerebral palsy (CP), impaired upward gaze, and sensorineural hearing loss, whereas cognition is relatively spared. The chronic condition of kernicterus may be, but is not always, preceded in the acute stage by acute bilirubin encephalopathy (ABE). This acute neonatal condition is also due to hyperbilirubinemia, and is characterized by lethargy and abnormal behavior, evolving to frank neonatal encephalopathy, opisthotonus, and seizures. Less completely defined is the syndrome of bilirubin-induced neurologic dysfunction (BIND).

Bilirubin-induced neurologic dysfunction (BIND) is the constellation of neurologic sequelae following milder degrees of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia than are associated with kernicterus. Clinically, BIND may manifest after the neonatal period as developmental delay, cognitive impairment, disordered executive function, and behavioral and psychiatric disorders. However, there is controversy regarding the relative contribution of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia versus other risk factors to the development of later neurodevelopmental disorders in children with BIND. In this review, we focus on the empiric data from the past 25 years regarding neurodevelopmental outcomes and BIND, including specific effects on developmental delay, cognition, speech and language development, executive function, and the neurobehavioral disorders, such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism.

As noted in a technical report by the American Academy of Pediatrics Subcommittee on Hyperbilirubinemia, “it is apparent that the use of a single total serum bilirubin level to predict long-term outcomes is inadequate and will lead to conflicting results”. As described above, this has certainly been the case in research to date. To clarify how hyperbilirubinemia influences neurodevelopmental outcome, more sophisticated consideration is needed both of how to assess bilirubin exposure leading to neurotoxicity, and of those comorbid conditions which may lower the threshold for brain injury.

For example, premature infants are known to be especially susceptible to bilirubin neurotoxicity, with kernicterus reported following TB levels far lower than the threshold expected in term neonates. Similarly, among extremely preterm neonates, BBC is proportional to gestational age, meaning that the most premature infants have the highest UB, even for similar TB levels. Thus, future studies must be adequately powered to examine preterm infants separately from term infants, and should consider not just peak TB, but also BBC, as independent variables in neonates with hyperbilirubinemia. Similarly, an analysis by the NICHD NRN found that, among ELBW infants, higher UB levels were associated with a higher risk of death or NDI. However, increased TB levels were only associated with death or NDI in unstable infants. Again, UB or BBC appeared to be more useful than TB.

Are the neuromotor disabilities of bilirubin-induced neurologic dysfunction disorders related to the cerebellum and its connections?

Jon F. Watchko, Michael J. Painter, Ashok Panigrahy
Seminars in Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 20 (2015) 47e51
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.siny.2014.12.004

Investigators have hypothesized a range of subcortical neuropathology in the genesis of bilirubin induced neurologic dysfunction (BIND). The current review builds on this speculation with a specific focus on the cerebellum and its connections in the development of the subtle neuromotor disabilities of BIND. The focus on the cerebellum derives from the following observations:
(i) the cerebellum is vulnerable to bilirubin-induced injury; perhaps the most vulnerable region within the central nervous system;
(ii) infants with cerebellar injury exhibit a neuromotor phenotype similar to BIND; and (iii) the cerebellum has extensive bidirectional circuitry projections to motor and non-motor regions of the brain-stem and cerebral cortex that impact a variety of neurobehaviors.
Future study using advanced magnetic resonance neuroimaging techniques have the potential to shed new insights into bilirubin’s effect on neural network topology via both structural and functional brain connectivity measurements.

Bilirubin-induced neurologic damage is most often thought of in terms of severe adverse neuromotor (dystonia with or without athetosis) and auditory (hearing impairment or deafness) sequelae. Observed together, they comprise the classic neurodevelopmental phenotype of chronic bilirubin encephalopathy or kernicterus, and may also be seen individually as motor or auditory predominant subtypes. These injuries reflect both a predilection of bilirubin toxicity for neurons (relative to glial cells) and the regional topography of bilirubin-induced neuronal damage characterized by prominent involvement of the globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, VIII cranial nerve, and cochlear nucleus.

It is also asserted that bilirubin neurotoxicity may be associated with other less severe neurodevelopmental disabilities, a condition termed “subtle kernicterus” or “bilirubin-induced neurologic dysfunction” (BIND). BIND is defined by a constellation of “subtle neurodevelopmental disabilities without the classical findings of kernicterus that, after careful evaluation and exclusion of other possible etiologies, appear to be due to bilirubin neurotoxicity”. These purportedly include:

(i) mild-to-moderate disorders of movement (e.g., incoordination, clumsiness, gait abnormalities, disturbances in static and dynamic balance, impaired fine motor skills, and ataxia); (ii) disturbances in muscle tone; and
(iii) altered sensorimotor integration. Isolated disturbances of central auditory processing are also included in the spectrum of BIND.

Cerebellar vulnerability to bilirubin-induced injury
Cerebellar injury phenotypes and BIND
Cerebellar projections

Transverse section of cerebellum and brainstem

Transverse section of cerebellum and brain-stem from a 34 gestational-week premature kernicteric infant formalin-fixed for two weeks. Yellow staining is evident in the cerebellar dentate nuclei (upper arrow) and vestibular nuclei at the pontomedullary junction (lower arrowhead). Photo is courtesy of Mahmdouha Ahdab-Barmada and reprinted with permission from Taylor-Francis Group (Ahdab Barmada M. The neuropathology of kernicterus: definitions and debate. In: Maisel MJ, Watchko JF editors. Neonatal jaundice. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers; 2000. p. 75e88

Whether cerebellar injury is primal or an integral part of disturbed neural circuitry in bilirubin-induced CNS damage is unclear. Movement disorders, however, are increasingly recognized to arise from abnormalities of neuronal circuitry rather than localized, circumscribed lesions. The cerebellum has extensive bidirectional circuitry projections to an array of brainstem nuclei and the cerebral cortex that modulate and refine motor activities. In this regard, the cerebellum is characteristically subdivided into three lobes based on neuroanatomic and phylogenetic criteria as well as by their primary afferent and efferent connections. They include:
(i) flocculonodular lobe (archicerebellum);
(ii) anterior lobe (paleocerebellum); and
(iii) posterior lobe (neocerebellum).

The archicerebellum, the oldest division phylogenically, receives extensive input from the vestibular system and is therefore also known as the vestibulocerebellum and is important for equilibrium control. The paleocerebellum, also a primitive region, receives extensive somatosensory input from the spinal cord, including the anterior and posterior spinocerebellar pathways that convey unconscious proprioception, and is therefore also known as the spinocerebellum. The neocerebellum is the most recently evolved region, receives most of the input from the cerebral cortex, and is thus termed the cerebrocerebellum. This area has greatly expanded in association with the extensive development of the cerebral cortex in mammals and especially primates. To cause serious longstanding dysfunction, cerebellar injury must typically involve the deep cerebellar nuclei and their projections.

Schematic of the bidirectional connectivity between the cerebellum and other

Schematic of the bidirectional connectivity between the cerebellum and other brain regions including the cerebral cortex. Most cerebro-cerebellar afferent projections pass through the basal (anterior or ventral) pontine nuclei and intermediate cerebellar peduncle, whereas most cerebello-cerebral efferent projections pass through the dentate and ventrolateral thalamic nuclei. DCN, deep cerebellar nuclei; RN, red nucleus; ATN, anterior thalamic nucleus; PFC, prefrontal cortex; MC, motor cortex; PC, parietal cortex; TC, temporal cortex; STN, subthalamic nucleus; APN, anterior pontine nuclei. Reprinted under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License from D’Angelo E, Casali S. Seeking a unified framework for cerebellar function and dysfunction: from circuit to cognition. Front Neural Circuits 2013; 6:116.

Given the vulnerability of the cerebellum to bilirubin-induced injury, cerebellar involvement should also be evident in classic kernicterus, contributing to neuromotor deficits observed therein. It is of interest, therefore, that cerebellar damage may play a role in the genesis of bilirubin-induced dystonia, a prominent neuromotor feature of chronic bilirubin encephalopathy in preterm and term neonates alike. This complex movement disorder is characterized by involuntary sustained muscle contractions that result in abnormal position and posture. Moreover, dystonia that is brief in duration results in chorea, and, if brief and repetitive, leads to athetosis ‒ conditions also classically observed in kernicterus. Recent evidence suggests that dystonic movements may depend on disruption of both basal ganglia and cerebellar neuronal networks, rather than isolated dysfunction of only one motor system.

Dystonia is also a prominent feature in Gunn rat pups and neonatal Ugt1‒/‒-deficient mice both robust models of kernicterus. The former is used as an experimental model of dystonia. Although these models show basal ganglia injury, the sine qua non of bilirubin-induced murine neuropathology is cerebellar damage and resultant cerebellar hypoplasia.

Studies are needed to define more precisely the motor network abnormalities in kernicterus and BIND. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been widely used in evaluating infants at risk for bilirubin-induced brain injury using conventional structural T1-and T2-weighted imaging. Infants with chronic bilirubin encephalopathy often demonstrate abnormal bilateral, symmetric, high-signal intensity on T2-weighted MRI of the globus pallidus and subthalamic nucleus, consistent with the neuropathology of kernicterus. Early postnatal MRI of at-risk infants, although frequently showing increased T1-signal in these regions, may give false-positive findings due to the presence of myelin in these structures.

Diffusion tensor imaging and tractography could be used to delineate long-term changes involving specific white matter pathways, further elucidating the neural basis of long-term disability in infants and children with chronic bilirubin encephalopathy and BIND. It will be equally valuable to use blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) “resting state” functional MRI to study intrinsic connectivity in order to identify vulnerable brain networks in neonates with kernicterus and BIND. Structural networks of the CNS (connectome) and functional network topology can be characterized in infants with kernicterus and BIND to determine disease-related pattern(s) with respect to both long- and short-range connectivity. These findings have the potential to shed novel insights into the pathogenesis of these disorders and their impact on complex anatomical connections and resultant functional deficits.

Audiologic impairment associated with bilirubin-induced neurologic damage

Cristen Olds, John S. Oghalai
Seminars in Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 20 (2015) 42e46
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.siny.2014.12.006

Hyperbilirubinemia affects up to 84% of term and late preterm infants in the first week of life. The elevation of total serum/plasma bilirubin (TB) levels is generally mild, transitory, and, for most children, inconsequential. However, a subset of infants experiences lifelong neurological sequelae. Although the prevalence of classic kernicterus has fallen steadily in the USA in recent years, the incidence of jaundice in term and premature infants has increased, and kernicterus remains a significant problem in the global arena. Bilirubin-induced neurologic dysfunction (BIND) is a spectrum of neurological injury due to acute or sustained exposure of the central nervous system(CNS) to bilirubin. The BIND spectrum includes kernicterus, acute bilirubin encephalopathy, and isolated neural pathway dysfunction.

Animal studies have shown that unconjugated bilirubin passively diffuses across cell membranes and the blood‒brain barrier (BBB), and bilirubin not removed by organic anion efflux pumps accumulates within the cytoplasm and becomes toxic. Exposure of neurons to bilirubin results in increased oxidative stress and decreased neuronal proliferation and presynaptic neuro-degeneration at central glutaminergic synapses. Furthermore, bilirubin administration results in smaller spiral ganglion cell bodies, with decreased cellular density and selective loss of large cranial nerve VIII myelinated fibers. When exposed to bilirubin, neuronal supporting cells have been found to secrete inflammatory markers, which contribute to increased BBB permeability and bilirubin loading.

The jaundiced Gunn rat is the classic animal model of bilirubin toxicity. It is homozygous for a premature stop codon within the gene for UDP-glucuronosyltransferase family 1 (UGT1). The resultant gene product has reduced bilirubin-conjugating activity, leading to a state of hyperbilirubinemia. Studies with this rat model have led to the concept that impaired calcium homeostasis is an important mechanism of neuronal toxicity, with reduced expression of calcium-binding proteins in affected cells being a sensitive index of bilirubin-induced neurotoxicity. Similarly, application of bilirubin to cultured auditory neurons from brainstem cochlear nuclei results in hyperexcitability and excitotoxicity.

The auditory pathway and normal auditory brainstem response (ABR).

The auditory pathway and normal auditory brain-stem response (ABR). The ipsilateral (green) and contralateral (blue) auditory pathways are shown, with structures that are known to be affected by hyperbilirubinemia highlighted in red. Roman numerals in parentheses indicate corresponding waves in the normal human ABR (inset). Illustration adapted from the “Ear Anatomy” series by Robert Jackler and Christine Gralapp, with permission.

Bilirubin-induced neurologic dysfunction (BIND)

Vinod K. Bhutani, Ronald Wong
Seminars in Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 20 (2015) 1
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.siny.2014.12.010

Beyond the traditional recognized areas of fulminant injury to the globus pallidus as seen in infants with kernicterus, other vulnerable areas include the cerebellum, hippocampus, and subthalamic nuclear bodies as well as certain cranial nerves. The hippocampus is a brain region that is particularly affected by age related morphological changes. It is generally assumed that a loss in hippocampal volume results in functional deficits that contribute to age-related cognitive deficits. Lower grey matter volumes within the limbic-striato-thalamic circuitry are common to other etiological mechanisms of subtle neurologic injury. Lower grey matter volumes in the amygdala, caudate, frontal and medial gyrus are found in schizophrenia and in the putamen in autism. Thus, in terms of brain volumetrics, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders have a clear degree of overlap that may reflect shared etiological mechanisms. Overlap with injuries observed in infants with BIND raises the question about how these lesions are arrived at in the context of the impact of common etiologies.

Stress-induced perinatal and transgenerational epigenetic programming of brain development and mental health

Olena Babenko, Igor Kovalchuk, Gerlinde A.S. Metz
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 48 (2015) 70–91
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.11.013

Research efforts during the past decades have provided intriguing evidence suggesting that stressful experiences during pregnancy exert long-term consequences on the future mental wellbeing of both the mother and her baby. Recent human epidemiological and animal studies indicate that stressful experiences in utero or during early life may increase the risk of neurological and psychiatric disorders, arguably via altered epigenetic regulation. Epigenetic mechanisms, such as miRNA expression, DNA methylation, and histone modifications are prone to changes in response to stressful experiences and hostile environmental factors. Altered epigenetic regulation may potentially influence fetal endocrine programming and brain development across several generations. Only recently, however, more attention has been paid to possible transgenerational effects of stress. In this review we discuss the evidence of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of stress exposure in human studies and animal models. We highlight the complex interplay between prenatal stress exposure, associated changes in miRNA expression and DNA methylation in placenta and brain and possible links to greater risks of schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, anxiety- or depression-related disorders later in life. Based on existing evidence, we propose that prenatal stress, through the generation of epigenetic alterations, becomes one of the most powerful influences on mental health in later life. The consideration of ancestral and prenatal stress effects on lifetime health trajectories is critical for improving strategies that support healthy development and successful aging.

Sensitive time-windows for susceptibility in neurodevelopmental disorders

Rhiannon M. Meredith, Julia Dawitz and Ioannis Kramvis
Trends in Neurosciences, June 2012; 35(6): 335-344
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.tins.2012.03.005

Many neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are characterized by age-dependent symptom onset and regression, particularly during early postnatal periods of life. The neurobiological mechanisms preceding and underlying these developmental cognitive and behavioral impairments are, however, not clearly understood. Recent evidence using animal models for monogenic NDDs demonstrates the existence of time-regulated windows of neuronal and synaptic impairments. We propose that these developmentally-dependent impairments can be unified into a key concept: namely, time-restricted windows for impaired synaptic phenotypes exist in NDDs, akin to critical periods during normal sensory development in the brain. Existence of sensitive time-windows has significant implications for our understanding of early brain development underlying NDDs and may indicate vulnerable periods when the brain is more susceptible to current therapeutic treatments.

Fig (not shown)

Misregulated mechanisms underlying spine morphology in NDDs. Several proteins implicated in monogenic NDDs (highlighted in red) are linked to the regulation of the synaptic cytoskeleton via F-actin through different Rho-mediated signaling pathways (highlighted in green). Mutations in OPHN1, TSC1/2, FMRP, p21-activated kinase (PAK) are directly linked to human NDDs of intellectual disability. For instance, point mutations in OPHN1 and a PAK isoform are linked to non-syndromic mental retardation, whereas mutations or altered expression of TSC1/2 and FMRP are linked to TSC and FXS, respectively. Cytoplasmic interacting protein (CYFIP) and LIM-domain kinase 1 (LIMK1) are known to interact with FMRP and PAK, respectively [105]. LIMK1 is one of many dysregulated proteins contributing to the NDD Williams syndrome. Mouse models are available for all highlighted (red) proteins and reveal specific synaptic and behavioral deficits. Local protein synthesis in synapses, dendrites and glia is also regulated by proteins such as TSC1/2 and the FMRP/CYFIP complex. Abbreviations: 4EBP, 4E binding protein; eIF4E, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E.

Fig (not shown)

Sensitive time-windows, synaptic phenotypes and NDD gene targets. Sensitive time-windows exist in neural circuits, during which gene targets implicated in NDDs are normally expressed. Misregulation of these genes can affect multiple synaptic phenotypes during a restricted developmental period. The effect upon synaptic phenotypes is dependent upon the temporal expression of these NDD genes and their targets. (a) Expression outside a critical period of development will have no effect upon synaptic phenotypes. (b,c) A temporal expression pattern that overlaps with the onset (b) or closure (c) of a known critical period can alter the synaptic phenotype during that developmental time-window.

Outstanding questions

(1) Can treatment at early presymptomatic stages in animal models for NDDs prevent or ease the later synaptic, neuronal, and behavioral impairments?

(2) Are all sensory critical periods equally misregulated in mouse models for a specific NDD? Are there different susceptibilities for auditory, visual and somatosensory neurocircuits that reflect the degree of impairments observed in patients?

(3) If one critical period is missed or delayed during formation of a layer-specific connection in a network, does the network overcome this misregulated connectivity or plasticity window?

(4) In monogenic NDDs, does the severity of misregulating one particular time-window for synaptic establishment during development correlate with the importance of that gene for that synaptic circuit?

(5) Why do critical periods close in brain development?

(6) What underlies the regression of some altered synaptic phenotypes in Fmr1-KO mice?

(7) Can the concept of susceptible time-windows be applied to other NDDs, including schizophrenia and Tourette’s syndrome?

Cardiovascular

Cardiac output monitoring in newborns

Willem-Pieter de Boode
Early Human Development 86 (2010) 143–148
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2010.01.032

There is an increased interest in methods of objective cardiac output measurement in critically ill patients. Several techniques are available for measurement of cardiac output in children, although this remains very complex in newborns. Cardiac output monitoring could provide essential information to guide hemodynamic management. An overview is given of various methods of cardiac output monitoring with advantages and major limitations of each technology together with a short explanation of the basic principles.

Fick principle

According to the Fick principle the volume of blood flow in a given period equals the amount of substance entering the blood stream in the same period divided by the difference in concentrations of the substrate upstream respectively downstream to the point of entry in the circulation. This substance can be oxygen (O2-Fick) or carbon dioxide (CO2-FICK), so cardiac output can be calculated by dividing measured pulmonary oxygen uptake by the arteriovenous oxygen concentration difference. The direct O2-Fick method is regarded as gold standard in cardiac output monitoring in a research setting, despite its limitations. When the Fick principle is applied for carbon dioxide (CO2 Fick), the pulmonary carbon dioxide exchange is divided by the venoarterial CO2 concentration difference to calculate cardiac output.

In the modified CO2 Fick method pulmonary CO2 exchange is measured at the endotracheal tube. Measurement of total CO2 concentration in blood is more complex and simultaneous sampling of arterial and central venous blood is required. However, frequent blood sampling will result in an unacceptable blood loss in the neonatal population.

Blood flow can be calculated if the change in concentration of a known quantity of injected indicator is measured in time distal to the point of injection, so an indicator dilution curve can be obtained. Cardiac output can then be calculated with the use of the Stewart–Hamilton equation. Several indicators are used, such as indocyanine green, Evans blue and brilliant red in dye dilution, cold solutions in thermodilution, lithium in lithium dilution, and isotonic saline in ultrasound dilution.

Cardiovascular adaptation to extra uterine life

Alice Lawford, Robert MR Tulloh
Paediatrics And Child Health 2014; 25(1): 1-6.

The adaptation to extra uterine life is of interest because of its complexity and the ability to cause significant health concerns. In this article we describe the normal changes that occur and the commoner abnormalities that are due to failure of normal development and the effect of congenital cardiac disease. Abnormal development may occur as a result of problems with the mother, or with the fetus before birth. After birth it is essential to determine whether there is an underlying abnormality of the fetal pulmonary or cardiac development and to determine the best course of management of pulmonary hypertension or congenital cardiac disease. Causes of underdevelopment, maldevelopment and maladaptation are described as are the causes of critical congenital heart disease. The methods of diagnosis and management are described to allow the neonatologist to successfully manage such newborns.

Fetal vascular structures that exist to direct blood flow

Fetal structure	Function
Arterial duct	Connects pulmonary artery to the aorta and shunts blood right to left; diverting flow away from fetal lungs
Foramen ovale	Opening between the two atria thatdirects blood flow returning to right atrium through the septal wall into the left atrium bypassing lungs
Ductus venosus	Receives oxygenated blood fromumbilical vein and directs it to the inferior vena cava and right atrium
Umbilical arteries	Carrying deoxygenated blood fromthe fetus to the placenta
Umbilical vein	Carrying oxygenated blood from theplacenta to the fetus

Maternal causes of congenital heart disease

Maternal disorders	rubella, SLE, diabetes mellitus
Maternal drug use	Warfarin, alcohol
Chromosomal abnormality	Down, Edward, Patau, Turner, William, Noonan

Fetal and Neonatal Circulation The fetal circulation is specifically adapted to efficiently exchange gases, nutrients, and wastes through placental circulation. Upon birth, the shunts (foramen ovale, ductus arteriosus, and ductus venosus) close and the placental circulation is disrupted, producing the series circulation of blood through the lungs, left atrium, left ventricle, systemic circulation, right heart, and back to the lungs.

Clinical monitoring of systemic hemodynamics in critically ill newborns

Willem-Pieter de Boode
Early Human Development 86 (2010) 137–141
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2010.01.031

Circulatory failure is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in critically ill newborn infants. Since objective measurement of systemic blood flow remains very challenging, neonatal hemodynamics is usually assessed by the interpretation of various clinical and biochemical parameters. An overview is given about the predictive value of the most used indicators of circulatory failure, which are blood pressure, heart rate, urine output, capillary refill time, serum lactate concentration, central–peripheral temperature difference, pH, standard base excess, central venous oxygen saturation and color.

Key guidelines

➢ The clinical assessment of cardiac output by the interpretation of indirect parameters of systemic blood flow is inaccurate, irrespective of the level of experience of the clinician

➢ Using blood pressure to diagnose low systemic blood flow will consequently mean that too many patients will potentially be undertreated or overtreated, both with substantial risk of adverse effects and iatrogenic damage.

➢ Combining different clinical hemodynamic parameters enhances the predictive value in the detection of circulatory failure, although accuracy is still limited.

➢ Variation in time (trend monitoring) might possibly be more informative than individual, static values of clinical and biochemical parameters to evaluate the adequacy of neonatal circulation.

Monitoring oxygen saturation and heart rate in the early neonatal period

J.A. Dawson, C.J. Morley
Seminars in Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 15 (2010) 203e207
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.siny.2010.03.004

Pulse oximetry is commonly used to assist clinicians in assessment and management of newly born infants in the delivery room (DR). In many DRs, pulse oximetry is now the standard of care for managing high risk infants, enabling immediate and dynamic assessment of oxygenation and heart rate. However, there is little evidence that using pulse oximetry in the DR improves short and long term outcomes. We review the current literature on using pulse oximetry to measure oxygen saturation and heart rate and how to apply current evidence to management in the DR.

Practice points

Understand how SpO2 changes in the first minutes after birth.
Apply a sensor to an infant’s right wrist as soon as possible after birth.
Attach sensor to infant then to oximeter cable.
Use two second averaging and maximum sensitivity.

Using pulse oximetry assists clinicians:

Assess changes in HR in real time during transition.
Assess oxygenation and titrate the administration of oxygen to maintain oxygenation within the appropriate range for SpO2 during the first minutes after birth.

Research directions

What are the appropriate centiles to target during the minutes after birth to prevent hypoxia and hyperoxia: 25th to 75th, or 10th to 90th, or just the 50th (median)?
Can the inspired oxygen be titrated against the SpO2 to keep the SpO2 in the ‘normal range’?
Does the use of centile charts in the DR for HR and oxygen saturation reduce the rate of hyperoxia when infants are treated with oxygen.
Does the use of pulse oximetry immediately after birth improve short term outcomes, e.g. efficacy of immediate respiratory support, intubation rates in the DR, percentage of inspired oxygen, rate of use of adrenalin or chest compressions, duration of hypoxia/hyperoxia and bradycardia.
Does the use of pulse oximetry in the DR improve short term respiratory and long term neurodevelopmental outcomes for preterm infants, e.g. rate of intubation, use of surfactant, and duration of ventilation, continuous positive airway pressure, or supplemental oxygen?
Can all modern pulse oximeters be used effectively in the DR or do some have a longer delay before giving an accurate signal and more movement artefact?
Would a longer averaging time result in more stable data?

Peripheral haemodynamics in newborns: Best practice guidelines

Michael Weindling, Fauzia Paize
Early Human Development 86 (2010) 159–165
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2010.01.033

Peripheral hemodynamics refers to blood flow, which determines oxygen and nutrient delivery to the tissues. Peripheral blood flow is affected by vascular resistance and blood pressure, which in turn varies with cardiac function. Arterial oxygen content depends on the blood hemoglobin concentration (Hb) and arterial pO2; tissue oxygen delivery depends on the position of the oxygen-dissociation curve, which is determined by temperature and the amount of adult or fetal hemoglobin. Methods available to study tissue perfusion include near-infrared spectroscopy, Doppler flowmetry, orthogonal polarization spectral imaging and the peripheral perfusion index. Cardiac function, blood gases, Hb, and peripheral temperature all affect blood flow and oxygen extraction. Blood pressure appears to be less important. Other factors likely to play a role are the administration of vasoactive medications and ventilation strategies, which affect blood gases and cardiac output by changing the intrathoracic pressure.

graphic

NIRS with partial venous occlusion to measure venous oxygen saturation

NIRS with partial venous occlusion to measure venous oxygen saturation. Taken from Yoxall and Weindling

Schematic representation of the biphasic relationship between oxygen delivery and oxygen consumption in tissue

graphic

Schematic representation of the biphasic relationship between oxygen delivery and oxygen consumption in tissue. (a) oxygen delivery (DO2). (b) As DO2 decreases, VO2 is dependent on DO2. The slope of the line indicates the FOE, which in this case is about 0.50. (c) The slope of the line indicates the FOE in the normal situation where oxygenation is DO2 independent, usually < 0.35

The oxygen-dissociation curve

graphic

The oxygen-dissociation curve

Considerable information about the response of the peripheral circulation has been obtained using NIRS with venous occlusion. Although these measurements were validated against blood co-oximetry in human adults and infants, they can only be made intermittently by a trained operator and are thus not appropriate for general clinical use. Further research is needed to find other better measures of peripheral perfusion and oxygenation which may be easily and continuously monitored, and which could be useful in a clinical setting.

Peripheral oxygenation and management in the perinatal period

Michael Weindling
Seminars in Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 15 (2010) 208e215
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.siny.2010.03.005

The mechanisms for the adequate provision of oxygen to the peripheral tissues are complex. They involve control of the microcirculation and peripheral blood flow, the position of the oxygen dissociation curve including the proportion of fetal and adult hemoglobin, blood gases and viscosity. Systemic blood pressure appears to have little effect, at least in the non-shocked state. The adequate delivery of oxygen (DO2) depends on consumption (VO2), which is variable. The balance between VO2 and DO2 is given by fractional oxygen extraction (FOE ¼ VO2/DO2). FOE varies from organ to organ and with levels of activity. Measurements of FOE for the whole body produce a range of about 0.15-0.33, i.e. the body consumes 15-33% of oxygen transported.

Fig (not shown)

Biphasic relationship between oxygen delivery (DO2) and oxygen consumption (VO2) in tissue. Dotted lines show fractional oxygen extraction (FOE). ‘A’ indicates the normal situation when VO2 is independent ofDO2 and FOE is about 0.30. AsDO2 decreases in the direction of the arrow, VO2 remains independent of DO2 until the critical point is reached at ‘B’; in this illustration, FOE is about 0.50. The slope of the dotted line indicates the FOE (¼ VO2/DO2), which increases progressively as DO2 decreases.

$Relationship between haemoglobin F fraction (HbF) and peripheral fractional oxygen extraction$

Relationship between haemoglobin F fraction (HbF) and peripheral fractional oxygen extraction

Graphic
(A)Relationship between haemoglobin F fraction (HbF) and peripheral fractional oxygen extraction in anaemic and control infants. (From Wardle et al.) (B) HbF synthesis and concentration. (From Bard and Widness.) (C) Oxygen dissociation curve.

$Peripheral fractional oxygen extraction in babies$

Peripheral fractional oxygen extraction in babies

graphic

Peripheral fractional oxygen extraction in babies with asymptomatic or symptomatic anemia compared to controls. Bars represent the median for each group. (From Wardle et al.)

Practice points

Peripheral tissue DO2 is complex: cardiac function, blood gases, Hb concentration and the proportion of HbF, and peripheral temperature all play a part in determining blood flow and oxygen extraction in the sick, preterm infant. Blood pressure appears to be less important.
Other factors likely to play a role are the administration of vasoactive medications and ventilation strategies, which affect blood gases and cardiac output by changing intrathoracic pressure.
Central blood pressure is a poor surrogate measurement for the adequacy of DO2 to the periphery. Direct measurement, using NIRS, laser Doppler flowmetry or other means, may give more useful information.
Reasons for total hemoglobin concentration (Hb) being a relatively poor indicator of the adequacy of the provision of oxygen to the tissues:

Hb is only indirectly related to red blood cell volume, which may be a better indicator of the body’s oxygen delivering capacity.
Hb-dependent oxygen availability depends on the position of the oxygen-hemoglobin dissociation curve.
An individual’s oxygen requirements vary with time and from organ to organ. This means that DO2 also needs to vary.
It is possible to compensate for a low Hb by increasing cardiac output and ventilation, and so the ability to compensate for anemia depends on an individual’s cardio-respiratory reserve as well as Hb.
The normal decrease of Hb during the first few weeks of life in both full-term and preterm babies usually occurs without symptoms or signs of anemia or clinical consequences.

The relationship between VO2 and DO2 is complex and various factors need to be taken into account, including the position of the oxygen dissociation curve, determined by the proportion of HbA and HbF, temperature and pH. Furthermore, diffusion of oxygen from capillaries to the cell depends on the oxygen tension gradient between erythrocytes and the mitochondria, which depends on microcirculatory conditions, e.g. capillary PO2, distance of the cell from the capillary (characterized by intercapillary distances) and the surface area of open capillaries. The latter can change rapidly, for example, in septic shock where arteriovenous shunting occurs associated with tissue hypoxia in spite of high DO2 and a low FOE.

Changes in local temperature deserve particular consideration. When the blood pressure is low, there may be peripheral vasoconstriction with decreased local perfusion and DO2. However, the fall in local tissue temperature would also be expected to be associated with a decreased metabolic rate and a consequent decrease in VO2. Thus a decreased DO2 may still be appropriate for tissue needs.

Pulmonary

Accurate Measurements of Oxygen Saturation in Neonates: Paired Arterial and Venous Blood Analyses

Shyang-Yun Pamela K. Shiao
Newborn and Infant Nurs Rev, 2005; 5(4): 170–178
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1053/j.nainr.2005.09.001

Oxygen saturation (So2) measurements (functional measurement, So2; and fractional measurement, oxyhemoglobin [Hbo2]) and monitoring are commonly investigated as a method of assessing oxygenation in neonates. Differences exist between the So2 and Hbo2 when blood tests are performed, and clinical monitors indicate So2 values. Oxyhemoglobin will decrease with the increased levels of carbon monoxide hemoglobin (Hbco) and methemo-globin (MetHb), and it is the most accurate measurements of oxygen (O2) association of hemoglobin (Hb). Pulse oximeter (for pulse oximetry saturation [Spo2] measurement) is commonly used in neonates. However, it will not detect the changes of Hb variations in the blood for accurate So2 measurements. Thus, the measurements from clinical oximeters should be used with caution. In neonates, fetal hemoglobin (HbF) accounts for most of the circulating Hb in their blood. Fetal hemoglobin has a high O2 affinity, thus releases less O2 to the body tissues, presenting a left-shifted Hbo2 dissociation curve.5,6 To date, however, limited data are available with HbF correction, for accurate arterial and venous (AV) So2 measurements (arterial oxygen saturation [Sao2] and venous oxygen saturation [Svo2]) in neonates, using paired AV blood samples.

In a study of critically ill adult patients, increased pulmonary CO production and elevation in arterial Hbco but not venous Hbco were documented by inflammatory stimuli inducing pulmonary heme oxygenase–1. In normal adults, venous Hbco level might be slightly higher than or equal to arterial Hbco because of production of CO by enzyme heme oxygenase–2, which is predominantly produced in the liver and spleen. However, hypoxia or pulmonary inflammation could induce heme oxygenase–1 to increase endogenous CO, thus elevating pulmonary arterial and systemic arterial Hbco levels in adults. Both endogenous and exogenous CO can suppress proliferation of pulmonary smooth muscles, a significant consideration for the prevention of chronic lung diseases in newborns. Despite these considerations, a later study in healthy adults indicated that the AV differences in Hbco were from technical artifacts and perhaps from inadequate control of different instruments. Thus, further studies are needed to provide more definitive answers for the AV differences of Hbco for adults and neonates with acute and chronic lung diseases.

Methemoglobin is an indicator of Hb oxidation and is essential for accurate measurement of Hbo2, So2, and oxygenation status. No evidence exists to show the AV MetHb difference, although this difference was elucidated with the potential changes of MetHb with different O2 levels. Methemoglobin can be increased with nitric oxide (NO) therapy, used in respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) to reduce pulmonary hypertension and during heart surgery. Nitric oxide, in vitro, is an oxidant of Hb, with increased O2 during ischemia reperfusion. In hypoxemic conditions in vivo, nitrohemoglobin is a product generated by vessel responsiveness to nitrovasodilators. Nitro-hemoglobin can be spontaneously reversible in vivo, requiring no chemical agents or reductase. However, when O2 levels were increased experimentally in vitro following acidic conditions (pH 6.5) to simulate reperfusion conditions, MetHb levels were increased for the hemolysates (broken red cells). Nitrite-induced oxidation of Hb was associated with an increase in red blood cell membrane rigidity, thus contributing to Hb breakdown. A newer in vitro study of whole blood cells, however, concluded that MetHb formation is not dependent on increased O2 levels. Additional studies are needed to examine in vivo reperfusion of O2 and MetHb effects.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the accuracy of arterial oxygen saturation (Sao2) and venous oxygen saturation (Svo2) with paired arterial and venous (AV) blood in relation to pulse oximetry saturation (Spo2) and oxyhemoglobin (Hbo2) with fetal hemoglobin determination, and their Hbo2 dissociation curves. Method: Twelve preterm neonates with gestational ages ranging from 27 to 34 weeks at birth, who had umbilical AV lines inserted, were investigated. Analyses were performed with 37 pairs of AV blood samples by using a blood volume safety protocol. Results: The mean differences between Sao2 and Svo2, and AV Hbo2 were both 6 percent (F6.9 and F6.7 percent, respectively), with higher Svo2 than those reported for adults. Biases were 2.1 – 0.49 for Sao2, 2.0 – 0.44 for Svo2, and 3.1 – 0.45 for Spo2, compared against Hbo2. With left-shifted Hbo2 dissociation curves in neonates, for the critical values of oxygen tension values between 50 and 75 millimeters of mercury, Hbo2 ranged from 92 to 93.4 percent; Sao2 ranged from 94.5 to 95.7 percent; and Spo2 ranged from 93.7 to 96.3 percent (compared to 85–94 percent in healthy adults). Conclusions: In neonates, both left-shifted Hbo2 dissociation curve and lower AV differences of oxygen saturation measurements indicated low flow of oxygen to the body tissues. These findings demonstrate the importance of accurate assessment of oxygenation statues in neonates.

In these neonates, the mean AV blood differences for both So2 and Hbo2 were about 6 percent, which was much lower than those reported for healthy adults (23 percent) for O2 supply and demand. In addition, with very high levels of HbF releasing less O2 to the body tissue, the results of blood analyses are worrisome for these critically ill neonates for low systemic oxygen states. O’Connor and Hall determined AV So2 in neonates without HbF determination. Much of the AV So2 difference is dependent on Svo2 measurement. The ranges of Svo2 spanned for 35 percent, and the ranges of Sao2 spanned 6 percent in these neonates. The greater intervals for Svo2 measurements contribute to greater sensitivity for the measurements (than Sao2 measurements) in responding to nursing care and changes of O2 demand. Thus, Svo2 measurement is essential for better assessment of oxygenation status in neonates.

The findings of this study on AV differences of So2 were limited with very small number of paired AV blood samples. However, critically ill neonates need accurate assessment of oxygenation status because of HbF, which releases less O2 to the tissues. Decreased differences of AV So2 measurements added further possibilities of lower flow of O2 to the body tissues and demonstrated the greater need to accurately assess the proper oxygenation in the neonates. The findings of this study continued to clarify the accuracy of So2 measurements for neonates. Additional studies are needed to examine So2 levels in neonates to further validate these findings by using larger sample sizes.

Neonatal ventilation strategies and long-term respiratory outcomes

Sandeep Shetty, Anne Greenough
Early Human Development 90 (2014) 735–739
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2014.08.020

Long-term respiratory morbidity is common, particularly in those born very prematurely and who have developed bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), but it does occur in those without BPD and in infants born at term. A variety of neonatal strategies have been developed, all with short-term advantages, but meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated that only volume-targeted ventilation and prophylactic high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) may reduce BPD. Few RCTs have incorporated long-term follow-up, but one has demonstrated that prophylactic HFOV improves respiratory and functional outcomes at school age, despite not reducing BPD. Results from other neonatal interventions have demonstrated that any impact on BPD may not translate into changes in long-term outcomes. All future neonatal ventilation RCTs should have long-term outcomes rather than BPD as their primary outcome if they are to impact on clinical practice.

A Model Analysis of Arterial Oxygen Desaturation during Apnea in Preterm Infants

Scott A. Sands, BA Edwards, VJ Kelly, MR Davidson, MH Wilkinson, PJ Berger
PLoS Comput Biol 5(12): e1000588
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000588

Rapid arterial O2 desaturation during apnea in the preterm infant has obvious clinical implications but to date no adequate explanation for why it exists. Understanding the factors influencing the rate of arterial O2 desaturation during apnea (_SSaO2 ) is complicated by the non-linear O2 dissociation curve, falling pulmonary O2 uptake, and by the fact that O2 desaturation is biphasic, exhibiting a rapid phase (stage 1) followed by a slower phase when severe desaturation develops (stage 2). Using a mathematical model incorporating pulmonary uptake dynamics, we found that elevated metabolic O2 consumption accelerates _SSaO2 throughout the entire desaturation process. By contrast, the remaining factors have a restricted temporal influence: low pre-apneic alveolar PO2 causes an early onset of desaturation, but thereafter has little impact; reduced lung volume, hemoglobin content or cardiac output, accelerates _SSaO2 during stage 1, and finally, total blood O2 capacity (blood volume and hemoglobin content) alone determines _SSaO2 during stage 2. Preterm infants with elevated metabolic rate, respiratory depression, low lung volume, impaired cardiac reserve, anemia, or hypovolemia, are at risk for rapid and profound apneic hypoxemia. Our insights provide a basic physiological framework that may guide clinical interpretation and design of interventions for preventing sudden apneic hypoxemia.

A novel approach to study oxidative stress in neonatal respiratory distress syndrome

Reena Negi, D Pande, K Karki, A Kumar, RS Khanna, HD Khanna
BBA Clinical 3 (2015) 65–69
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbacli.2014.12.001

Oxidative stress is an imbalance between the systemic manifestation of reactive oxygen species and a biological system’s ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or to repair the resulting damage. It is a physiological event in the fetal-to-neonatal transition, which is actually a great stress to the fetus. These physiological changes and processes greatly increase the production of free radicals, which must be controlled by the antioxidant defense system, the maturation of which follows the course of the gestation. This could lead to several functional alterations with important repercussions for the infants. Adequately mature and healthy infants are able to tolerate this drastic change in the oxygen concentration. A problem occurs when the intrauterine development is incomplete or abnormal. Preterm or intrauterine growth retarded (IUGR) and low birth weight neonates are typically of this kind. An oxidant/antioxidant imbalance in infants is implicated in the pathogenesis of the major complications of prematurity including respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), chronic lung disease, retinopathy of prematurity and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH).

Background: Respiratory distress syndrome of the neonate (neonatal RDS) is still an important problem in treatment of preterm infants. It is accompanied by inflammatory processes with free radical generation and oxidative stress. The aim of study was to determine the role of oxidative stress in the development of neonatal RDS. Methods: Markers of oxidative stress and antioxidant activity in umbilical cord blood were studied in infants with neonatal respiratory distress syndrome with reference to healthy newborns. Results: Status of markers of oxidative stress (malondialdehyde, protein carbonyl and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxy guanosine) showed a significant increase with depleted levels of total antioxidant capacity in neonatal RDS when compared to healthy newborns. Conclusion: The study provides convincing evidence of oxidative damage and diminished antioxidant defenses in newborns with RDS. Neonatal RDS is characterized by damage of lipid, protein and DNA, which indicates the augmentation of oxidative stress. General significance: The identification of the potential biomarker of oxidative stress consists of a promising strategy to study the pathophysiology of neonatal RDS.

Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome represents the major lung complications of newborn babies. Preterm neonates suffer from respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) due to immature lungs and require assisted ventilation with high concentrations of oxygen. The pathogenesis of this disorder is based on the rapid formation of the oxygen reactive species, which surpasses the detoxification capacity of antioxidative defense system. The high chemical reactivity of free radical leads to damage to a variety of cellular macro molecules including proteins, lipids and nucleic acid. This results in cell injury and may induce respiratory cell death.

Malondialdehyde (MDA) is one of the final products of polyunsaturated fatty acids peroxidation. The present study showed increased concentration of MDA in neonates with respiratory disorders than that of control in consonance with the reported study.

Anemia, Apnea of Prematurity, and Blood Transfusions

Kelley Zagol, Douglas E. Lake, Brooke Vergales, Marion E. Moorman, et al
J Pediatr 2012;161:417-21
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.02.044

The etiology of apnea of prematurity is multifactorial; however, decreased oxygen carrying capacity may play a role. The respiratory neuronal network in neonates is immature, particularly in those born preterm, as demonstrated by their paradoxical response to hypoxemia. Although adults increase the minute ventilation in response to hypoxemia, newborns have a brief increase in ventilation followed by periodic breathing, respiratory depression, and occasionally cessation of respiratory effort. This phenomenon may be exacerbated by anemia in preterm newborns, where a decreased oxygen carrying capacity may result in decreased oxygen delivery to the central nervous system, a decreased efferent output of the respiratory neuronal network, and an increase in apnea.

Objective Compare the frequency and severity of apneic events in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants before and after blood transfusions using continuous electronic waveform analysis. Study design We continuously collected waveform, heart rate, and oxygen saturation data from patients in all 45 neonatal intensive care unit beds at the University of Virginia for 120 weeks. Central apneas were detected using continuous computer processing of chest impedance, electrocardiographic, and oximetry signals. Apnea was defined as respiratory pauses of >10, >20, and >30 seconds when accompanied by bradycardia (<100 beats per minute) and hypoxemia (<80% oxyhemoglobin saturation as detected by pulse oximetry). Times of packed red blood cell transfusions were determined from bedside charts. Two cohorts were analyzed. In the transfusion cohort, waveforms were analyzed for 3 days before and after the transfusion for all VLBW infants who received a blood transfusion while also breathing spontaneously. Mean apnea rates for the previous 12 hours were quantified and differences for 12 hours before and after transfusion were compared. In the hematocrit cohort, 1453 hematocrit values from all VLBW infants admitted and breathing spontaneously during the time period were retrieved, and the association of hematocrit and apnea in the next 12 hours was tested using logistic regression. Results Sixty-seven infants had 110 blood transfusions during times when complete monitoring data were available. Transfusion was associated with fewer computer-detected apneic events (P < .01). Probability of future apnea occurring within 12 hours increased with decreasing hematocrit values (P < .001). Conclusions Blood transfusions are associated with decreased apnea in VLBW infants, and apneas are less frequent at higher hematocrits.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia: The earliest and perhaps the longest lasting obstructive lung disease in humans

Silvia Carraro, M Filippone, L Da Dalt, V Ferraro, M Maretti, S Bressan, et al.
Early Human Development 89 (2013) S3–S5
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2013.07.015

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is one of the most important sequelae of premature birth and the most common form of chronic lung disease of infancy, an umbrella term for a number of different diseases that evolve as a consequence of a neonatal respiratory disorder. BPD is defined as the need for supplemental oxygen for at least 28 days after birth, and its severity is graded according to the respiratory support required at 36 post-menstrual weeks.

BPD was initially described as a chronic respiratory disease occurring in premature infants exposed to mechanical ventilation and oxygen supplementation. This respiratory disease (later named “old BPD”) occurred in relatively large premature newborn and, from a pathological standpoint, it was characterized by intense airway inflammation, disruption of normal pulmonary structures and lung fibrosis.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is one of the most important sequelae of premature birth and the most common form of chronic lung disease of infancy. From a clinical standpoint BPD subjects are characterized by recurrent respiratory symptoms, which are very frequent during the first years of life and, although becoming less severe as children grow up, they remain more common than in term-born controls throughout childhood, adolescence and into adulthood. From a functional point of view BPD subjects show a significant airflow limitation that persists during adolescence and adulthood and they may experience an earlier and steeper decline in lung function during adulthood. Interestingly, patients born prematurely but not developing BPD usually fare better, but they too have airflow limitations during childhood and later on, suggesting that also prematurity per se has life-long detrimental effects on pulmonary function. For the time being, little is known about the presence and nature of pathological mechanisms underlying the clinical and functional picture presented by BPD survivors. Nonetheless, recent data suggest the presence of persistent neutrophilic airway inflammation and oxidative stress and it has been suggested that BPD may be sustained in the long term by inflammatory pathogenic mechanisms similar to those underlying COPD. This hypothesis is intriguing but more pathological data are needed. A better understanding of these pathogenetic mechanisms, in fact, may be able to orient the development of novel targeted therapies or prevention strategies to improve the overall respiratory health of BPD patients.

We have a limited understanding of the presence and nature of pathological mechanisms in the lung of BPD survivors. The possible role of asthma-like inflammation has been investigated because BPD subjects often present with recurrent wheezing and other symptoms resembling asthma during their childhood and adolescence. But BPD subjects have normal or lower than normal exhaled nitric oxide levels and exhaled air temperatures, whereas they are higher than normal in asthmatic patients.

Of all obstructive lung diseases in humans, BPD has the earliest onset and is possibly the longest lasting. Given its frequent association with other conditions related to preterm birth (e.g. growth retardation, pulmonary hypertension, neurodevelopmental delay, hearing defects, and retinopathy of prematurity), it often warrants a multidisciplinary management.

Effects of Sustained Lung Inflation, a lung recruitment maneuver in primary acute respiratory distress syndrome, in respiratory and cerebral outcomes in preterm infants

Chiara Grasso, Pietro Sciacca, Valentina Giacchi, Caterina Carpinato, et al.
Early Human Development 91 (2015) 71–75
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2014.12.002

Background: Sustained Lung Inflation (SLI) is a maneuver of lung recruitment in preterm newborns at birth that can facilitate the achieving of larger inflation volumes, leading to the clearance of lung fluid and formation of functional residual capacity (FRC). Aim: To investigate if Sustained Lung Inflation (SLI) reduces the need of invasive procedures and iatrogenic risks. Study design: 78 newborns (gestational age ≤ 34 weeks, weighing ≤ 2000 g) who didn’t breathe adequately at birth and needed to receive SLI in addition to other resuscitation maneuvers (2010 guidelines). Subjects: 78 preterm infants born one after the other in our department of Neonatology of Catania University from 2010 to 2012. Outcome measures: The need of intubation and surfactant, the ventilation required, radiological signs, the incidence of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), periventricular leukomalacia, retinopathy in prematurity from III to IV plus grades, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, patent ductus arteriosus, pneumothorax and necrotizing enterocolitis. Results: In the SLI group infants needed less intubation in the delivery room (6% vs 21%; p b 0.01), less invasive mechanical ventilation (14% vs 55%; p ≤ 0.001) and shorter duration of ventilation (9.1 days vs 13.8 days; p ≤ 0.001). There wasn’t any difference for nasal continuous positive airway pressure (82% vs 77%; p = 0.43); but there was less surfactant administration (54% vs 85%; p ≤ 0.001) and more infants received INSURE (40% vs 29%; p=0.17). We didn’t found any differences in the outcomes, except for more mild intraventricular hemorrhage in the SLI group (23% vs 14%; p = 0.15; OR= 1.83). Conclusion: SLI is easier to perform even with a single operator, it reduces the necessity of more complicated maneuvers and surfactant without statistically evident adverse effects.

Long-term respiratory consequences of premature birth at less than 32 weeks of gestation

Anne Greenough
Early Human Development 89 (2013) S25–S27
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2013.07.004

Chronic respiratory morbidity is a common adverse outcome of very premature birth, particularly in infants who had developed bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Prematurely born infants who had BPD may require supplementary oxygen at home for many months and affected infants have increased healthcare utilization until school age. Chest radiograph abnormalities are common; computed tomography of the chest gives predictive information in children with ongoing respiratory problems. Readmission to hospital is common, particularly for those who have BPD and suffer respiratory syncytial virus lower respiratory infections (RSV LRTIs). Recurrent respiratory symptoms requiring treatment are common and are associated with evidence of airways obstruction and gas trapping. Pulmonary function improves with increasing age, but children with BPD may have ongoing airflow limitation. Lung function abnormalities may be more severe in those who had RSV LRTIs, although this may partly be explained by worse premorbid lung function. Worryingly, lung function may deteriorate during the first year. Longitudinal studies are required to determine if there is catch up growth.

Long-term pulmonary outcomes of patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Anita Bhandari and Sharon McGrath-Morrow
Seminars in Perinatology 37 (2013)132–137
http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.semperi.2013.01.010

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the commonest cause of chronic lung disease in infancy. The incidence of BPD has remained unchanged despite many advances in neonatal care. BPD starts in the neonatal period but its effects can persist long term. Premature infants with BPD have a greater incidence of hospitalization, and continue to have a greater respiratory morbidity and need for respiratory medications, compared to those without BPD. Lung function abnormalities, especially small airway abnormalities, often persist. Even in the absence of clinical symptoms, BPD survivors have persistent radiological abnormalities and presence of emphysema has been reported on chest computed tomography scans. Concern regarding their exercise tolerance remains. Long-term effects of BPD are still unknown, but given reports of a more rapid decline in lung function and their susceptibility to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease phenotype with aging, it is imperative that lung function of survivors of BPD be closely monitored.

Neonatal ventilation strategies and long-term respiratory outcomes

Sandeep Shetty, Anne Greenough
Early Human Development 90 (2014) 735–739
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2014.08.020

Long-term respiratory morbidity is common, particularly in those born very prematurely and who have developed bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), but it does occur in those without BPD and in infants born at term. A variety of neonatal strategies have been developed, all with short-term advantages, but meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated that only volume-targeted ventilation and prophylactic high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) may reduce BPD. Few RCTs have incorporated long-term follow-up, but one has demonstrated that prophylactic HFOV improves respiratory and functional outcomes at school age, despite not reducing BPD. Results from other neonatal interventions have demonstrated that any impact on BPD may not translate into changes in long-term outcomes. All future neonatal ventilation RCTs should have long-term outcomes rather than BPD as their primary outcome if they are to impact on clinical practice.

Prediction of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome in term pregnancies by assessment of fetal lung volume and pulmonary artery resistance index

Mohamed Laban, GM Mansour, MSE Elsafty, AS Hassanin, SS EzzElarab
International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 128 (2015) 246–250
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2014.09.018

Objective: To develop reference cutoff values for mean fetal lung volume (FLV) and pulmonary artery resistance index (PA-RI) for prediction of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in low-risk term pregnancies. Methods: As part of a cross-sectional study, women aged 20–35 years were enrolled and admitted to a tertiary hospital in Cairo, Egypt, for elective repeat cesarean at 37–40 weeks of pregnancy between January 1, 2012, and July 31, 2013. FLV was calculated by virtual organ computer-aided analysis, and PA-RI was measured by Doppler ultrasonography before delivery. Results: A total of 80 women were enrolled. Neonatal RDS developed in 11 (13.8%) of the 80 newborns. Compared with neonates with RDS, healthy neonates had significantly higher FLVs (P b 0.001) and lower PA-RIs (P b 0.001). Neonatal RDS is less likely with FLV of at least 32 cm³ or PA-RI less than or equal to 0.74. Combining these two measures improved the accuracy of prediction. Conclusion: The use of either FLV or PA-RI predicted neonatal RDS. The predictive value increased when these two measures were combined

Pulmonary surfactant – a front line of lung host defense, 2003 JCI0318650.f2

Pulmonary hypertension in bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Sara K.Berkelhamer, Karen K.Mestan, and Robin H. Steinhorn
Seminars In Perinatology 37 (2013)124–131
http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.semperi.2013.01.009

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common complication of neonatal respiratory diseases, including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), and recent studies have increased aware- ness that PH worsens the clinical course, morbidity and mortality of BPD. Recent evidence indicates that up to 18% of all extremely low-birth-weight infants will develop some degree of PH during their hospitalization, and the incidence rises to 25–40% of the infants with established BPD. Risk factors are not yet well understood, but new evidence shows that fetal growth restriction is a significant predictor of PH. Echocardiography remains the primary method for evaluation of BPD-associated PH, and the development of standardized screening timelines and techniques for identification of infants with BPD-associated PH remains an important ongoing topic of investigation. The use of pulmonary vasodilator medications, such as nitric oxide, sildenafil, and others, in the BPD population is steadily growing, but additional studies are needed regarding their long-term safety and efficacy.
An update on pharmacologic approaches to bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Sailaja Ghanta, Kristen Tropea Leeman, and Helen Christou
Seminars In Perinatology 37 (2013)115–123
http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.semperi.2013.01.008

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most prevalent long-term morbidity in surviving extremely preterm infants and is linked to increased risk of reactive airways disease, pulmonary hypertension, post-neonatal mortality, and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. BPD affects approximately 20% of premature newborns, and up to 60% of premature infants born before completing 26 weeks of gestation. It is characterized by the need for assisted ventilation and/or supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks postmenstrual age. Approaches to prevention and treatment of BPD have evolved with improved understanding of its pathogenesis. This review will focus on recent advancements and detail current research in pharmacotherapy for BPD. The evidence for both current and potential future experimental therapies will be reviewed in detail. As our understanding of the complex and multifactorial pathophysiology of BPD changes, research into these current and future approaches must continue to evolve.

Methylxanthines

Diuretics and bronchodilators

Corticosteroids

Macrolide antibiotics

Recombinant human Clara cell 10-kilodalton protein(rhCC10)

Vitamin A

Surfactant

Leukotriene receptor antagonist

Pulmonary vasodilators

Skeletal and Muscle

Skeletal Stem Cells in Space and Time

Moustapha Kassem and Paolo Bianco
Cell Jan 15, 2015; 160: 17-19
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.12.034

The nature, biological characteristics, and contribution to organ physiology of skeletal stem cells are not completely determined. Chan et al. and Worthley et al. demonstrate that a stem cell for skeletal tissues, and a system of more restricted, downstream progenitors, can be identified in mice and demonstrate its role in skeletal tissue maintenance and regeneration.

The groundbreaking concept that bone, cartilage, marrow adipocytes, and hematopoiesis-supporting stroma could originate from a common progenitor and putative stem cell was surprising at the time when it was formulated (Owen and Friedenstein, 1988). The putative stem cell, nonhematopoietic in nature, would be found in the postnatal bone marrow stroma, generate tissues previously thought of as foreign to each other, and support the turnover of tissues and organs that self-renew at a much slower rate compared to other tissues associated with stem cells (blood, epithelia). This concept also connected bone and bone marrow as parts of a single-organ system, implying their functional interplay. For many years, the evidence underpinning the concept has been incomplete.

While multipotency of stromal progenitors has been demonstrated by in vivo transplantation experiments, self-renewal, the defining property of a stem cell, has not been easily demonstrated until recently in humans (Sacchetti et al., 2007) and mice (Mendez-Ferrer et al., 2010). Meanwhile, a confusing and plethoric terminology has been introduced into the literature, which diverted and confounded the search for a skeletal stem cell and its physiological significance (Bianco et al., 2013).

Two studies in this issue of Cell (Chan et al., 2015; Worthley et al., 2015), using a combination of rigorous single-cell analyses and lineage tracing technologies, mark significant steps toward rectifying the course of skeletal stem cell discovery by making several important points, within and beyond skeletal physiology.

First, a stem cell for skeletal tissues, and a system of more restricted, downstream progenitors can in fact be identified and linked to defined phenotype(s) in the mouse. The system is framed conceptually, and approached experimentally, similar to the hematopoietic system.

Second, based on its assayable functions and potential, the stem cell at the top of the hierarchy is defined as a skeletal stem cell (SSC). As noted earlier (Sacchetti et al., 2007) (Bianco et al., 2013), this term clarifies, well beyond semantics, that the range of tissues that the self-renewing stromal progenitor (originally referred to as an ‘‘osteogenic’’ or ‘‘stromal’’ stem cell) (Owen and Friedenstein, 1988) can actually generate in vivo, overlaps with the range of tissues that make up the skeleton.

Third, these cells are spatially restricted, local residents of the bone/bone marrow organ. The systemic circulation is not a sizable contributor to their recruitment to locally deployed functions.

Fourth, a native skeletogenic potential is inherent to the system of progenitor/ stem cells found in the skeleton, and internally regulated by bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling. This is reflected in the expression of regulators and antagonists of BMP signaling within the system, highlighting potential feedback mechanisms modulating expansion or quiescence of specific cell compartments.

Fifth, in cells isolated from other tissues, an assayable skeletogenic potential is not inherent: it can only be induced de novo by BMP reprogramming. These two studies (Chan et al., 2015, Worthley et al., 2015) corroborate the classical concept of ‘‘determined’’ and ‘‘inducible’’ skeletal progenitors (Owen and Friedenstein, 1988): the former residing in the skeleton, the latter found in nonskeletal tissues; the former capable of generating skeletal tissues, in vivo and spontaneously, the latter requiring reprogramming signals in order to acquire a skeletogenic capacity; the former operating in physiological bone formation, the latter in unwanted, ectopic bone formation in diseases such as fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva.

To optimize our ability to obtain specific skeletal tissues for medical application, the study by Chan et al. offers a glimpse of another facet of the biology of SSC lineages and progenitors. Chan et al. show that a homogeneous cell population inherently committed to chondrogenesis can alter its output to generate bone if cotransplanted with multipotent progenitors. Conversely, osteogenic cells can be shifted to a chondrogenic fate by blockade of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, consistent with the avascular and hypoxic milieu of cartilage. This has two important implications:

commitment is flexible in the system;
the choir is as important as the soloist and can modulate the solo tune.

Reversibility and population behavior thus emerge as two features that may be characteristic, albeit not unique, of the stromal system, resonating with conceptually comparable evidence in the human system.

The two studies by Chan et al. and Worthely et al. emphasize the relevance not only of their new data, but also of a proper concept of a skeletal stem cell per se, for proper clinical use. Confusion arising from improper conceptualization of skeletal stem cells has markedly limited clinical development of skeletal stem cell biology.

Gremlin 1 Identifies a Skeletal Stem Cell with Bone, Cartilage, and Reticular Stromal Potential

Daniel L. Worthley, Michael Churchill, Jocelyn T. Compton, Yagnesh Tailor, et al.
Cell, Jan 15, 2015; 160: 269–284
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.11.042

The stem cells that maintain and repair the postnatal skeleton remain undefined. One model suggests that perisinusoidal mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) give rise to osteoblasts, chondrocytes, marrow stromal cells, and adipocytes, although the existence of these cells has not been proven through fate-mapping experiments. We demonstrate here that expression of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) antagonist gremlin 1 defines a population of osteochondroreticular (OCR) stem cells in the bone marrow. OCR stem cells self-renew and generate osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and reticular marrow stromal cells, but not adipocytes. OCR stem cells are concentrated within the metaphysis of long bones not in the perisinusoidal space and are needed for bone development, bone remodeling, and fracture repair. Grem1 expression also identifies intestinal reticular stem cells (iRSCs) that are cells of origin for the periepithelial intestinal mesenchymal sheath. Grem1 expression identifies distinct connective tissue stem cells in both the bone (OCR stem cells) and the intestine (iRSCs).

Identification and Specification of the Mouse Skeletal Stem Cell

Charles K.F. Chan, Eun Young Seo, James Y. Chen, David Lo, A McArdle, et al.
Cell, Jan 15, 2015; 160: 285–298
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.12.002

How are skeletal tissues derived from skeletal stem cells? Here, we map bone, cartilage, and stromal development from a population of highly pure, postnatal skeletal stem cells (mouse skeletal stem cells, mSSCs) to their downstream progenitors of bone, cartilage, and stromal tissue. We then investigated the transcriptome of the stem/progenitor cells for unique gene-expression patterns that would indicate potential regulators of mSSC lineage commitment. We demonstrate that mSSC niche factors can be potent inducers of osteogenesis, and several specific combinations of recombinant mSSC niche factors can activate mSSC genetic programs in situ, even in nonskeletal tissues, resulting in de novo formation of cartilage or bone and bone marrow stroma. Inducing mSSC formation with soluble factors and subsequently regulating the mSSC niche to specify its differentiation toward bone, cartilage, or stromal cells could represent a paradigm shift in the therapeutic regeneration of skeletal tissues.

Bone mesenchymal development

The bone-remodeling cycle

Nuclear receptor modulation – Role of coregulators in selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) actions

Qin Feng, Bert W. O’Malley
Steroids 90 (2014) 39–43
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.steroids.2014.06.008

Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) are a class of small-molecule chemical compounds that bind to estrogen receptor (ER) ligand binding domain (LBD) with high affinity and selectively modulate ER transcriptional activity in a cell- and tissue-dependent manner. The prototype of SERMs is tamoxifen, which has agonist activity in bone, but has antagonist activity in breast. Tamoxifen can reduce the risk of breast cancer and, at same time, prevent osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Tamoxifen is widely prescribed for treatment and prevention of breast cancer. Mechanistically the activity of SERMs is determined by the selective recruitment of coactivators and corepressors in different cell types and tissues. Therefore, understanding the coregulator function is the key to understanding the tissue selective activity of SERMs.

Hematopoietic

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Arrival Triggers Dynamic Remodeling of the Perivascular Niche

Owen J. Tamplin, Ellen M. Durand, Logan A. Carr, Sarah J. Childs, et al.
Cell, Jan 15, 2015; 160: 241–252
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.12.032

Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) can reconstitute and sustain the entire blood system. We generated a highly specific transgenic reporter of HSPCs in zebrafish. This allowed us to perform high resolution live imaging on endogenous HSPCs not currently possible in mammalian bone marrow. Using this system, we have uncovered distinct interactions between single HSPCs and their niche. When an HSPC arrives in the perivascular niche, a group of endothelial cells remodel to form a surrounding pocket. This structure appears conserved in mouse fetal liver. Correlative light and electron microscopy revealed that endothelial cells surround a single HSPC attached to a single mesenchymal stromal cell. Live imaging showed that mesenchymal stromal cells anchor HSPCs and orient their divisions. A chemical genetic screen found that the compound lycorine promotes HSPC-niche interactions during development and ultimately expands the stem cell pool into adulthood. Our studies provide evidence for dynamic niche interactions upon stem cell colonization.

Neonatal anemia

Sanjay Aher, Kedar Malwatkar, Sandeep Kadam
Seminars in Fetal & Neonatal Medicine (2008) 13, 239e247
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.siny.2008.02.009

Neonatal anemia and the need for red blood cell (RBC) transfusions are very common in neonatal intensive care units. Neonatal anemia can be due to blood loss, decreased RBC production, or increased destruction of erythrocytes. Physiologic anemia of the newborn and anemia of prematurity are the two most common causes of anemia in neonates. Phlebotomy losses result in much of the anemia seen in extremely low birthweight infants (ELBW). Accepting a lower threshold level for transfusion in ELBW infants can prevent these infants being exposed to multiple donors.

Management of anemia in the newborn

Naomi L.C. Luban
Early Human Development (2008) 84, 493–498
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2008.06.007

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusions are administered to neonates and premature infants using poorly defined indications that may result in unintentional adverse consequences. Blood products are often manipulated to limit potential adverse events, and meet the unique needs of neonates with specific diagnoses. Selection of RBCs for small volume (5–20 mL/kg) transfusions and for massive transfusion, defined as extracorporeal bypass and exchange transfusions, are of particular concern to neonatologists. Mechanisms and therapeutic treatments to avoid transfusion are another area of significant investigation. RBCs collected in anticoagulant additive solutions and administered in small aliquots to neonates over the shelf life of the product can decrease donor exposure and has supplanted the use of fresh RBCs where each transfusion resulted in a donor exposure. The safety of this practice has been documented and procedures established to aid transfusion services in ensuring that these products are available. Less well established are the indications for transfusion in this population; hemoglobin or hematocrit alone are insufficient indications unless clinical criteria (e.g. oxygen desaturation, apnea and bradycardia, poor weight gain) also augment the justification to transfuse. Comorbidities increase oxygen consumption demands in these infants and include bronchopulmonary dysplasia, rapid growth and cardiac dysfunction. Noninvasive methods or assays have been developed to measure tissue oxygenation; however, a true measure of peripheral oxygen offloading is needed to improve transfusion practice and determine the value of recombinant products that stimulate erythropoiesis. The development of such noninvasive methods is especially important since randomized, controlled clinical trials to support specific practices are often lacking, due at least in part, to the difficulty of performing such studies in tiny infants.
The Effect of Blood Transfusion on the Hemoglobin Oxygen Dissociation Curve of Very Early Preterm Infants During the First Week of Life

Virginie De HaUeux, Anita Truttmann, Carmen Gagnon, and Harry Bard
Seminars in Perinatology, 2002; 26(6): 411-415
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1053/sper.2002.37313

This study was conducted during the first week of life to determine the changes in Ps0 (PO2 required to achieve a saturation of 50% at pH 7.4 and 37~ and the proportions of fetal hemoglobin (I-IbF) and adult hemoglobin (HbA) prior to and after transfusion in very early preterm infants. Eleven infants with a gestational age <–27 weeks have been included in study. The hemoglobin dissociation curve and the Ps0 was determined by Hemox-analyser. Liquid chromatography was also performed to determine the proportions of HbF and HbA. The mean gestational age of the 11 infants was 25.1 weeks (-+1 weeks) and their mean birth weight was 736 g (-+125 g). They received 26.9 mL/kg of packed red cells. The mean Ps0 prior and after transfusion was 18.5 +- 0.8 and 21.0 + 1 mm Hg (P = .0003) while the mean percentage of HbF was 92.9 -+ 1.1 and 42.6 -+ 5.7%, respectively. The data of this study show a decrease of hemoglobin oxygen affinity as a result of blood transfusion in very early preterm infants prone to O 2 toxicity. The shift in HbO 2 curve after transfusion should be taken into consideration when oxygen therapy is being regulated for these infants.

Effect of neonatal hemoglobin concentration on long-term outcome of infants affected by fetomaternal hemorrhage

Mizuho Kadooka, H Katob, A Kato, S Ibara, H Minakami, Yuko Maruyama
Early Human Development 90 (2014) 431–434
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2014.05.010

Background: Fetomaternal hemorrhage (FMH) can cause severe morbidity. However, perinatal risk factors for long-term poor outcome due to FMH have not been extensively studied. Aims: To determine which FMH infants are likely to have neurological sequelae.
Study design: A single-center retrospective observational study. Perinatal factors, including demographic characteristics, Kleihauer–Betke test, blood gas analysis, and neonatal blood hemoglobin concentration ([Hb]), were analyzed in association with long-term outcomes.
Subjects: All 18 neonates referred to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Kagoshima City Hospital and diagnosed with FMH during a 15-year study period. All had a neonatal [Hb] b7.5 g/dL and 15 of 17 neonates tested had Kleihauer–Betke test result N4.0%.
Outcome measures: Poor long-term outcome was defined as any of the following determined at 12 month old or more: cerebral palsy, mental retardation, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and epilepsy.
Results: Nine of the 18 neonates exhibited poor outcomes. Among demographic characteristics and blood variables compared between two groups with poor and favorable outcomes, significant differences were observed in [Hb] (3.6 ± 1.4 vs. 5.4 ± 1.1 g/dL, P = 0.01), pH (7.09 ± 0.11 vs. 7.25 ± 0.13, P = 0.02) and base deficits (17.5 ± 5.4 vs. 10.4 ± 6.0 mmol/L, P = 0.02) in neonatal blood, and a number of infants with [Hb] ≤ 4.5 g/dL (78%[7/9] vs. 22%[2/9], P= 0.03), respectively. The base deficit in neonatal arterial blood increased significantly with decreasing neonatal [Hb].
Conclusions: Severe anemia causing severe base deficit is associated with neurological sequelae in FMH infants

Clinical and hematological presentation among Indian patients with common hemoglobin variants

Khushnooma Italia, Dipti Upadhye, Pooja Dabke, Harshada Kangane, et al.
Clinica Chimica Acta 431 (2014) 46–51
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2014.01.028

Background: Co-inheritance of structural hemoglobin variants like HbS, HbD Punjab and HbE can lead to a variable clinical presentation and only few cases have been described so far in the Indian population.
Methods: We present the varied clinical and hematological presentation of 22 cases (HbSD Punjab disease-15, HbSE disease-4, HbD Punjab E disease-3) referred to us for diagnosis.
Results: Two of the 15 HbSDPunjab disease patients had moderate crisis, one presented with mild hemolytic anemia; however, the other 12 patients had a severe clinical presentation with frequent blood transfusion requirements, vaso occlusive crisis, avascular necrosis of the femur and febrile illness. The 4 HbSE disease patients had a mild to moderate presentation. Two of the 3 HbD Punjab E patients were asymptomatic with one patient’s sibling having a mild presentation. The hemoglobin levels of the HbSD Punjab disease patients ranged from 2.3 to 8.5 g/dl and MCV from 76.3 to 111.6 fl. The hemoglobin levels of the HbD Punjab E and HbSE patients ranged from 10.8 to 11.9 and 9.8 to 10.0 g/dl whereas MCV ranged from 67.1 to 78.2 and 74.5 to 76.0 fl respectively.
Conclusions: HbSD Punjab disease patients should be identified during newborn screening programs and managed in a way similar to sickle cell disease. Couple at risk of having HbSD Punjab disease children may be given the option of prenatal diagnosis in subsequent pregnancies.

Sickle cell anemia is the most common hemoglobinopathy seen across the world. It is caused by a point mutation in the 6th codon of the beta (β) globin gene leading to the substitution of the amino acid glutamic acid to valine. The sickle gene is frequently seen in Africa, some Mediterranean countries, India, Middle East—Saudi Arabia and North America. In India the prevalence of hemoglobin S (HbS) carriers varies from 2 to 40% among different population groups and HbS is mainly seen among the scheduled tribe, scheduled caste and other backward class populations in the western, central and parts of eastern and southern India. Sickle cell anemia has a variable clinical presentation in India with the most severe clinical presentation seen in central India whereas patients in the western region show a mild to moderate clinical presentation.

Hemoglobin D Punjab (HbD Punjab) (also known as HbD Los-Angeles, HbD Portugal, HbD North Carolina, D Oak Ridge and D Chicago) is another hemoglobin variant due to a point mutation in codon 121 of the β globin gene resulting in the substitution of the amino acid glutamic acid to glycine. It is a widely distributed hemoglobin with a relatively low prevalence of 0.86% in the Indo-Pak subcontinent, 1–3% in north-western India, 1–3% in the Black population in the Caribbean and North America and has also been reported among the English. It accounts for 55.6% of all the Hb variants seen in the Xenjiang province of China.

Hemoglobin E (HbE) is the most common abnormal hemoglobin in Southeast Asia. In India, the frequency ranges from 4% to 51% in the north eastern region and 3% to 4% in West Bengal in the east. The HbE mutation (β26 GAG→AAG) creates an alternative splice site and the βE chain is insufficiently synthesized, hence the phenotype of this disorder is that of a mild form of β thalassemia.

Though these 3 structural variants are prevalent in different regions of India, their interaction is increasingly seen in all states of the country due to migration of people to different regions for a better livelihood. There are very few reports on interaction of these commonly seen Hb variants and the phenotypic–genotypic presentation of these cases is important for genetic counseling and management.

HbF of patients with HbSD Punjab disease with variable clinical severity. The HbF values of 4 patients are not included as they were post blood transfusion

The genotypes of the patients were confirmed by restriction enzyme digestion and ARMS (Fig). Patients 1 to 15 were characterized as compound heterozygous for HbS and HbD Punjab whereas patients 16 to 19 were characterized as compound heterozygous for HbS and HbE. Patient nos. 20 to 22 were characterized as compound heterozygous for HbE and HbD Punjab.

Molecular characterization of HbS and HbDPunjab by restriction enzyme digestion and of HbE by ARMS.

The 3 common β globin gene variants of hemoglobin, HbS, HbE and HbD Punjab are commonly seen in India, with HbS having a high prevalence in the central belt and some parts of western, eastern and southern India, HbE in the eastern and north eastern region whereas HbD is mostly seen in the north western part of India. These hemoglobin variants have been reported in different population groups. However, with migration and intermixing of the different populations from different geographic regions, occasional cases of HbSD Punjab and HbSE are being reported. There are several HbD variants like HbD Punjab, HbD Iran, HbD Ibadan. However, of these only HbD Punjab interacts with HbS to form a clinically significant condition as the glutamine residue facilitates polymerization of HbS. HbD Iran and HbD Ibadan are non-interacting and produce benign conditions like the sickle cell trait. The first case of HbSD Punjab disease was a brother and sister considered to have atypical sickle cell disease in 1934. This family was further reinvestigated and reported as the first case of HbD Los Angeles which has the same mutation as the HbD Punjab. Serjeant et al. reported HbD Punjab in an English parent in 6 out of 11 HbSD-Punjab disease cases. This has been suggested to be due to the stationing of nearly 50,000 British troops on the Indian continent for a period of 200 y and the introduction into Britain of their Anglo-Indian children.

HbSD Punjab disease shows a similar pattern to HbS homozygous on alkaline hemoglobin electrophoresis but can be differentiated on acid agar gel electrophoresis and on HPLC. In HbSD Punjab disease cases, the peripheral blood films show anisocytosis, poikilocytosis, target cells and irreversibly sickled cells. Values of HbF and HbA2 are similar to those in sickle homozygous cases. HbSD Punjab disease is characterized by a moderately severe hemolytic anemia.

Twenty-one cases of HbSDPunjab were reported by Serjeant of which 16 were reported by different workers among patients originating from Caucasian, Spanish, Australian, Irish, English, Portuguese, Black, American, Venezuelan, Caribbean, Mexican, Turkish and Jamaican backgrounds. Yavarian et al. 2009 reported a multi centric origin of HbD Punjab which in combination with HbS results in sickle cell disease. Patel et al. 2010 have also reported 12 cases of HbSD Punjab from the Orissa state of eastern India. Majority of these cases were symptomatic, presenting with chronic hemolytic anemia and frequent painful crises.

HbF levels >20% were seen in 4 out of our 11 clinically severe patients of HbSD-Punjab disease with the mean HbF levels of 16.8% in 8 clinically severe patients, while 3 clinically severe patients were post transfused. However, the 3 patients with a mild to moderate clinical presentation showed a mean HbF level of 8.6%. This is in contrast to the relatively milder clinical presentation associated with high HbF seen in patients with sickle cell anemia. This was also reported by Adekile et al. 2010 in 5 cases of HbS-DLos Angeles where high HbF did not ameliorate the severe clinical presentation seen in these patients.

These 15 cases of HbSD^Punjab disease give us an overall idea of the severe clinical presentation of the disease in different regions of India. However the HbD^PunjabE cases were milder or asymptomatic and the HbSE cases were moderately symptomatic. Since most of the cases of HbSD^Punjab disease were clinically severe, it is important to pick up these cases during newborn screening and enroll them into a comprehensive care program with the other sickle cell disease patients with introduction of therapeutic interventions such as penicillin prophylaxis if required and pneumococcal immunization. In fact, 2 of our cases (No. 6 and 7) were identified during newborn screening for sickle cell disorders. The parents can be given information on home care and educated to detect symptoms that may lead to serious medical emergencies. The parents of these patients as well as the couples who are at risk of having a child with HbSD^Punjab disease could also be counseled about the option of prenatal diagnosis in subsequent pregnancies. It is thus important to document the clinical and hematological presentation of compound heterozygotes with these common β globin chain variants.

Common Hematologic Problems in the Newborn Nursery

Jon F. Watchko
Pediatr Clin N Am – (2015) xxx-xxx
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2014.11.011

Common RBC disorders include hemolytic disease of the newborn, anemia, and polycythemia. Another clinically relevant hematologic issue in neonates to be covered herein is thrombocytopenia. Disorders of white blood cells will not be reviewed.

KEY POINTS

(1) Early clinical jaundice or rapidly developing hyperbilirubinemia are often signs of hemolysis, the differential diagnosis of which commonly includes immune-mediated disorders, red-cell enzyme deficiencies, and red-cell membrane defects.

(2) Knowledge of the maternal blood type and antibody screen is critical in identifying non-ABO alloantibodies in the maternal serum that may pose a risk for severe hemolytic disease in the newborn.

(3) Moderate to severe thrombocytopenia in an otherwise well-appearing newborn strongly suggests immune-mediated (alloimmune or autoimmune) thrombocytopenia.

Hemolytic conditions in the neonate

1. Immune-mediated (positive direct Coombs test) a. Rhesus blood group: Anti-D, -c, -C, -e, -E, CW, and several others

b. Non-Rhesus blood groups: Kell, Duffy, Kidd, Xg, Lewis, MNS, and others

c. ABO blood group: Anti-A, -B

2. Red blood cell (RBC) enzyme defects

a. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency

b. Pyruvate kinase deficiency

c. Others

3. RBC membrane defects

a. Hereditary spherocytosis

b. Elliptocytosis

c. Stomatocytosis

d. Pyknocytosis

e. Others

4. Hemoglobinopathies

a. alpha-thalassemia

b. gamma-thalassemia

Standard maternal antibody screeningAlloantibody Blood Group

D, C, c, E, e, f, CW, V Rhesus

K, k, Kpa, Jsa Kell

Fya, Fyb Duffy

Jka, Jkb Kidd

Xga Xg

Lea, Leb Lewis

S, s, M, N MNS

P1 P

Lub Lutheran

Non-ABO alloantibodies reported to cause moderate to severe hemolytic disease of the newbornWithin Rh system: Anti-D, -c, -C, -Cw, -Cx, -e, -E, -Ew, -ce, -Ces, -Rh29, -Rh32, -Rh42, -f, -G, -Goa, -Bea, -Evans, -Rh17, -Hro, -Hr, -Tar, -Sec, -JAL, -STEM

Outside Rh system: Anti-LW, -K, -k, -Kpa, -Kpb, -Jka, -Jsa, -Jsb, -Ku, -K11, -K22, -Fya, -M, -N, -S, -s, -U, -PP1 pk, -Dib, -Far, -MUT, -En3, -Hut, -Hil, -Vel, -MAM, -JONES, -HJK, -REIT

Red Blood Cell Enzymopathies

G6PD9 and pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency are the 2 most common red-cell enzyme disorders associated with marked neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Of these, G6PD deficiency is the more frequently encountered and it remains an important cause of kernicterus worldwide, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the prevalence in Western countries a reflection in part of immigration patterns and intermarriage. The risk of kernicterus in G6PD deficiency also relates to the potential for unexpected rapidly developing extreme hyperbilirubinemia in this disorder associated with acute severe hemolysis.

Red Blood Cell Membrane Defects

Establishing a diagnosis of RBC membrane defects is classically based on the development of Coombs-negative hyperbilirubinemia, a positive family history, and abnormal RBC smear, albeit it is often difficult because newborns normally exhibit a marked variation in red-cell membrane size and shape. Spherocytes, however, are not often seen on RBC smears of hematologically normal newborns and this morphologic abnormality, when prominent, may yield a diagnosis of hereditary spherocytosis (HS) in the immediate neonatal period. Given that approximately 75% of families affected with hereditary spherocytosis manifest an autosomal dominant phenotype, a positive family history can often be elicited and provide further support for this diagnosis. More recently, Christensen and Henry highlighted the use of an elevated mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (>36.0 g/dL) and/or elevated ratio of MCHC to mean corpuscular volume, the latter they term the “neonatal HS index” (>0.36, likely >0.40) as screening tools for HS. An index of greater than 0.36 had 97% sensitivity, greater than 99% specificity, and greater than 99% negative predictive value for identifying HS in neonates. Christensen and colleagues also provided a concise update of morphologic RBC features that may be helpful in diagnosing this and other underlying hemolytic conditions in newborns.

The diagnosis of HS can be confirmed using the incubated osmotic fragility test when coupled with fetal red-cell controls or eosin-5-maleimide flow cytometry. One must rule out symptomatic ABO hemolytic disease by performing a direct Coombs test, as infants so affected also may manifest prominent micro-spherocytosis. Moreover, HS and symptomatic ABO hemolytic disease can occur in the same infant and result in severe hyperbilirubinemia and anemia. Of other red-cell membrane defects, only hereditary elliptocytosis, stomato-cytosis, and infantile pyknocytosis have been reported to exhibit significant hemolysis in the newborn period. Hereditary elliptocytosis and stomatocytosis are both rare. Infantile pyknocytosis, a transient red-cell membrane abnormality manifesting itself during the first few months of life, is more common.

Risk factors for bilirubin neurotoxicityIsoimmune hemolytic disease

G6PD deficiency

Asphyxia

Sepsis

Acidosis

Albumin less than 3.0 g/dL
Data from Maisels MJ, Bhutani VK, Bogen D, et al. Hyperbilirubinemia in the newborn infant > or 535 weeks’ gestation: an update with clarifications. Pediatrics 2009; 124:1193–8.

Polycythemia

Polycythemia (venous hematocrit 65%) in seen in infants across a range of conditions associated with active erythropoiesis or passive transfusion.76,77 They include, among others, placental insufficiency, the infant of a diabetic mother, recipient in twin-twin transfusion syndrome, and several aneuploidies, including trisomy. The clinical concern related to polycythemia is the risk for microcirculatory complications of hyperviscosity. However, determining which polycythemic infants are hyperviscous and when to intervene is a challenge.

Liver

Metabolic disorders presenting as liver disease

Germaine Pierre, Efstathia Chronopoulou
Paediatrics and Child Health 2013; 23(12): 509-514
The liver is a highly metabolically active organ and many inherited metabolic disorders have hepatic manifestations. The clinical presentation in these patients cannot usually be distinguished from liver disease due to acquired causes like infection, drugs or hematological disorders. Manifestations include acute and chronic liver failure, cholestasis and hepatomegaly. Metabolic causes of acute liver failure in childhood can be as high as 35%. Certain disorders like citrin deficiency and Niemann-Pick C disease may present in infancy with self-limiting cholestasis before presenting in later childhood or adulthood with irreversible disease. This article reviews important details from the history and clinical examination when evaluating the pediatric patient with suspected metabolic disease, the specialist and genetic tests when investigating, and also discusses specific disorders, their clinical course and treatment. The role of liver transplantation is also briefly discussed. Increased awareness of this group of disorders is important as in many cases, early diagnosis leads to early intervention with improved outcome. Diagnosis also allows genetic counselling and future family planning.

Adult liver disorders caused by inborn errors of metabolism: Review and update

Sirisak Chanprasert, Fernando Scaglia
Molecular Genetics and Metabolism 114 (2015) 1–10
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ymgme.2014.10.011

Inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) are a group of genetic diseases that have protean clinical manifestations and can involve several organ systems. The age of onset is highly variable but IEMs afflict mostly the pediatric population. However, in the past decades, the advancement in management and new therapeutic approaches have led to the improvement in IEM patient care. As a result, many patients with IEMs are surviving into adulthood and developing their own set of complications. In addition, some IEMs will present in adulthood. It is important for internists to have the knowledge and be familiar with these conditions because it is predicted that more and more adult patients with IEMs will need continuity of care in the near future. The review will focus on Wilson disease, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, citrin deficiency, and HFE-associated hemochromatosis which are typically found in the adult population. Clinical manifestations and pathophysiology, particularly those that relate to hepatic disease as well as diagnosis and management will be discussed in detail.

Inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) are a group of genetic diseases characterized by abnormal processing of biochemical reactions, resulting in accumulation of toxic substances that could interfere with normal organ functions, and failure to synthesize essential compounds. IEMs are individually rare, but collectively numerous. The clinical presentations cover a broad spectrum and can involve almost any organ system. The age of onset is highly variable but IEMs afflict mostly the pediatric population.

Wilson disease is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder of copper metabolism. It is characterized by an abnormal accumulation of inorganic copper in various tissues, most notably in the liver and the brain, especially in the basal ganglia. The disease was first described in 1912 by Kinnier Wilson, and affects between 1 in 30,000 and 1 in 100,000 individuals. Clinical features are variable and depend on the extent and the severity of copper deposition. Typically, patients tend to develop hepatic disease at a younger age than the neuropsychiatric manifestations. Individuals withWilson disease eventually succumb to complications of end stage liver disease or become debilitated from neurological problems, if they are left untreated.

The clinical presentations of Wilson disease are varied affecting many organ systems. However, the overwhelming majority of cases display hepatic and neurologic symptoms. In general, patients with hepatic disease present between the first and second decades of life although patients as young as 3 years old or over 50 years old have also been reported. The most common modes of presentations are acute self-limited hepatitis and chronic active hepatitis that are indistinguishable from other hepatic disorders although liver aminotransferases are generally much lower than in autoimmune or viral hepatitis. Acute fulminant hepatic failure is less common but is observed in approximately 3% of all cases of acute liver failure. Symptoms of acute liver failure include jaundice, coagulopathy, and hepatic encephalopathy. Cirrhosis can develop over time and may be clinically silent. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is rarely associated with Wilson disease, but may occur in the setting of cirrhosis and chronic inflammation.

Copper is an essential element, and is required for the proper functioning of various proteins and enzymes. The total body content of copper in a healthy adult individual is approximately 70–100 mg, while the daily requirements are estimated to be between 1 and 5 mg. Absorption occurs in the small intestine. Copper is taken up to the hepatocytes via the copper transporter hTR1. Once inside the cell, copper is bound to various proteins including metallothionein and glutathione, however, it is the metal chaperone, ATOX1 that helps direct copper to the ATP7B protein for intracellular transport and excretion. At the steady state, copper will be bound to ATP7B and is then incorporated to ceruloplasmin and secreted into the systemic circulation. When the cellular copper concentration arises, ATP7B protein will be redistributed from the trans-Golgi network to the prelysosomal vesicles facilitating copper excretion into the bile. The molecular defects in ATP7B lead to a reduction of copper excretion. Excess copper is accumulated in the liver causing tissue injury. The rate of accumulation of copper varies among individuals, and it may depend on other factors such as alcohol consumption, or viral hepatitis infections. If the liver damage is not severe, patients will accumulate copper in various tissues including the brain, the kidney, the eyes, and the musculoskeletal system leading to clinical disease. A failure of copper to incorporate into ceruloplasmin leads to secretion of the unsteady protein that has a shorter half-life, resulting in the reduced concentrations of ceruloplasmin seen in most patients with Wilson disease.

Wilson disease used to be a progressive fatal condition during the first half of the 20th century because there was no effective treatment available at that time. Penicillamine was the first pharmacologic agent introduced in 1956 for treating this condition. Penicillamine is a sulfhydryl-bearing amino acid cysteine doubly substituted with methyl groups. This drug acts as a chelating agent that promotes the urinary excretion of copper. It is rapidly absorbed in the gastrointestinal track, and over 80% of circulating penicillamine is excreted via the kidneys. Although it is very effective, approximately 10%–50% of Wilson disease patients with neuropsychiatric presentations may experience worsening of their symptoms, and often times the worsening symptoms may not be reversible.

Alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency

Alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is one of the most common genetic liver diseases in children and adults, affecting 1 in 2000 to 1 in 3000 live births worldwide. It is transmitted in an autosomal co-dominant fashion with variable expressivity. Alpha1 antitrypsin (A1AT) is a member of the serine protease inhibitor (SERPIN) family. Its function is to counteract the proteolytic effect of neutrophil elastase and other neutrophil proteases. Mutations in the SERPINA1, the gene encoding A1AT, result in changes in the protein structure with the PiZZ phenotype being the most common cause of liver and lung disease-associated AATDs. Although, it classically causes early onset chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adults, liver disease characterized by chronic inflammation, hepatic fibrosis, and cirrhosis is not uncommon in the adult population. Decreased plasma concentration of A1AT predisposes lung tissue to be more susceptible to injury from protease enzymes. However, the underlying mechanism of liver injury is different, and is believed to be caused by accumulation of polymerized mutant A1AT in the hepatocyte endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Currently, there is no specific treatment for liver disease-associated AATD, but A1AT augmentation therapy is available for patients affected with pulmonary involvement.

A1AT is a single-chain, 52-kDa polypeptide of approximately 394 amino acids [56]. It is synthesized in the liver, circulates in the plasma, and functions as an inhibitor of neutrophil elastase and other proteases such as cathepsin G, and proteinase 3. A1AT has a globular shape composed of two central β sheets surrounded by a small β sheet and nine α helices. The pathophysiology underlying liver disease is thought to be a toxic gain-of-function mutation associated with the PiZZ phenotypes. This hypothesis has been supported by the fact that null alleles which produce no detectable plasma A1AT, are not associated with liver disease. In addition, the transgenic mouse model of AATD PiZZ developed periodic acid-Schiff-positive diastase-resistant intrahepatic globule early in life similar to AATD patients. The PiZZ phenotype results in the blockade of the final processing of A1AT in the liver, as only 15% of the A1AT reaches the circulation whereas 85% of non-secreted protein is accumulated in the hepatocytes.

Citrin deficiency

Citrin deficiency is a relatively newly-defined autosomal recessive disease. It encompasses two different sub-groups of patients, neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis caused by citrin deficiency (NICCD), and adult onset citrullinemia type 2 (CTLN 2).

AGC2 exports aspartate out of the mitochondrial matrix in exchange for glutamate and a proton. Thus, this protein has an important role in ureagenesis and gluconeogenesis. In CTLN2, a defect in this protein is believed to limit the supply of aspartate for the formation of argininosuccinate in the cytosol resulting in impairment of ureagenesis. Interestingly, the mouse model of citrin deficiency (Ctrn−/−) fails to develop symptoms of CTLN2 suggesting that the mitochondrial aspartate is not the only source of ureagenesis. However, it should be noted that the rodent liver expresses higher glycerol-phosphate shuttle activity than the human counterpart. With the intact glycerol-phosphate dehydrogenase, it can compensate for the deficiency of AGC2, as demonstrated by the AGC2 and glycerol-phosphate dehydrogenase double knock-out mice that exhibit similar features to those observed in human CTLN2.

HFE-associated hemochromatosis

HFE-associated hemochromatosis is an inborn error of iron metabolism characterized by excessive iron storage resulting in tissue and organ damage. It is the most common autosomal recessive disorder in the Caucasian population, affecting 0.3%–0.5% of individuals of Northern European descent. The term “hemochromatosis” was coined in 1889 by the German pathologist Friedrich Daniel Von Recklinghausen, who described it as bronze stain of organs caused by a blood borne pigment.

The classic clinical triad of cirrhosis, diabetes, and bronze skin pigmentation is rarely observed nowadays given the early recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of this condition. The most common presenting symptoms are nonspecific including weakness, lethargy, and arthralgia.

The liver is a major site of iron storage in healthy individuals and as such it is the organ that is universally affected in HFE-associated hemochromatosis. Elevation of liver aminotransferases indicative of hepatocyte injury is the most common mode of presentation and it can be indistinguishable from other causes of hepatitis. Approximately 15%–40% of patients with HFE-associated hemochromatosis have other liver conditions, including chronic viral hepatitis B or C infection, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and alcoholic liver disease.

The liver in haemochromatosis

Rune J. Ulvik
Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology xxx (2014) xxx–xxx
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2014.08.005

The review deals with genetic, regulatory and clinical aspects of iron homeostasis and hereditary hemochromatosis. Hemochromatosis was first described in the second half of the 19th century as a clinical entity characterized by excessive iron overload in the liver. Later, increased absorption of iron from the diet was identified as the pathophysiological hallmark. In the 1970s genetic evidence emerged supporting the apparent inheritable feature of the disease. And finally in 1996 a new “hemochromato-sis gene” called HFE was described which was mutated in about 85% of the patients. From the year2000 onward remarkable progress was made in revealing the complex molecular regulation of iron trafficking in the human body and its disturbance in hemochromatosis. The discovery of hepcidin and ferroportin and their interaction in regulating the release of iron from enterocytes and macrophages to plasma were important milestones. The discovery of new, rare variants of non-HFE-hemochromatosis was explained by mutations in the multicomponent signal transduction pathway controlling hepcidin transcription. Inhibited transcription induced by the altered function of mutated gene products, results in low plasma levels of hepcidin which facilitate entry of iron from enterocytes into plasma. In time this leads to progressive accumulation of iron and subsequently development of disease in the liver and other parenchymatous organs. Being the major site of excess iron storage and hepcidin synthesis the liver is a cornerstone in maintaining normal systemic iron homeostasis. Its central pathophysiological role in HFE-hemochromatosis with downgraded hepcidin synthesis, was recently shown by the finding that liver transplantation normalized the hepcidin levels in plasma and there was no sign of iron accumulation in the new liver.

Gastrointestinal

Decoding the enigma of necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants

Roberto Murgas Torrazza, Nan Li, Josef Neu
Pathophysiology 21 (2014) 21–27
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pathophys.2013.11.011

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is an enigmatic disease that affects primarily premature infants. It often occurs suddenly and when it occurs, treatment attempts at treatment often fail and results in death. If the infant survives, there is a significant risk of long term sequelae including neurodevelopmental delays. The pathophysiology of NEC is poorly understood and thus prevention has been difficult. In this review, we will provide an overview of why progress may be slow in our understanding of this disease, provide a brief review diagnosis, treatment and some of the current concepts about the pathophysiology of this disease.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) has been reported since special care units began to house preterm infants .With the advent of modern neonatal intensive care approximately 40 years ago, the occurrence and recognition of the disease markedly increased. It is currently the most common and deadly gastro-intestinal illness seen in preterm infants. Despite major efforts to better understand, treat and prevent this devastating disease, little if any progress has been made during these 4 decades. Underlying this lack of progress is the fact that what is termed “NEC” is likely more than one disease, or mimicked by other diseases, each with a different etiopathogenesis.

Human gut microbiome

Term or near term infants with “NEC” when compared to matched controls usually have occurrence of their disease in the first week after birth, have a significantly higher frequency of prolonged rupture of membranes, chorio-amnionitis, Apgar score <7 at 1 and 5 min, respiratory problems, congenital heart disease, hypoglycemia, and exchange transfusions. When a “NEC” like illness presents in term or near term infants, it should be noted that these are likely to be distinct in pathogenesis than the most common form of NEC and should be differentiated as such.

The infants who suffer primary ischemic necrosis are term or near term infants (although this can occur in preterms) who have concomitant congenital heart disease, often related to poor left ventricular output or obstruction. Other factors that have been associated with primary ischemia are maternal cocaine use, hyperviscosity caused by polycythemia or a severe antecedent hypoxic–ischemic event. Whether the dis-ease entity that results from this should be termed NEC can be debated on historical grounds, but the etiology is clearly different from the NEC seen in most preterm infants.

The pathogenesis of NEC is uncertain, and the etiology seems to be multifactorial. The “classic” form of NEC is highly associated with prematurity; intestinal barrier immaturity, immature immune response, and an immature regulation of intestinal blood flow (Fig.). Although genetics appears to play a role, the environment, especially a dysbiotic intestinal microbiota acting in concert with host immaturities predisposes the preterm infant to disruption of the intestinal epithelia, increased permeability of tight junctions, and release of inflammatory mediators that leads to intestinal mucosa injury and therefore development of necrotizing enterocolitis.

NEC is a multifactorial disease

What causes NEC? NEC is a multifactorial disease with an interaction of several etiophathologies

It is clear from this review that there are several entities that have been described as NEC. What is also clear is that despite having some overlap in the final parts of the pathophysiologic cascade that lead to necrosis, the disease that is most commonly seen in the preterm infant is likely to have an origin that differs markedly from that seen in term infants with congenital heart disease or severe hypoxic–ischemic injury. Thus, epidemiologic studies will need to differentiate these entities, if the aim is to dissect common features that are most highly associated with development of the disease. At this juncture, we areleft with more of a population based preventative approach, where the use of human milk, evidence based feeding guide-lines, considerations for microbial therapy once these are proved safe and effective and approved as such by regulatory authorities, and perhaps even measures that prevent prematurity will have a major impact on this devastating disease.

Influenced by the microbiota, intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) elaborate cytokines

Influenced by the microbiota, intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) elaborate cytokines, including thymic stromal lymphoprotein (TSLP), transforming growthfactor (TGF), and interleukin-10 (IL-10), that can influence pro-inflammatory cytokine production by dendritic cells (DC) and macrophages present in the laminapropria (GALT) and Peyer’s patches. Signals from commensal organisms may influence tissue-specific functions, resulting in T-cell expansion and regulation of the numbers of Th-1,
Th-2, and Th-3 cells. Also modulated by the microbiota, other IEC derived factors, including APRIL (a proliferation-inducing ligand),B-cell activating factor (BAFF), secretory leukocyte peptidase inhibitor (SLPI), prostaglandin E2(PGE2), and other metabolites, directly regulate functions ofboth antigen presenting cells and lymphocytes in the intestinal ecosystem. NK: natural killer cell; LN: lymph node; DC: dendritic cells.Modified from R. Sharma, C. Young, M. Mshvildadze, J. Neu, Intestinal microbiota does it play a role in diseases of the neonate? NeoReviews 10 (4) (2009)e166, with permission

Cross-talk between monocyte.macrophage cells and T.NK lymphocytes

Current Issues in the Management of Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Marion C. W. Henry and R. Lawrence Moss
Seminars in Perinatology, 2004; 28(3): 221-233
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1053/j.semperi.2004.03.010

Necrotizing enterocolitis is almost exclusively a disease of prematurity, with 90% of all cases occurring in premature infants and 90% of those infants weighing less than 2000 g. Prematurity is the only risk factor for necrotizing enterocolitis consistently identified in case control studies and the disease is rare in countries where prematurity is uncommon such as Japan and Sweden. When necrotizing enterocolitis does occur in full-term infants, it appears to by a somewhat different disease, typically associated with some predisposing condition.

NEC occurs in one to three in 1,000 live births and most commonly affects babies born between 30-32 weeks. It is most often diagnosed during the second week of life and occurs more often in previously fed infants. The mortality from NEC has been cited as 10% to 50% of all NEC cases. Surgical mortality has decreased over the last several decades from 70% to between 20 and 50%. The incremental cost per case of acute hospital care is estimated at $74 to 186 thousand compared to age matched controls, not including additional costs of long term care for the infants’ with lifelong morbidity. Survivors may develop short bowel syndrome, recurrent bouts of catheter-related sepsis, malabsorption, malnutrition, and TPN induced liver failure.

Although extensive research concerning the pathophysiology of necrotizing enterocolitis has occurred, a complete understanding has not been fully elucidated. The classic histologic finding is coagulation necrosis; present in over 90% of specimens. This finding suggests the importance of ischemia in the pathogenesis of NEC. Inflammation and bacterial overgrowth also are present. These findings support the assumptions by Kosloske that NEC occurs by the interaction of 3 events:

intestinal ischemia,
colonization by pathogenic bacteria and
excess protein substrate in the intestinal lumen.

Additionally, the immunologic immaturity of the neonatal gut has been implicated in the development of NEC. Reparative tissue changes including epithelial regeneration, formation of granulation tissue and fibrosis, and mixed areas of acute and chronic inflammatory changes suggest that the pathogenesis of NEC may involve a chronic process of injury and repair.

Premature newborns born prior to the 32^nd week of gestational age may have compromised intestinal peristalsis and decreased motility. These motility problems may lead to poor clearance of bacteria, and subsequent bacterial overgrowth. Premature infants also have an immature intestinal tract in terms of immunologic immunity.

There are fewer functional B lymphocytes present and the ability to produce sufficient secretory IgA is reduced. Pepsin, gastric acid and mucus are also not produced as well in prematurity. All of these factors may contribute to the limited proliferation of intestinal flora and the decreased binding of these flora to mucosal cells (Fig).

Role of nitric oxide in the pathogenesis of NEC

Role of nitric oxide in the pathogenesis of NEC.

Characteristics of the immature gut leading to increased risk of necrotizing enterocolitis

Characteristics of the immature gut leading to increased risk of necrotizing enterocolitis.

As understanding of the pathophysiology of necrotizing enterocolitis continues to evolve, a unifying concept is emerging. Initially, there is likely a subclinical insult leading to NEC. This may arise from a brief episode of hypoxia or infection. With colonization of the intestines, bacteria bind to the injured mucosa eliciting an inflammatory response which leads to further inflammation.

Intestinal Microbiota Development in Preterm Neonates and Effect of Perinatal Antibiotics

Silvia Arboleya, Borja Sanchez,, Christian Milani, Sabrina Duranti, et al.
Pediatr 2014;-:—). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2014.09.041

Objectives Assess the establishment of the intestinal microbiota in very low birth-weight preterm infants and to evaluate the impact of perinatal factors, such as delivery mode and perinatal antibiotics.
Study design We used 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence-based microbiota analysis and quantitative polymerase chain reaction to evaluate the establishment of the intestinal microbiota. We also evaluated factors affecting the microbiota, during the first 3 months of life in preterm infants (n = 27) compared with full-term babies (n = 13).
Results Immaturity affects the microbiota as indicated by a reduced percentage of the family Bacteroidaceae during the first months of life and by a higher initial percentage of Lactobacillaceae in preterm infants compared with full term infants. Perinatal antibiotics, including intrapartum antimicrobial prophylaxis, affects the gut microbiota, as indicated by increased Enterobacteriaceae family organisms in the infants.

Human gut microbiome

Conclusions Prematurity and perinatal antibiotic administration strongly affect the initial establishment of microbiota with potential consequences for later health.

Ischemia and necrotizing enterocolitis: where, when, and how

Philip T. Nowicki
Seminars in Pediatric Surgery (2005) 14, 152-158
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1053/j.sempedsurg.2005.05.003

While it is accepted that ischemia contributes to the pathogenesis of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), three important questions regarding this role subsist. First, where within the intestinal circulation does the vascular pathophysiology occur? It is most likely that this event begins within the intramural microcirculation, particularly the small arteries that pierce the gut wall and the submucosal arteriolar plexus insofar as these represent the principal sites of resistance regulation in the gut. Mucosal damage might also disrupt the integrity or function of downstream villous arterioles leading to damage thereto; thereafter, noxious stimuli might ascend into the submucosal vessels via downstream venules and lymphatics. Second, when during the course of pathogenesis does ischemia occur? Ischemia is unlikely to the sole initiating factor of NEC; instead, it is more likely that ischemia is triggered by other events, such as inflammation at the mucosal surface. In this context, it is likely that ischemia plays a secondary, albeit critical role in disease extension. Third, how does the ischemia occur? Regulation of vascular resistance within newborn intestine is principally determined by a balance between the endothelial production of the vasoconstrictor peptide endothelin-1 (ET-1) and endothelial production of the vasodilator free radical nitric oxide (NO). Under normal conditions, the balance heavily favors NO-induced vasodilation, leading to a low resting resistance and high rate of flow. However, factors that disrupt endothelial cell function, eg, ischemia-reperfusion, sustained low-flow perfusion, or proinflammatory mediators, alter the ET-1:NO balance in favor of constriction. The unique ET-1–NO interaction thereafter might facilitate rapid extension of this constriction, generating a viscous cascade wherein ischemia rapidly extends into larger portions of the intestine.

Schematic representation of the intestinal microcirculation

Schematic representation of the intestinal microcirculation. Small mesenteric arteries pierce the muscularis layers and terminate in the submucosa where they give rise to 1A (1st order) arterioles. 2A (2nd order) arterioles arise from the 1A. Although not shown here, these 2A arterioles connect merge with several 1A arterioles, thus generating an arteriolar plexus, or manifold that serves to pressurize the terminal downstream microvasculature. 3A (3rd order) arterioles arise from the 2A and proceed to the mucosa, giving off a 4A branch just before descent into the mucosa. This 4A vessel travels to the muscularis layers. Each 3A vessel becomes the single arteriole perfusing each villus.

Collectively, these studies indicate that disruption of endothelial cell function has the potential to disrupt the normal balance between NO and ET-1 within the newborn intestinal circulation, and that such an event can generate significant ischemia. In this context, it is important to note that NO and ET-1 each regulate the expression and activity of the other. An increased [NO] within the microvascular environment reduces ET-1 expression and compromises ligand binding to the ETA receptor (thus decreasing its contractile efficacy), while ET-1 compromises eNOS expression. Thus, factors that upset the balance between NO and ET-1 will have an immediate and direct effect on vascular tone, but also exert an additional indirect effect by extenuating the disruption of balance between these two factors.

It is not difficult to construct a hypothesis that links the perturbations of I/R and sustained low-flow perfusion with an initial inflammatory insult. Initiation of an inflammatory process at the mucosal–luminal interface could have a direct impact on villus and mucosal 3A arterioles, damaging arteriolar integrity and disrupting villus hemodynamics. Ascent of proinflammatory mediators to the submucosal 1A–2A arteriolar plexus could occur via draining venules and lymphatics, generating damage to vascular effector systems therein; these mediators might include cytokines and platelet activating factor, as these elements have been recovered from human infants with NEC. This event, coupled with a generalized loss of 3A flow throughout a large portion of the mucosal surface, could compromise flow rate within the submucosal arteriolar plexus.

Necrotizing enterocolitis: An update

Loren Berman, R. Lawrence Moss
Seminars in Fetal & Neonatal Medicine 16 (2011) 145e150
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.siny.2011.02.002

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a leading cause of death among patients in the neonatal intensive care unit, carrying a mortality rate of 15e30%. Its pathogenesis is multifactorial and involves an over reactive response of the immune system to an insult. This leads to increased intestinal permeability, bacterial translocation, and sepsis. There are many inflammatory mediators involved in this process, but thus far none has been shown to be a suitable target for preventive or therapeutic measures. NEC usually occurs in the second week of life after the initiation of enteral feeds, and the diagnosis is made based on physical examination findings, laboratory studies, and abdominal radiographs. Neonates with NEC are followed with serial abdominal examinations and radiographs, and may require surgery or primary peritoneal drainage for perforation or necrosis. Many survivors are plagued with long term complications including short bowel syndrome, abnormal growth, and neurodevelopmental delay. Several evidence-based strategies exist that may decrease the incidence of NEC including promotion of human breast milk feeding, careful feeding advancement, and prophylactic probiotic administration in at-risk patients. Prevention is likely to have the greatest impact on decreasing mortality and morbidity related to NEC, as little progress has been made with regard to improving outcomes for neonates once the disease process is underway.

Immune Deficiencies

Primary immunodeficiencies: A rapidly evolving story

Nima Parvaneh, Jean-Laurent Casanova, LD Notarangelo, ME Conley
J Allergy Clin Immunol 2013;131:314-23.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2012.11.051

The characterization of primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) in human subjects is crucial for a better understanding of the biology of the immune response. New achievements in this field have been possible in light of collaborative studies; attention paid to new phenotypes, infectious and otherwise; improved immunologic techniques; and use of exome sequencing technology. The International Union of Immunological Societies Expert Committee on PIDs recently reported on the updated classification of PIDs. However, new PIDs are being discovered at an ever-increasing rate. A series of 19 novel primary defects of immunity that have been discovered after release of the International Union of Immunological Societies report are discussed here. These new findings highlight the molecular pathways that are associated with clinical phenotypes and suggest potential therapies for affected patients.

Combined Immunodeficiencies

T-cell receptor a gene mutation: T-cell receptor ab1 T-cell depletion

T cells comprise 2 distinct lineages that express either ab or gd T-cell receptor (TCR) complexes that perform different tasks in immune responses. During T-cell maturation, the precise order and efficacy of TCR gene rearrangements determine the fate of the cells. Productive β-chain gene rearrangement produces a pre-TCR on the cell surface in association with pre-Tα invariant peptide (β-selection). Pre-TCR signals promote α-chain recombination and transition to a double-positive stage (CD41CD81). This is the prerequisite for central tolerance achieved through positive and negative selection of thymocytes.

Ras homolog gene family member H deficiency: Loss of naive T cells and persistent human papilloma virus infections
MST1 deficiency: Loss of naive T cells

New insight into the role of MST1 as a critical regulator of T-cell homing and function was provided by the characterization of 8 patients from 4 unrelated families who had homozygous nonsense mutations in STK4, the gene encoding MST1. MST1 was originally identified as an ubiquitously expressed kinase with structural homology to yeast Ste. MST1 is the mammalian homolog of the Drosophila Hippo protein, controlling cell growth, apoptosis, and tumorigenesis. It has both proapoptotic and antiapoptotic functions.

Lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase deficiency: T-cell deficiency with CD41 lymphopenia

Defects in pre-TCR– and TCR-mediated signaling lead to aberrant T-cell development and function (Fig). One of the earliest biochemical events occurring after engagement of the (pre)-TCR is the activation of lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase (LCK), a member of the SRC family of protein tyrosine kinases. This kinase then phosphorylates immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs of intracellular domains of CD3 subunits. Phosphorylated immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs recruit z-chain associated protein kinase of 70 kDa, which, after being phosphorylated by LCK, is responsible for activation of critical downstream events. Major consequences include activation of the membrane-associated enzyme phospholipase Cg1, activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase, nuclear translocation of nuclear factor kB (NFkB), and Ca21/Mg21 mobilization. Through these pathways, LCK controls T-cell development and activation. In mice lacking LCK, T-cell development in the thymus is profoundly blocked at an early double-negative stage.

TCR signaling

TCR signaling. Multiple signal transduction pathways are stimulated through the TCR. These pathways collectively activate transcription factors that organize T-cell survival, proliferation, differentiation, homeostasis, and migration. Mutant molecules in patients with TCR-related defects are indicated in red.

Uncoordinated 119 deficiency: Idiopathic CD41 lymphopenia

Idiopathic CD41 lymphopenia (ICL) is a very heterogeneous clinical entity that is defined, by default, by persistent CD41 T-cell lymphopenia (<300 cells/mL or <20% of total T cells) in the absence of HIV infection or any other known cause of immunodeficiency.

Well-Defined Syndromes with Immunodeficiency

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein–interacting protein deficiency: Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome-like phenotype

In hematopoietic cells Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) is stabilized through forming a complex with WASP interacting protein (WIP).

Phospholipase Cg2 gain-of-function mutations: Cold urticaria, immunodeficiency, and autoimmunity/autoinflammatory

This is a unique phenotype, sharing features of antibody deficiency, autoinflammatory diseases, and immune dysregulatory disorders, making its classification difficult. Two recent studies validated the pleiotropy of genetic alterations in the same gene.

Predominantly Antibody Defects

Defect in the p85a subunit of phosphoinositide 3-kinase: Agammaglobulinemia and absent B cells
CD21 deficiency: Hypogammaglobulinemia
LPS-responsive beige-like anchor deficiency:
Hypogammaglobulinemia with autoimmunity and

early colitis

Defects Of Immune Dysregulation

Pallidin deficiency: Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome type 9
CD27 deficiency: Immune dysregulation and
persistent EBV infection

Congenital Defects Of Phagocyte Number, Function, Or Both

Interferon-stimulated gene 15 deficiency: Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases

Defects In Innate Immunity

NKX2-5 deficiency: Isolated congenital asplenia
Toll/IL-1 receptor domain–containing adaptor inducing IFN-b and TANK-binding kinase 1 deficiencies: Herpes simplex encephalitis
Minichromosome maintenance complex component 4 deficiency: NK cell deficiency associated with growth retardation and adrenal insufficiency

Autoinflammatory Disorders

A disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17 deficiency: Inflammatory skin and bowel disease

Cross-talk between monocyte.macrophage cells and T.NK lymphocytes

Cross-talk between monocyte/macrophage cells and T/NK lymphocytes. Genes in the IL-12/IFN-g pathway are particularly important for protection against mycobacterial disease. IRF8 is an IFN-g–inducible transcription factor required for the induction of various target genes, including IL-12. The NF-kB essential modulator (NEMO) mutations in the LZ domain impair CD40-NEMO–dependent pathways. Some gp91phox mutations specifically abolish the respiratory burst in monocyte-derived macrophages. ISG15 is secreted by neutrophils and potentiates IFN-g production by NK/T cells. Genetic defects that preclude monocyte development (eg, GATA2) can also predispose to mycobacterial infections (not shown). Mutant molecules in patients with unusual susceptibility to infection are indicated in red.

The field of PIDs is advancing at full speed in 2 directions. New genetic causes of known PIDs are being discovered (eg, CD21 and TRIF). Moreover, new phenotypes qualify as PIDs with the identification of a first genetic cause (eg, generalized pustular psoriasis). Recent findings contribute fundamental knowledge about immune system biology and its perturbation in disease. They are also of considerable clinical benefit for the patients and their families. A priority is to further translate these new discoveries into improved diagnostic methods and more effective therapeutic strategies, promoting the well-being of patients with PIDs.

Primary immunodeficiencies

Luigi D. Notarangelo
J Allergy Clin Immunol 2010; 125(2): S182-194
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.jaci.2009.07.053

In the last years, advances in molecular genetics and immunology have resulted in the identification of a growing number of genes causing primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) in human subjects and a better understanding of the pathophysiology of these disorders. Characterization of the molecular mechanisms of PIDs has also facilitated the development of novel diagnostic assays based on analysis of the expression of the protein encoded by the PID-specific gene. Pilot newborn screening programs for the identification of infants with severe combined immunodeficiency have been initiated. Finally, significant advances have been made in the treatment of PIDs based on the use of subcutaneous immunoglobulins, hematopoietic cell transplantation from unrelated donors and cord blood, and gene therapy. In this review we will discuss the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of PIDs, with special attention to recent advances in the field.

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Evolution and Medicine

Posted in Anaerobic Glycolysis, Biochemical pathways, CANCER BIOLOGY & Innovations in Cancer Therapy, Curation, Disease Biology, Enzymes and isoenzymes, Evolutionary cognition, Explanatory, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Genome Biology, Historical relevance, Infectious Disease & New Antibiotic Targets, Infectious Disease Immunodiagnostics, Metabolism, Oxidative phosphorylation, Warburg effect, tagged Anaerobic Glycolysis, antimicrobial resistance, Cancer - General, carcinogenesis, Evolution, metastasis, microbes and viruses, vaccines, Warburg Effect on January 22, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Evolution and Medicine

Reporter and Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

http://paleoaerie.org/2015/01/21/what-has-evolution-done-for-me-lately/

Excerpt of article

Cancer is an inescapable fact of life. All of us with either die from it or know someone who will. Cancer is so prevalent because it isn’t a disease in the way a flu or a cold is. No outside force or germ is needed to cause cancer (although it can). It arises from the very way we are put together. Most of the genes that are needed for multicellular life have been found to be associated with cancer. Cancer is a result of our natural genetic machinery that has been built up over billions of years breaking down over time.

CLONAL EVOLUTION OF CANCER. MEL GREAVES.HTTP://WWW.SCIENCE-CONNECTIONS.COM/TRENDS/SCIENCE_CONTENT/EVOLUTION_6.HTM

Cancer is not only a result of evolutionary processes, cancer itself follows evolutionary theory as it grows. The immune system places a selective pressure on cancer cells, keeping it in check until the cancer evolves a way to avoid it and surpass it in a process known as immunoediting. Cancers face selective pressures in the microenvironments in which they grow. Due to the fast growth of cancer cells, they suck up oxygen in the tissues, causing wildly fluctuating oxygen levels as the body tries to get oxygen to the tissues. This sort of situation is bad for normal tissues and so it is for cancer, at least until they evolve and adapt. At some point, some cancer cells will develop the ability to use what is called aerobic glycolysis to make the ATP we use for energy. Ordinarily, our cells only use glycolysis when they run out of oxygen because aerobic respiration (aka oxidative phosphorylation) is far more efficient. Cancer cells, on the other hand, learn to use glycolysis all the time, even in the presence of abundant oxygen. They may not grow as quickly when there is plenty of oxygen, but they are far better than normal cells at hypoxic, or low oxygen, conditions, which they create by virtue of their metabolism. Moreover, they are better at taking up nutrients because many of the metabolic pathways for aerobic respiration also influence nutrient uptake, so shifting those pathways to nutrient uptake rather than metabolism ensures cancer cells get first pick of any nutrients in the area. The Warburg Effect, as this is called, works by selective pressures hindering those cells that can’t do so and favoring those that can. Because cancer cells have loose genetic controls and they are constantly dividing, the cancer population can evolve, whereas the normal cells cannot.

Evolutionary theory can also be used to track cancer as it metastasizes. If a person has several tumors, it is possible to take biopsies of each one and use standard cladistic programs that are normally used to determine evolutionary relationships between organisms to find which tumor is the original tumor. If the original tumor is not one of those biopsied, it will tell you where the cancer originated within the body. You can thus track the progression of cancer throughout a person’s body. Expanding on this, one can even track the effect of cancer through its effects on how organisms interact within ecosystems, creating its own evolutionary stamp on the environment as its effects radiate throughout the ecosystem.

I’ve talked about cancer at decent length (although I could easily go one for many more pages) because it is less well publicly known than some of the other ways that evolutionary theory helps us out in medicine. The increasing resistance of bacteria and viruses to antibiotics is well known. Antibiotic resistance follows standard evolutionary processes, with the result that antibiotic resistant bacteria are expected to kill 10 million people a year by 2050. People have to get a new flu shot every year because the flu viruses are legion and they evolve rapidly to bypass old vaccinations. If we are to accurately predict how the viruses may adapt and properly prepare vaccines for the coming year, evolutionary theory must be taken into account. Without it, the vaccines are much less likely to be effective. Evolutionary studies have pointed out important changes in the Ebola virus and how those changes areaffecting its lethality, which will need to be taken into account for effective treatments. Tracking the origins of viruses, like the avian flu or swine flu, gives us information that will be useful in combating them or even stopping them at their source before they become a problem.

HTTP://WWW.MEDSCAPE.COM/VIEWARTICLE/756378

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Highlights of a Green Evolution

Posted in Biochemical pathways, Discovery process, Evolutionary cognition, Experimental validation, Explanatory, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Historical relevance, Metabolism, Nutrition, Nutrition and Phytochemistry, Population Health Management, Pyridine nucleotides, tagged chlorophyll, energy metabolism, green, metalloenzymes, oxygen, plant energy, plant leaves, solar energy on January 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Highlights of a Green Evolution

Reporter and Curator: Larry H Bernstein, MD, FCAP

Chlorophyll

chlorophyll coloration to leaves

Paul May
School of Chemistry, University of Bristol
VRML, Jmol, and Chime versions

Chlorophyll is the molecule that absorbs sunlight and uses its energy to
synthesize carbohydrates from CO2 and water. This process is known as
photosynthesis. Animals and humans obtain their food supply by eating plants.

In 1780, the famous English chemist Joseph Priestley found that plants could “restore air which has been injured by the burning of candles.” He placed a mint
plant into a vessel of water for several days, then found that “the air would neither extinguish a candle, nor was it all inconvenient to a mouse which I put into it”.
He discovered that plants produce oxygen. Then, in 1794, Antoine Lavoisier
discovered oxidation. It fell to a Dutchman, Jan Ingenhousz, to make the next
major contribution to the mechanism of photosynthesis.
Having heard of Priestley’s experiments, he spent a summer near London doing
over 500 experiments, to discover that light plays a major role in photosynthesis.
He noted that plants not only have the faculty to correct bad air in six to ten days,
but they perform this in a few hours; owing to the influence of light of the sun
upon the plant.

Very soon after, more pieces of the puzzle were found by two chemists working
in Geneva. Jean Senebier, found that “fixed air” (CO2) was taken up during photosynthesis, and Theodore de Saussure discovered that the other reactant
necessary was water. The final contribution came from a German surgeon,
Julius Robert Mayer ,

Julius Robert Mayer

who recognised that plants convert solar energy into chemical energy. He said:
“Nature has put itself the problem of how to catch in flight light streaming to
the Earth and to store the most elusive of all powers in rigid form. The plants
take in one form of power, light; and produce another power, chemical
difference.” The actual chemical equation which takes place is the reaction
between carbon dioxide and water, catalyzed by sunlight, to produce glucose
and a waste product, oxygen. The glucose sugar is either directly used as an
energy source by the plant for metabolism or growth, or is polymerized to form
starch, so it can be stored until needed. The waste oxygen is excreted into the
atmosphere, where it is made use of by plants and animals for respiration.

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/chlorophyll/photosth.gif

Chlorophyll as a Photoreceptor

Chlorophyll is the molecule that traps this ‘most elusive of all powers’ – and is
called a photoreceptor. It is found in the chloroplasts of green plants,
and is what makes green plants, green. The basic structure of a chlorophyll
molecule is a porphyrin ring, co-ordinated to a central atom. This is very
similar in structure to the heme group found in hemoglobin, except that in
heme the central atom is iron, whereas in chlorophyll it is magnesium.

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/chlorophyll/chphyll.gif

Click for 3D structure file

There are actually 2 main types of chlorophyll, named a and b. They differ only
slightly, in the composition of a sidechain (in a it is – H3, in b it is CHO). Both of these
two chlorophylls are very effective photoreceptors because they contain a network of
alternating single and double bonds, and the orbitals can delocalize stabilizing the
structure. Such delocalised polyenes have very strong absorption bands in the visible
regions of the spectrum, allowing the plant to absorb the energy from sunlight.

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/chlorophyll/chloroabs.gif

The different side groups in the 2 chlorophylls ‘tune’ the absorption spectrum to
slightly different wavelengths, so that light that is not significantly absorbed by
chlorophyll a, at, say, 460nm, will instead be captured by chlorophyll b, which
absorbs strongly at that wavelength. Thus these two kinds of chlorophyll
complement each other in absorbing sunlight. Plants can obtain all their energy
requirements from the blue and red parts of the spectrum, however, there is still
a large spectral region, between 500-600nm, where very little light is absorbed.

This light is in the green region of the spectrum, and since it is reflected, this
is the reason plants appear green. Chlorophyll absorbs so strongly that it can
mask other less intense colours. Some of these more delicate colours (from
molecules such as carotene and quercetin) are revealed when the chlorophyll
molecule decays in the Autumn, and the woodlands turn red, orange,and
golden brown. Chlorophyll can also be damaged when vegetation is cooked,
since the central Mg atom is replaced by hydrogen ions. This affects the energy
levels within the molecule, causing its absorbance spectrum to alter. Thus cooked
leaves change colour – often becoming a paler, insipid yellowy green.

As the chlorophyll in leaves decays in the autumn, the green colour fades and is
replaced by the oranges and reds of carotenoids.

Chlorophyll in Plants

The chlorophyll molecule is the active part that absorbs the sunlight, but just as with
hemoglobin, in order to do its job (synthesising carbohydrates) it needs to be attached
to the backbone of a very complicated protein. This protein may look haphazard in
design, but it has exactly the correct structure to orient the chlorophyll molecules in
the optimal position to enable them to react with nearby CO2 and H2O molecules in
a very efficient manner. Several chlorophyll molecules are lurking inside this bacterial
photoreceptor protein (right).

References:

Introduction to Organic Chemistry, Streitweiser and Heathcock (MacMillan, New York,
1981).

Biochemistry, L. Stryer (W.H. Freeman and Co, San Francisco, 1975).

Wikipedia – Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll (also chlorophyl) is a green pigment found in cyanobacteria and the
chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρός,
chloros (“green”) and φύλλον, phyllon (“leaf”). Chlorophyll is an extremely important
biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to absorb energy from light. Chlorophyll absorbs light most strongly in the blue portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum, followed by the red portion. Conversely, it is a poor
absorber of green and near-green portions of the spectrum, hence the green
color of chlorophyll-containing tissues. chlorophyll was first isolated by
Joseph Bienaimé Caventou and Pierre Joseph Pelletier in 1817.

Absorption maxima of chlorophylls against the spectrum of white light

Chlorophyll is found in high concentrations in chloroplasts of plant cells.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Clorofila_3.jpg/
120px-Clorofila_3.jpg

These chlorophyll maps show milligrams of chlorophyll per cubic meter of seawater
each month. Places where chlorophyll amounts were very low, indicating very low
numbers of phytoplankton, are blue. Places where chlorophyll concentrations were
high, meaning many phytoplankton were growing, are yellow.

chlophyll world map

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/
MY1DMM_CHLORA.ogv/220px–MY1DMM_CHLORA.ogv.jpg

Chlorophyll and photosynthesis

Chlorophyll is vital for photosynthesis, which allows plants to absorb energy from light.

Chlorophyll molecules are specifically arranged in and around photosystems that are
embedded in the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts. In these complexes,
chlorophyll serves two primary functions. The function of the vast majority of
chlorophyll (up to several hundred molecules per photosystem) is to absorb light and
transfer that light energy by resonance energy transfer to a specific chlorophyll pair
in the reaction center of the photosystems.

The two currently accepted photosystem units are Photosystem II and Photosystem I,
which have their own distinct reaction center chlorophylls, named P680 and P700,
respectively. These pigments are named after the wavelength (in nanometers) of their
red-peak absorption maximum. The identity, function and spectral properties of the
types of chlorophyll in each photosystem are distinct and determined by each other
and the protein structure surrounding them. Once extracted from the protein into a
solvent (such as acetone or methanol), these chlorophyll pigments can be separated
in a simple paper chromatography experiment and, based on the number of polar
groups between chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b, will chemically separate out on the
paper.

The function of the reaction center chlorophyll is to use the energy absorbed by and
transferred to it from the other chlorophyll pigments in the photosystems to undergo
a charge separation, a specific redox reaction in which the chlorophyll donates an
electron into a series of molecular intermediates called an electron transport chain.
The charged reaction center chlorophyll (P680+) is then reduced back to its ground
state by accepting an electron. In Photosystem II, the electron that reduces P680+
ultimately comes from the oxidation of water into O2 and H+ through several
intermediates.

This reaction is how photosynthetic organisms such as plants produce O2 gas, and
is the source for practically all the O2 in Earth’s atmosphere. Photosystem I typically
works in series with Photosystem II; thus the P700+ of Photosystem I is usually
reduced, via many intermediates in the thylakoid membrane, by electrons ultimately
from Photosystem II. Electron transfer reactions in the thylakoid membranes are
complex, however, and the source of electrons used to reduce P700+ can vary.

The electron flow produced by the reaction center chlorophyll pigments is used to
shuttle H+ ions across the thylakoid membrane, setting up a chemiosmotic potential
used mainly to produce ATP chemical energy; and those electrons ultimately reduce
NADP+ to NADPH, a universal reductant used to reduce CO2 into sugars as well as
for other biosynthetic reductions.

Reaction center chlorophyll–protein complexes are capable of directly absorbing light
and performing charge separation events without other chlorophyll pigments, but the
absorption cross section (the likelihood of absorbing a photon under a given light
intensity) is small. Thus, the remaining chlorophylls in the photosystem and antenna
pigment protein complexes associated with the photosystems all cooperatively absorb
and funnel light energy to the reaction center. Besides chlorophyll a, there are other
pigments, called accessory pigments, which occur in these pigment–protein
antenna complexes.

Chemical structure

Chlorophyll is a chlorin pigment, which is structurally similar to and produced through the same metabolic pathway as other porphyrin pigments such as heme. At the center
of the chlorin ring is a magnesium ion. This was discovered in 1906, and was the first
time that magnesium had been detected in living tissue. or the structures depicted in

this article, some of the ligands attached to the Mg2+ center are omitted for clarity.
The chlorin ring can have several different side chains, usually including a long
phytol chain. There are a few different forms that occur naturally, but the most
widely distributed form in terrestrial plants is chlorophyll a.

Chlorophyll-a-3D

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/
Chlorophyll-a-3D-vdW.png/220px-Chlorophyll-a-3D-vdW.png

Space-filling model of the chlorophyll a molecule

After initial work done by German chemist Richard Willstätter spanning from 1905 to
1915, the general structure of chlorophyll a was elucidated by Hans Fischer in 1940.
By 1960, when most of the stereochemistry of chlorophyll a was known, Robert Burns
Woodward published a total synthesis of the molecule. In 1967, the last remaining
stereochemical elucidation was completed by Ian Fleming, and in 1990 Woodward
and co-authors published an updated synthesis. Chlorophyll was announced to be
present in cyanobacteria and other oxygenic microorganisms that form stromatolites
in 2010; a molecular formula of C55H70O6N4Mg and a structure of (2-formyl)-chlorophyll a were deduced based on NMR, optical and mass spectra.

When leaves degreen in the process of plant senescence, chlorophyll is converted
to a group of colourless tetrapyrroles known as nonfluorescent chlorophyll catabolites
(NCC’s) with the general structure:

These compounds have also been identified in several ripening fruits

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Nonfluorescent
chlorophilcatabolites.svg/241px-Nonfluorescentchlorophilcatabolites.svg.png

Absorbance spectra of free chlorophyll a (blue) and b (red) in a solvent. The spectra
of chlorophyll molecules are slightly modified in vivo depending on specific pigment-
protein interactions.

Chlorophyll_ab_spectra

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Chlorophyll_ab_
spectra-en.svg/220px-Chlorophyll_ab_spectra-en.svg.png

Complementary light absorbance of anthocyanins with chlorophylls

Anthocyanins are other plant pigments. The absorbance pattern responsible for the
red color of anthocyanins may be complementary to that of green chlorophyll in
photosynthetically active tissues such as young Quercus coccifera leaves. It may
protect the leaves from attacks by plant eaters that may be attracted by green color.

Superposition of spectra of chlorophyll a and b with oenin (malvidin 3O glucoside),
a typical anthocyanidin, showing that, while chlorophylls absorb in the blue and
yellow/red parts of the visible spectrum, oenin absorbs mainly in the green part
of the spectrum, where chlorophylls don’t absorb at all.

Superposition of spectra of chlorophyll a and b with oenin

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Spectra_Chlorophyll_
ab_oenin_%281%29.PNG/220px-Spectra_Chlorophyll_ab_oenin_%281%29.PNG

Many important natural substances are chelates. In chelates a central metal ion is
bonded to a large organic molecule, a molecule composed of carbon, hydrogen, and
other elements such as oxygen and nitrogen. One such chelate is chlorophyll, the
green pigment of plants. In chlorophyll the central ion is magnesium, and the large
organic molecule is a porphyrin. The porphyrin contains four nitrogen atoms that form
bonds to magnesium in a square planar arrangement. There are several forms of
chlorophyll. The structure of one form, chlorophyll a, is shown.

http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/chlrphyl/chlrphyl.gif

(As you can see from the molecular structure, the “chloro” in chlorophyll does not
mean that it contains the element chlorine. The chloro portion of the word is from
the Greek chloros, which means yellowish green. The name of the element chlorine
comes from the same source. Chlorine is a yellowish green gas.)

Chlorophyll is one of the most important chelates in nature. It is capable of
channeling the energy of sunlight into chemical energy through the process of
photosynthesis. In photosynthesis, the energy absorbed by chlorophyll transforms
carbon dioxide and
water into carbohydrates and oxygen.

CO2 + H2O ——- (CH2O) + O2

(In this equation, (CH2O) is the empirical formula of carbohydrates.) The chemical
energy stored by photosynthesis in carbohydrates drives biochemical reactions in
nearly all living organisms.

In the photosynthetic reaction, carbon dioxide is reduced by water; in other words,
electrons are transferred from water to carbon dioxide. Chlorophyll assists this
transfer. When chlorophyll absorbs light energy, an electron in chlorophyll is excited
from a lower energy state to a higher energy state. In this higher energy state, this
electron is more readily transferred to another molecule. This starts a chain of
electron-transfer steps, which ends with an electron transferred to carbon dioxide.

Meanwhile, the chlorophyll which gave up an electron can accept an electron from
another molecule. This is the end of a process which starts with the removal of an
electron from water. Thus, chlorophyll is at the center of the photosynthetic
oxidation-reduction reaction between carbon dioxide and water.

Other molecules with structures similar to that of chlorophyll play important roles in
other biochemical electron-transfer (oxidation-reduction) reactions. Heme consists
of a porphyrin similar to that in chlorophyll and an iron(II) ion in the center of the
porphyrin. Heme is bright red. In the red blood cells of vertebrates, heme is bound
to proteins forming hemoglobin. Hemoglobin combines with oxygen in the lungs, gills,
or other respiratory surfaces and releases it in the tissues. In muscle cells, myoglobin,
the name given to hemoglobin in muscles, stores oxygen as an electron source for
energy-releasing oxidation-reduction reactions.

Another relative of chlorophyll is vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 contains a cobalt ion at
the center of the porphyrin. Like heme, vitamin B12 is bright red. It is essential to
digestion and nutritional absorption in animals. The exact way it functions is not
known. Because vitamin B12 is not produced by higher plants, a strictly vegetarian
diet can lead to vitamin B12 deficiency. However, it is produced by molds and
bacteria which grow on most foods.

The intense color of chlorophyll suggests that it may be useful as a commercial
pigment. In fact, chlorophyll a is a green dye (Natural Green 3) used in soaps and
cosmetics. The absorption spectrum of chlorophyll (below) shows that it absorbs
strongly in the red and blue-violet regions of the visible spectrum. Because it absorbs
red and blue-violet light, the light it reflects and transmits appears green. Commercial
pigments with structures similar to chlorophyll have been produced in a range of colors.
Some of these have slightly modified porphyrins, such as having hydrogen atoms
replaced with chlorine atoms. Others have different metal ions. For example, one
bright blue pigment has a copper(I) ion at the center of the porphyrin and is used
primarily in coloring fabrics.

http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/chemweek/chlrphyl/clrphlsp.gif

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The Colors of Respiration and Electron Transport

Posted in Academic Publishing, Biochemical pathways, Curation, Cytoskeleton, Dehydrogenase, Experimental validation, Explanatory, Fatty acids, Historical relevance, Lipid metabolism, Metabolism, Metabolomics, Phosphorylase, Phosphorylation, Proteins, Pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase, Pyridine nucleotides, Signaling, Ubiquitinylation, tagged aerobic glycolysis, ATP, Coenzyme A, cytochrome c, electron transport chain (ETC), energy expenditure, enzymes, hydrogen transfer, inner membrane, membrane bound enzymes, metalloenzymes, mitochondria, oxidation-reduction, Pyridine nucleotides, repiration, transhydrogenase on January 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The Colors of Respiration and Electron Transport

Reporter & Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

Molecular Biology of the Cell. 4th edition

Electron-Transport Chains and Their Proton Pumps
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26904/

Having considered in general terms how a mitochondrion uses electron
transport to create an electrochemical proton gradient, we need to
examine the mechanisms that underlie this membrane-based energy-conversion process. In doing so, we also accomplish a larger purpose.
As emphasized at the beginning of this chapter, very similar chemi-
osmotic mechanisms are used by mitochondria, chloroplasts, archea,
and bacteria. In fact, these mechanisms underlie the function of nearly
all living organisms— including anaerobes that derive all their energy
from electron transfers between two inorganic molecules. It is therefore
rather humbling for scientists to remind themselves that the existence
of chemiosmosis has been recognized for only about 40 years.

mitochondria

Overview of The Electron Transport Chain

We begin with a look at some of the principles that underlie the electron-transport process, with the aim of explaining how it can pump protons
across a membrane.

Although protons resemble other positive ions such as Na+ and K+
in their movement across membranes, in some respects they are unique.
Hydrogen atoms are by far the most abundant type of atom in living
organisms; they are plentiful not only in all carbon-containing
biological molecules, but also in the water molecules that surround
them. The protons in water are highly mobile, flickering through the
hydrogen-bonded network of water molecules by rapidly
dissociating from one water molecule to associate with its neighbor,
as illustrated in Figure 14-20A. Protons are thought to move across a
protein pump embedded in a lipid bilayer in a similar way: they
transfer from one amino acid side chain to another, following a
special channel through the protein.

Protons are also special with respect to electron transport. Whenever
a molecule is reduced by acquiring an electron, the electron (e -) brings
with it a negative charge. In many cases, this charge is rapidly
neutralized by the addition of a proton (H+) from water, so that
the net effect of the reduction is to transfer an entire hydrogen atom,
H+ + e – (Figure 14-20B). Similarly, when a molecule is oxidized,
a hydrogen atom removed from it can be readily dissociated into
its constituent electron and proton—allowing the electron to
be transferred separately to a molecule that accepts electrons,
while the proton is passed to the water. Therefore, in a membrane
in which electrons are being passed along an electron-transport
chain, pumping protons from one side of the membrane to
another can be relatively simple. The electron carrier merely
needs to be arranged in the membrane in a way that causes it to
pick up a proton from one side of the membrane when it accepts
an electron, and to release the proton on the other side of the
membrane as the electron is passed to the next carrier molecule
in the chain (Figure 14-21).

protons pumped across membranes ch14f21

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26904/bin/ch14f21.gif

Figure 14-21

How protons can be pumped across membranes. As an electron
passes along an electron-transport chain embedded in a lipid-bilayer
membrane, it can bind and release a proton at each step.
In this diagram, electron carrier B picks up a proton (H+)
from one (more…)

e_transfer

The Redox Potential Is a Measure of Electron Affinities

In biochemical reactions, any electrons removed from one
molecule are always passed to another, so that whenever one
molecule is oxidized, another is reduced. Like any other chemical r
eaction, the tendency of such oxidation-reduction reactions, or
redox reactions, to proceed spontaneously depends on the free-
energy change (ΔG) for the electron transfer, which in turn
depends on the relative affinities of the two molecules for electrons.

Because electron transfers provide most of the energy for living
things, it is worth spending the time to understand them. Many
readers are already familiar with acids and bases, which donate
and accept protons (see Panel 2-2, pp. 112–113). Acids and bases
exist in conjugate acid-base pairs, in which the acid is readily
converted into the base by the loss of a proton. For example,
acetic acid (CH3COOH) is converted into its conjugate base
(CH3COO-) in the reaction:

Image ch14e3.jpg

In exactly the same way, pairs of compounds such as NADH and
NAD+ are called redox pairs, since NADH is converted to NAD+
by the loss of electrons in the reaction:

Image ch14e4.jpg

NAD+_NADH

NADH is a strong electron donor: because its electrons are held
in a high-energy linkage, the free-energy change for passing its
electrons to many other molecules is favorable (see Figure 14-9).
It is difficult to form a high-energy linkage. Therefore its redox
partner, NAD+, is of necessity a weak electron acceptor.

The tendency to transfer electrons from any redox pair can be
measured experimentally. All that is required is the formation
of an electrical circuit linking a 1:1 (equimolar) mixture of the
redox pair to a second redox pair that has been arbitrarily selected
as a reference standard, so the voltage difference can be measured
between them (Panel 14-1, p. 784). This voltage difference is
defined as the redox potential; as defined, electrons move
spontaneously from a redox pair like NADH/NAD+ with a low
redox potential (a low affinity for electrons) to a redox pair like
O2/H2O with a high redox potential (a high affinity for electrons).
Thus, NADH is a good molecule for donating electrons to the
respiratory chain, while O2 is well suited to act as the “sink” for
electrons at the end of the pathway. As explained in Panel 14-1,
the difference in redox potential, ΔE0′, is a direct measure of
the standard free-energy change (ΔG°) for the transfer of an
electron from one molecule to another.

Proteins of inner space

energetics-of-cellular-respiration

Box Icon

Panel 14-1

Redox Potentials.

Electron Transfers Release Large Amounts of Energy

As just discussed, those pairs of compounds that have the most negative
redox potentials have the weakest affinity for electrons and therefore
contain carriers with the strongest tendency to donate electrons.
Conversely, those pairs that have the most positive redox potentials
have the strongest affinity for electrons and therefore contain carriers
with the strongest tendency to accept electrons. A 1:1 mixture of NADH
and NAD+ has a redox potential of -320 mV, indicating that NADH has
a strong tendency to donate electrons; a 1:1 mixture of H2O and ½O2
has a redox potential of +820 mV, indicating that O2 has a strong
tendency to accept electrons. The difference in redox potential is
1.14 volts (1140 mV), which means that the transfer of each electron
from NADH to O2 under these standard conditions is enormously
favorable, where ΔG° = -26.2 kcal/mole (-52.4 kcal/mole for the two
electrons transferred per NADH molecule; see Panel 14-1). If we
compare this free-energy change with that for the formation of the
phosphoanhydride bonds in ATP (ΔG° = -7.3 kcal/mole, see Figure 2-75), we see that more than enough energy is released by the oxidization
of one NADH molecule to synthesize several molecules of ATP from
ADP and Pi.

Phosphate dependence of pyruvate oxidation

Living systems could certainly have evolved enzymes that would
allow NADH to donate electrons directly to O2 to make water in the reaction:

Image ch14e5.jpg

But because of the huge free-energy drop, this reaction would proceed
with almost explosive force and nearly all of the energy would be released
as heat. Cells do perform this reaction, but they make it proceed much
more gradually by passing the high-energy electrons from NADH to
O2 via the many electron carriers in the electron-transport chain.
Since each successive carrier in the chain holds its electrons more
tightly, the highly energetically favorable reaction 2H+ + 2e – + ½O2
→ H2O is made to occur in many small steps. This enables nearly half
of the released energy to be stored, instead of being lost to the
environment as heat.

Spectroscopic Methods Have Been Used to Identify Many Electron
Carriers in the Respiratory Chain

Many of the electron carriers in the respiratory chain absorb visible
light and change color when they are oxidized or reduced. In general,
each has an absorption spectrum and reactivity that are distinct enough
to allow its behavior to be traced spectroscopically, even in crude mixtures.
It was therefore possible to purify these components long before their
exact functions were known. Thus, the cytochromes were discovered
in 1925 as compounds that undergo rapid oxidation and reduction in
living organisms as disparate as bacteria, yeasts, and insects. By observing
cells and tissues with a spectroscope, three types of cytochromes were
identified by their distinctive absorption spectra and designated
cytochromes a, b, and c. This nomenclature has survived, even though
cells are now known to contain several cytochromes of each type and
the classification into types is not functionally important.

The cytochromes constitute a family of colored proteins that are
related by the presence of a bound heme group, whose iron atom
changes from the ferric oxidation state (Fe3+) to the ferrous oxidation
state (Fe2+) whenever it accepts an electron. The heme group consists
of a porphyrin ring with a tightly bound iron atom held by four nitrogen
atoms at the corners of a square (Figure 14-22). A similar porphyrin ring
is responsible for the red color of blood and for the green color of
leaves, being bound to iron in hemoglobin and to magnesium in
chlorophyll, respectively.

The structure of the heme group attached covalently to cytochrome c ch14f22

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26904/bin/ch14f22.jpg

Figure 14-22. The structure of the heme group attached covalently
to cytochrome c.

Figure 14-22

The structure of the heme group attached covalently to cytochrome c.
The porphyrin ring is shown in blue. There are five different
cytochromes in the respiratory chain. Because the hemes in different
cytochromes have slightly different structures and (more…)

Iron-sulfur proteins are a second major family of electron carriers. In these
proteins, either two or four iron atoms are bound to an equal number of
sulfur atoms and to cysteine side chains, forming an iron-sulfur center
on the protein (Figure 14-23). There are more iron-sulfur centers than
cytochromes in the respiratory chain. But their spectroscopic detection
requires electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, and they are less
completely characterized. Like the cytochromes, these centers carry one
electron at a time.

structure of iron sulfur centers ch14f23

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26904/bin/ch14f23.jpg

Figure 14-23. The structures of two types of iron-sulfur centers.

Figure 14-23

The structures of two types of iron-sulfur centers. (A) A center of the
2Fe2S type. (B) A center of the 4Fe4S type. Although they contain
multiple iron atoms, each iron-sulfur center can carry only one
electron at a time. There are more than seven different (more…)

The simplest of the electron carriers in the respiratory chain—and
the only one that is not part of a protein—is a small hydrophobic
molecule that is freely mobile in the lipid bilayer known as ubiquinone,
or coenzyme Q. A quinone (Q) can pick up or donate either one or
two electrons; upon reduction, it picks up a proton from the medium
along with each electron it carries (Figure 14-24).

quinone electron carriers ch14f24

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26904/bin/ch14f24.jpg

Figure 14-24. Quinone electron carriers.

Figure 14-24

Quinone electron carriers. Ubiquinone in the respiratory chain picks
up one H+ from the aqueous environment for every electron it accepts,
and it can carry either one or two electrons as part of a hydrogen atom
(yellow). When reduced ubiquinone donates (more…)

In addition to six different hemes linked to cytochromes, more than
seven iron-sulfur centers, and ubiquinone, there are also two copper
atoms and a flavin serving as electron carriers tightly bound to respiratory-chain proteins in the pathway from NADH to oxygen. This pathway
involves more than 60 different proteins in all.

As one would expect, the electron carriers have higher and higher
affinities for electrons (greater redox potentials) as one moves along
the respiratory chain. The redox potentials have been fine-tuned
during evolution by the binding of each electron carrier in a particular
protein context, which can alter its normal affinity for electrons. However,
because iron-sulfur centers have a relatively low affinity for electrons,
they predominate in the early part of the respiratory chain; in contrast,
the cytochromes predominate further down the chain, where a higher
affinity for electrons is required.

The order of the individual electron carriers in the chain was
determined by sophisticated spectroscopic measurements (Figure 14-25),
and many of the proteins were initially isolated and characterized as
individual polypeptides. A major advance in understanding the
respiratory chain, however, was the later realization that most of
the proteins are organized into three large enzyme complexes.

path of electrons ch14f25

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26904/bin/ch14f25.gif

Figure 14-25. The general methods used to determine the path of
electrons along an electron-transport chain.

Figure 14-25

The general methods used to determine the path of electrons along
an electron-transport chain. The extent of oxidation of electron
carriers a, b, c, and d is continuously monitored by following their
distinct spectra, which differ in their oxidized and (more…)

The Respiratory Chain Includes Three Large Enzyme Complexes
Embedded in the Inner Membrane

Membrane proteins are difficult to purify as intact complexes
because they are insoluble in aqueous solutions, and some of
the detergents required to solubilize them can destroy normal
protein-protein interactions. In the early 1960s, however, it
was found that relatively mild ionic detergents, such as deoxycholate,
can solubilize selected components of the inner mitochondrial
membrane in their native form. This permitted the identification
and purification of the three major membrane-bound respiratory
enzyme complexes in the pathway from NADH to oxygen (Figure 14-26).
As we shall see in this section, each of these complexes acts as an
electron-transport-driven H+ pump; however, they were
initially characterized in terms of the electron carriers that
they interact with and contain:

mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26904/bin/ch14f26.gif

Figure 14-26. The path of electrons through the three respiratory
enzyme complexes.

Figure 14-26

The path of electrons through the three respiratory enzyme complexes.
The relative size and shape of each complex are shown. During the
transfer of electrons from NADH to oxygen (red lines), ubiquinone
and cytochrome c serve as mobile carriers that ferry (more…)

The NADH dehydrogenase complex (generally known as complex I)
is the largest of the respiratory enzyme complexes, containing more
than 40 polypeptide chains. It accepts electrons from NADH and
passes them through a flavin and at least seven iron-sulfur centers
to ubiquinone. Ubiquinone then transfers its electrons to a second
respiratory enzyme complex, the cytochrome b-c1 complex.

The cytochrome b-c1 complex contains at least 11 different
polypeptide chains and functions as a dimer. Each monomer
contains three hemes bound to cytochromes and an iron-sulfur
protein. The complex accepts electrons from ubiquinone
and passes them on to cytochrome c, which carries its electron
to the cytochrome oxidase complex.

The cytochrome oxidase complex also functions as a dimer; each
monomer contains 13 different polypeptide chains, including two
cytochromes and two copper atoms. The complex accepts one electron
at a time from cytochrome c and passes them four at a time to oxygen.

The cytochromes, iron-sulfur centers, and copper atoms can carry
only one electron at a time. Yet each NADH donates two electrons,
and each O2 molecule must receive four electrons to produce water.
There are several electron-collecting and electron-dispersing points
along the electron-transport chain where these changes in electron
number are accommodated. The most obvious of these is cytochrome
oxidase.

An Iron-Copper Center in Cytochrome Oxidase Catalyzes Efficient
O2 Reduction

Because oxygen has a high affinity for electrons, it releases a
large amount of free energy when it is reduced to form water.
Thus, the evolution of cellular respiration, in which O2 is
converted to water, enabled organisms to harness much more
energy than can be derived from anaerobic metabolism. This
is presumably why all higher organisms respire. The ability of
biological systems to use O2 in this way, however, requires a
very sophisticated chemistry. We can tolerate O2 in the air we
breathe because it has trouble picking up its first electron; this
fact allows its initial reaction in cells to be controlled closely by
enzymatic catalysis. But once a molecule of O2 has picked up one
electron to form a superoxide radical (O2 -), it becomes dangerously
reactive and rapidly takes up an additional three electrons wherever
it can find them. The cell can use O2 for respiration only because
cytochrome oxidase holds onto oxygen at a special bimetallic
center, where it remains clamped between a heme-linked iron
atom and a copper atom until it has picked up a total of four electrons.
Only then can the two oxygen atoms of the oxygen molecule be
safely released as two molecules of water (Figure 14-27).

Figure 14-27. The reaction of O2 with electrons in cytochrome oxidase.

Figure 14-27

The reaction of O2 with electrons in cytochrome oxidase. As indicated,
the iron atom in heme a serves as an electron queuing point; this
heme feeds four electrons into an O2 molecule held at the bimetallic
center active site, which is formed by the other (more…)

The cytochrome oxidase reaction is estimated to account for 90%
of the total oxygen uptake in most cells. This protein complex is
therefore crucial for all aerobic life. Cyanide and azide are extremely
toxic because they bind tightly to the cell’s cytochrome oxidase
complexes to stop electron transport, thereby greatly reducing
ATP production.

Although the cytochrome oxidase in mammals contains 13
different protein subunits, most of these seem to have a subsidiary
role, helping to regulate either the activity or the assembly of the
three subunits that form the core of the enzyme. The complete
structure of this large enzyme complex has recently been determined
by x-ray crystallography, as illustrated in Figure 14-28. The atomic
resolution structures, combined with mechanistic studies of the effect
of precisely tailored mutations introduced into the enzyme by genetic
engineering of the yeast and bacterial proteins, are revealing the
detailed mechanisms of this finely tuned protein machine.

Figure 14-28. The molecular structure of cytochrome oxidase.

Figure 14-28

The molecular structure of cytochrome oxidase. This protein
is a dimer formed from a monomer with 13 different protein
subunits (monomer mass of 204,000 daltons). The three colored
subunits are encoded by the mitochondrial genome, and they
form the functional (more…)

Electron Transfers Are Mediated by Random Collisions in
the Inner Mitochondrial Membrane

The two components that carry electrons between the three
major enzyme complexes of the respiratory chain—ubiquinone
and cytochrome c—diffuse rapidly in the plane of the inner
mitochondrial membrane. The expected rate of random collisions
between these mobile carriers and the more slowly diffusing
enzyme complexes can account for the observed rates of electron
transfer (each complex donates and receives an electron about
once every 5–20 milliseconds). Thus, there is no need to postulate
a structurally ordered chain of electron-transfer proteins in the
lipid bilayer; indeed, the three enzyme complexes seem to exist as
independent entities in the plane of the inner membrane, being
present in different ratios in different mitochondria.

The ordered transfer of electrons along the respiratory chain
is due entirely to the specificity of the functional interactions
between the components of the chain: each electron carrier is
able to interact only with the carrier adjacent to it in the sequence
shown in Figure 14-26, with no short circuits.

Electrons move between the molecules that carry them in
biological systems not only by moving along covalent bonds
within a molecule, but also by jumping across a gap as large
as 2 nm. The jumps occur by electron “tunneling,” a quantum-
mechanical property that is critical for the processes we are
discussing. Insulation is needed to prevent short circuits that
would otherwise occur when an electron carrier with a low redox
potential collides with a carrier with a high redox potential. This
insulation seems to be provided by carrying an electron deep
enough inside a protein to prevent its tunneling interactions
with an inappropriate partner.

How the changes in redox potential from one electron carrier
to the next are harnessed to pump protons out of the mitochondrial
matrix is the topic we discuss next.

A Large Drop in Redox Potential Across Each of the Three Respiratory
Enzyme Complexes Provides the Energy for H+ Pumping

We have previously discussed how the redox potential reflects
electron affinities (see p. 783). An outline of the redox potentials
measured along the respiratory chain is shown in Figure 14-29.
These potentials drop in three large steps, one across each major
respiratory complex. The change in redox potential between any
two electron carriers is directly proportional to the free energy
released when an electron transfers between them. Each enzyme
complex acts as an energy-conversion device by harnessing some
of this free-energy change to pump H+ across the inner membrane,
thereby creating an electrochemical proton gradient as electrons
pass through that complex. This conversion can be demonstrated
by purifying each respiratory enzyme complex and incorporating
it separately into liposomes: when an appropriate electron donor
and acceptor are added so that electrons can pass through the complex,
H+ is translocated across the liposome membrane.

Figure 14-29. Redox potential changes along the mitochondrial
electron-transport chain.

Figure 14-29

Redox potential changes along the mitochondrial electron-transport
chain. The redox potential (designated E′0) increases as electrons
flow down the respiratory chain to oxygen. The standard free-energy
change, ΔG°, for the transfer (more…)

The Mechanism of H+ Pumping Will Soon Be Understood in
Atomic Detail

Some respiratory enzyme complexes pump one H+ per electron
across the inner mitochondrial membrane, whereas others pump
two. The detailed mechanism by which electron transport is coupled
to H+ pumping is different for the three different enzyme complexes.
In the cytochrome b-c1 complex, the quinones clearly have a role.
As mentioned previously, a quinone picks up a H+ from the aqueous
medium along with each electron it carries and liberates it when it
releases the electron (see Figure 14-24). Since ubiquinone is freely
mobile in the lipid bilayer, it could accept electrons near the inside
surface of the membrane and donate them to the cytochrome b-c1
complex near the outside surface, thereby transferring one H+
across the bilayer for every electron transported. Two protons are
pumped per electron in the cytochrome b-c1 complex, however, and
there is good evidence for a so-called Q-cycle, in which ubiquinone
is recycled through the complex in an ordered way that makes this
two-for-one transfer possible. Exactly how this occurs can now be
worked out at the atomic level, because the complete structure of
the cytochrome b-c1 complex has been determined by x-ray
crystallography (Figure 14-30).

Figure 14-30. The atomic structure of cytochrome b-c 1.

Figure 14-30

The atomic structure of cytochrome b-c 1. This protein is a dimer.
The 240,000-dalton monomer is composed of 11 different protein
molecules in mammals. The three colored proteins form the
functional core of the enzyme: cytochrome b (green), cytochrome (more…)

Allosteric changes in protein conformations driven by electron
transport can also pump H+, just as H+ is pumped when ATP
is hydrolyzed by the ATP synthase running in reverse. For both the
NADH dehydrogenase complex and the cytochrome oxidase complex,
it seems likely that electron transport drives sequential allosteric
changes in protein conformation that cause a portion of the protein
to pump H+ across the mitochondrial inner membrane. A general
mechanism for this type of H+ pumping is presented in Figure 14-31.

Figure 14-31. A general model for H+ pumping.

Figure 14-31

A general model for H+ pumping. This model for H+ pumping
by a transmembrane protein is based on mechanisms that are
thought to be used by both cytochrome oxidase and the light-driven
procaryotic proton pump, bacteriorhodopsin. The protein
is driven through (more…)

H+ Ionophores Uncouple Electron Transport from ATP Synthesis

Since the 1940s, several substances—such as 2,4-dinitrophenol—
have been known to act as uncoupling agents, uncoupling electron
transport from ATP synthesis. The addition of these low-molecular-weight organic compounds to cells stops ATP synthesis by mitochondria
without blocking their uptake of oxygen. In the presence of an
uncoupling agent, electron transport and H+ pumping continue at
a rapid rate, but no H+ gradient is generated. The explanation for
this effect is both simple and elegant: uncoupling agents are lipid-
soluble weak acids that act as H+ carriers (H+ ionophores), and
they provide a pathway for the flow of H+ across the inner mitochondrial
membrane that bypasses the ATP synthase. As a result of this short-
circuiting, the proton-motive force is dissipated completely, and
ATP can no longer be made.

Respiratory Control Normally Restrains Electron Flow
Through the Chain

When an uncoupler such as dinitrophenol is added to cells,
mitochondria increase their oxygen uptake substantially because
of an increased rate of electron transport. This increase reflects
the existence of respiratory control. The control is thought to
act via a direct inhibitory influence of the electrochemical proton
gradient on the rate of electron transport. When the gradient is
collapsed by an uncoupler, electron transport is free to run unchecked
at the maximal rate. As the gradient increases, electron transport
becomes more difficult, and the process slows. Moreover, if an
artificially large electrochemical proton gradient is experimentally
created across the inner membrane, normal electron transport
stops completely, and a reverse electron flow can be detected in
some sections of the respiratory chain. This observation suggests
that respiratory control reflects a simple balance between the
free-energy change for electron-transport-linked proton pumping
and the free-energy change for electron transport—that is, the
magnitude of the electrochemical proton gradient affects both
the rate and the direction of electron transport, just as it affects
the directionality of the ATP synthase (see Figure 14-19).

Respiratory control is just one part of an elaborate interlocking
system of feedback controls that coordinate the rates of glycolysis,
fatty acid breakdown, the citric acid cycle, and electron transport.
The rates of all of these processes are adjusted to the ATP:ADP ratio,
increasing whenever an increased utilization of ATP causes the ratio
to fall. The ATP synthase in the inner mitochondrial membrane,
for example, works faster as the concentrations of its substrates
ADP and Pi increase. As it speeds up, the enzyme lets more H+ flow
into the matrix and thereby dissipates the electrochemical proton
gradient more rapidly. The falling gradient, in turn, enhances the
rate of electron transport.

Similar controls, including feedback inhibition of several key enzymes
by ATP, act to adjust the rates of NADH production to the rate of
NADH utilization by the respiratory chain, and so on. As a result of
these many control mechanisms, the body oxidizes fats and sugars
5–10 times more rapidly during a period of strenuous exercise than
during a period of rest.

Natural Uncouplers Convert the Mitochondria in Brown Fat into
Heat-generating Machines

In some specialized fat cells, mitochondrial respiration is normally
uncoupled from ATP synthesis. In these cells, known as brown fat
cells, most of the energy of oxidation is dissipated as heat rather
than being converted into ATP. The inner membranes of the large
mitochondria in these cells contain a special transport protein that
allows protons to move down their electrochemical gradient, by-
passing ATP synthase. As a result, the cells oxidize their fat stores
at a rapid rate and produce more heat than ATP. Tissues containing
brown fat serve as “heating pads,” helping to revive hibernating animals
and to protect sensitive areas of newborn human babies from the cold.

Bacteria Also Exploit Chemiosmotic Mechanisms to Harness Energy

Bacteria use enormously diverse energy sources. Some, like animal
cells, are aerobic; they synthesize ATP from sugars they oxidize to
CO2 and H2O by glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and a respiratory
chain in their plasma membrane that is similar to the one in the
inner mitochondrial membrane. Others are strict anaerobes, deriving
their energy either from glycolysis alone (by fermentation) or from an
electron-transport chain that employs a molecule other than oxygen
as the final electron acceptor. The alternative electron acceptor can
be a nitrogen compound (nitrate or nitrite), a sulfur compound
(sulfate or sulfite), or a carbon compound (fumarate or carbonate),
for example. The electrons are transferred to these acceptors by a
series of electron carriers in the plasma membrane that are comparable
to those in mitochondrial respiratory chains.

Despite this diversity, the plasma membrane of the vast majority of
bacteria contains an ATP synthase that is very similar to the one in
mitochondria. In bacteria that use an electron-transport chain to
harvest energy, the electron-transport pumps H+ out of the cell and
thereby establishes a proton-motive force across the plasma membrane
that drives the ATP synthase to make ATP. In other bacteria, the
ATP synthase works in reverse, using the ATP produced by glycolysis
to pump H+ and establish a proton gradient across the plasma
membrane. The ATP used for this process is generated by
fermentation processes (discussed in Chapter 2).

Thus, most bacteria, including the strict anaerobes, maintain a proton
gradient across their plasma membrane. It can be harnessed to drive
a flagellar motor, and it is used to pump Na+ out of the bacterium via
a Na+-H+ antiporter that takes the place of the Na+-K+ pump of
eucaryotic cells. This gradient is also used for the active inward transport
of nutrients, such as most amino acids and many sugars: each nutrient is
dragged into the cell along with one or more H+ through a specific symporter
(Figure 14-32). In animal cells, by contrast, most inward transport across
the plasma membrane is driven by the Na+ gradient that is established by the
Na+-K+ pump.

Figure 14-32. The importance of H+-driven transport in bacteria.

Figure 14-32

The importance of H+-driven transport in bacteria. A proton-motive force
generated across the plasma membrane pumps nutrients into the cell and
expels Na+. (A) In an aerobic bacterium, an electrochemical proton gradient
across the plasma membrane is produced (more…)

Some unusual bacteria have adapted to live in a very alkaline
environment and yet must maintain their cytoplasm at a physiological
pH. For these cells, any attempt to generate an electrochemical H+
gradient would be opposed by a large H+ concentration gradient in
the wrong direction (H+ higher inside than outside). Presumably for
this reason, some of these bacteria substitute Na+ for H+ in all of their
chemiosmotic mechanisms. The respiratory chain pumps Na+ out of
the cell, the transport systems and flagellar motor are driven by an
inward flux of Na+, and a Na+-driven ATP synthase synthesizes
ATP. The existence of such bacteria demonstrates that the principle
of chemiosmosis is more fundamental than the proton-motive force
on which it is normally based.

Summary

The respiratory chain in the inner mitochondrial membrane contains
three respiratory enzyme complexes through which electrons pass on
their way from NADH to O2.

Each of these can be purified, inserted into synthetic lipid vesicles,
and then shown to pump H+ when electrons are transported through it.
In the intact membrane, the mobile electron carriers ubiquinone and
cytochrome c complete the electron-transport chain by shuttling between
the enzyme complexes. The path of electron flow is NADH → NADH
dehydrogenase complex → ubiquinone → cytochrome b-c1 complex →
cytochrome c → cytochrome oxidase complex → molecular oxygen (O2).

The respiratory enzyme complexes couple the energetically favorable
transport of electrons to the pumping of H+ out of the matrix. The
resulting electrochemical proton gradient is harnessed to make ATP
by another transmembrane protein complex, ATP synthase, through
which H+ flows back into the matrix. The ATP synthase is a reversible
coupling device that normally converts a backflow of H+ into ATP
phosphate bond energy by catalyzing the reaction ADP + Pi → ATP,
but it can also work in the opposite direction and hydrolyze ATP to
pump H+ if the electrochemical proton gradient is sufficiently reduced.
Its universal presence in mitochondria, chloroplasts, and procaryotes
testifies to the central importance of chemiosmotic mechanisms in cells.

By agreement with the publisher, this book is accessible by the search
feature, but cannot be browsed.

Copyright © 2002, Bruce Alberts, Alexander Johnson, Julian Lewis,
Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, and Peter Walter; Copyright © 1983, 1989,
1994, Bruce Alberts, Dennis Bray, Julian Lewis, Martin Raff, Keith
Roberts, and James D. Watson .

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The Colors of Life Function

Posted in Amino acids, Cell Biology, Curation, Discovery process, Evolutionary cognition, Experimental validation, Explanatory, Historical relevance, Metabolism, Metabolomics, Proteins, Proteomics, Signaling, tagged Amino acids, catalysts, conformation, energy metabolism, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), ligand-binding, metalloenzymes, Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, oxidation, Proteins, Raman spectroscopy on January 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The Colors of Life Function

Writer and Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

2.5.1 Type 1 Copper Proteins

The Cu(II) state of this category has an intense blue color due to a thiolate ligand
to Cu(II) charge transfer, and unusual EPR properties arising from the asymmetrical
Cu site (distorted trigonal-pyramidal). The proteins all have a low molecular
mass and have, so far, rather arbitrarily been divided into sub-groups, such as
azurins, plastocyanins, pseudoazurins, amicyanins and various other blue
proteins. Of these the azurins, amicyanins, pseudo-azurins and plastocyanins
apparently have similar copper coordination by two histidine, one cysteine and
one methionine residue. Where the function of Type I copper proteins is known,
it is invariably electron transfer. As yet the names for these proteins are all trivial
and are often derived from source, function or color. The different classes are
usually discerned on the basis of their primary and tertiary structure.

The first bacterial blue proteins to be described were called azurins. Rusticyanin is
another example of a bacterial protein. It has unusual properties with a reduction
potential of 680 mV, and is functional at pH 2. The azurins have well-defined electron
-transfer functions.

The so-called pseudo-azurins differ from the azurins in the N-terminal amino acid
sequence and the optical spectra, which resemble those of plastocyanins.

The blue proteins known as plastocyanins occur in plants, blue-green and green
algae. Their electron transfer role is well defined, i.e. from the bc1 complex
(EC 1.10.2.2) to the photooxidized P-700.

Amicyanins are electron carriers between methylamine dehydrogenase and
cytochrome c, with a characteristic amino acid sequence.

Of the remaining blue proteins stellacyanin is a well- known example. Umecyanin,
plantacyanin and mavicyanin are also considered to belong to this group.
Although these proteins undergo redox reactions in vitro, their true biological
function remains unknown. Most of these proteins exhibit an unusual EPR signal
in which the copper hyperfine splitting pattern is poorly resolved. There is good
evidence that at least for stellacyanin, methionine does not function as a ligand
for copper.

2.5.2 Type 2 Copper Proteins

The copper centres in these proteins are spectroscopically consistent with square
planar or pyramidal coordination, containing oxygen and/or nitrogen ligation.
The Cu(II) is EPR active, with a ‘normal’ signal. There is no intense blue color.
This group includes the copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1),
dopamine b-monooxygenase (EC 1.14.17.1), galactose oxidase (EC 1.1.3.9)
and the various copper-containing amine oxidases. Some members of this last
group may also contain an organic prosthetic group, such as PQQ
(see section 10), or a modified amino-acid residue.

2.5.3 Type 3 Copper Proteins

In this group a pair of copper atoms comprise a dinuclear centre, with no EPR
activity as for single Cu’s. The best known example of an enzyme containing a
single Type 3 centre is tyrosinase (catechol oxidase, EC 1.10.3.1). This protein
contains a metal center which is a structural analogue of the dinuclear copper
center in hemocyanin (ref 31).

2.5.4 Multi-Copper Oxidases

In addition to the above, there are several proteins with catalytic activity that
contain Types 1, 2 and 3 centres in various stoichiometric ratios. These
include L-ascorbate oxidase (EC 1.10.3.3), laccase (EC 1.10.3.2) and
ceruloplasmin (ferro-oxidase, EC 1.16.3.1), the latter two having aromatic diamine
and diphenol oxidase activity. There is growing evidence that in these proteins
the Type 2 and Type 3 copper centres are juxtaposed. Recently it has been
shown that in L-ascorbate oxidase, a trinuclear copper site is present, consisting
of a type 3 copper site, very close (3.9 Å) and possibly bridged to a type 2 copper
site (ref 32). There is a view that ceruloplasmin functions as a ferro-oxidase
and the Fe(III) produced in this reaction can then oxidize the same substrates
as laccase.

2.5.5 Copper Centres in Cytochrome Oxidase

There are two copper centres that appear to be unique. Both are present in
cytochrome-c oxidase (EC 1.9.3.1). The first appears to be an isolated metal ion
and has been referred to as Cud and CuA. The second appears to be part
of a dinuclear centre with cytochrome a3. It has been referred to as Cuu,
Cua3 and CuB. At the moment the ascriptions CuA and CuB are most frequently
used; however, the recent discovery (ref 33) of a cytochrome oxidase in which
cytochrome a has been replaced by cytochrome b, leads to the recommendation
that CuB shall be referred to as Cua3.

There is a striking similarity between two of the Cu centres of N2O reductase
and CuA (ref 34, 35).

2.5.6 Molybdenum enzymes (general)

Molybdenum enzymes contain molybdenum at the catalytic center responsible
for reaction with substrate. They may be divided into those that contain
the iron-molybdenum cofactor and those that contain the pterin-molybdenum
cofactor.

2.5.7 Additional centers

If a molybdenum enzyme contains flavin, it may be called either a molybdenum
flavoprotein or a flavomolybdenum protein, as indicated above. Other centers
should be treated similarly, e.g. an iron-sulfur molybdenum protein.

2.5.8 Molybdenum enzymes containing the iron-molybdenum cofactor

The only enzymes at present known to belong to this group are the nitrogenases
(EC 1.18.6.1; and EC 1.19.6.1): see pp 89-116 in (ref 36) and pp 91-100 in (ref 37).

2.5.9 Molybdenum enzymes containing the pterin-molybdenum cofactor

These enzymes [see pp 411-415 in (ref 36) and (ref 38)] may be divided
into those in which the molybdenum bears a cyanide-labile sulfido (or thio
– see Note 1) ligand i.e. containing the S2- ligand as Mo=S) and those
lacking this ligand. The former group includes xanthine oxidase (EC 1.1.3.22),
xanthine dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.204), aldehyde oxidase (EC 1.2.3.1) and
purine hydroxylase (EC: see Note 2 and 3). These may be called ‘molybdenum-
containing hydroxylase’ as is widely done. Molybdenum enzymes lacking the
sulfide (thio) ligand include sulfite oxidase (EC 1.8.3.1), NAD(P)+-independent
aldehyde dehydrogenase and nitrate reductases (assimilatory and dissimilatory)
(EC 1.6.6.1-3).

2.5.10 Molybdenum enzymes containing the pterin-molybdenum cofactor

These enzymes [see pp 411-415 in (ref 36) and (ref 38)] may be divided into those
in which the molybdenum bears a cyanide-labile sulfido (or thio – see Note 1)
ligand i.e. containing the S2- ligand as Mo=S) and those lacking this ligand. The
former group includes xanthine oxidase (EC 1.1.3.22), xanthine dehydrogenase
(EC 1.1.1.204), aldehyde oxidase (EC 1.2.3.1) and purine hydroxylase. These
may be called ‘molybdenum-containing hydroxylase’ as is widely done.
Molybdenum enzymes lacking the sulfide (thio) ligand include sulfite oxidase
(EC 1.8.3.1), NAD(P)+-independent aldehyde dehydrogenase and nitrate
reductases (assimilatory and dissimilatory) (EC 1.6.6.1-3).

2.5.11 Metal-Substituted Metalloproteins

Scientists from several areas, dealing with spectroscopy and electron-transfer
mechanisms, often use metalloproteins in which a metal at the active site has
been substituted by another metal ion, like Co, Zn, Hg, Cd. Examples are zinc-
substituted cytochromes and cobalt-substituted ferredoxins.

The names for such modified proteins are easily given by using indications
like: ‘zinc-substituted ….’. In case of multi-metal proteins, where ambiguity might
arise about which metal has been substituted, one could easily add in parentheses
the name of the metal that has been replaced, such as: cobalt- substituted [Fe]
nitrogenase.

In formulae fragments or short names one could use the following notation:
[3Fe1Co-4S]2+, cytochrome c'[Fe[arrow right]CoFe], plastocyanin[Cu
[arrow right]Hg].

Ambler, R.P. (1980) in From Cyclotrons to Cytochromes (Kaplan, N.O. &
Robinson, A., eds) Academic Press, New York

Moore, G. & Pettigrew, F.(1987) Cytochromes c, Springer-Verlag, Berlin

Bartsch, R.G. (1963) in Bacterial Photosynthesis (Gest, H., San Pietro, A. &
Vernon, L.P., ed.) p. 315, Antioch Press, Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Stiefel, E.I. & Cramer, S.P. (1985) in Molybdenum Enzymes (Spiro, T.G., ed.),
Wiley-Interscience, New York, 89-116.

Smith B.E. et al. (1988), in Nitrogen Fixation Hundred Years After (Bothe,
H., de Bruijn, F.J. & Newton, W.E., ed.), Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart, New York,
91-100

Type-2 copper-containing enzymes.
MacPherson IS1, Murphy ME.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2007 Nov;64(22):2887-99.

Type-2 Cu sites are found in all the major branches of life and are often
involved in the catalysis of oxygen species. Four type-2 Cu protein
families are selected as model systems for review: amine oxidases,
Cu monooxygenases, nitrite reductase/multicopper oxidase, and
CuZn superoxide dismutase. For each model protein, the availability
of multiple crystal structures and detailed enzymological studies provides
a detailed molecular view of the type-2 Cu site and delineation of the
mechanistic role of the Cu in biological function. Comparison of these
model proteins leads to the identification of common properties of the
Cu sites and insight into the evolution of the trinuclear active site found
in multicopper oxidases.

Copper proteins and copper enzymes.
Cass AE, Hill HA.
Ciba Found Symp. 1980;79:71-91.
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/caeruloplasmin/copper_proteins/t1.htm

The copper proteins that function in homeostasis, electron transport, dioxygen
transport and oxidation are discussed. Particular emphasis is placed on the
role of the ligands, their type and disposition which, in conjunction with other
residues in the active site, determine the role of the copper ion. It is proposed that
copper proteins can be considered in four groups. Those in Group I contain a
single copper ion in an approximately tetrahedral environment with nitrogen and
sulphur-containing ligands. Group II proteins have a single copper ion in a square-
planar-like arrangement. Group III proteins have two copper ions in close
proximity. Group IV consists of multi-opper proteins, composed of sites
representative of the other three groups.

Such centers owe their name to the intense blue coloration of the corresponding
Cu(II) proteins. The color is particularly distinctive since the metal centers are
so optically diluted in these metalloenzymes that only intense absorption in the
visible region, resulting from symmetry allowed electronic transitions, can give
rise to conspicuous colors. In contrast, the comparatively pale blue color of normal
Cu(II)) is the result of forbidden electronic transitions between d-orbitals of
different symmetry; in Cu2+(aq) this gives a molar extinction coefficient of
10 M-1cm-1 from a broad absorption between 10,000 cm-1 and 15,000 cm-1
compared to about 3000 M-1cm-1 observed for blue Cu(II) centers. For the
T1 centers the intense absorption is attributed to a ligand-to-metal charge
transfer between the Cu2+ and a bonded cysteinate ligand. Typically, as in
azurin or plastocyanin this occurs around 16,000 cm-1. Ceruloplasmin has
three T1 centers, and the blue absorption is at 16,400 cm-1 (610nm).

Plastocyanine geometry

around the copper Crystal structures show a very irregular ‘tetrahedral’ coordination
with two sulphurs from methionine and cysteinate, and two histidine nitrogens.
However a comparison of azurin with plastocyanin shows that the geometry
is in some ways closer to a trigonal bipyramid, with and without one extra apical
ligand, so that azurin has a weakly bound glutamine oxygen, and plastocyanine
does not. The T1 coppers in caruloplasmin are in plastocyanine-type domains.
Each of these are coordinated to two histidines and a cysteine, in two of the T1
domains there is also a methionine residue, the third T1 domain has a leucine
residue which may only have a van der Waals type contact with the copper.

T1 copper centers are functional in the reversible electron transfer:

Cu2+ + e- = Cu+

The strongly distorted geometry represents a compromise (entactic-state
situation) between d10 Cu(I), with its preferred tetrahedral or trigonal
coordination through soft sulfur ligands, and d9 Cu(II) with preferential
square planar or square pyramidal geometry and nitrogen ligand
coordination. This irregular, high energy arrangement at the metal
center resembles the transition-state geometry between the tetrahedral
and square planar equilibrium configurations of the two oxidation states
involved and permits enhanced rates of electron transfer. The potential
range for proteins with T1 copper centers runs from 180 mV in
stellacyanin to 680 mV in rusticyanin.

Zinc proteins: enzymes, storage proteins, transcription factors, and replication
proteins.
Coleman JE.
Annu Rev Biochem. 1992;61:897-946.

In the past five years there has been a great expansion in our knowledge of
the role of zinc in the structure and function of proteins. Not only is zinc
required for essential catalytic functions in enzymes (more than 300 are known
at present), but also it stabilizes and even induces the folding of protein
subdomains. The latter functions have been most dramatically illustrated
by the discovery of the essential role of zinc in the folding of the DNA-binding
domains of eukaryotic transcription factors, including the zinc
finger transcription factors, the large family of hormone receptor proteins,
and the zinc cluster transcription factors from yeasts. Similar functions are
highly probable for the zinc found in the RNA polymerases and the zinc-
containing accessory proteins involved in nucleic acid replication. The rapid
increase in the number and nature of the proteins in which zinc functions
is not unexpected since zinc is the second most abundant trace metal found in
eukaryotic organisms, second only to iron. If one subtracts the amount of iron
found in hemoglobin, zinc becomes the most abundant trace metal found
in the human body.

Zinc Coordination Spheres in Protein Structures
ACS ChemWorx
Mikko Laitaoja , Jarkko Valjakka , and Janne Jänis
Inorg. Chem., 2013, 52 (19), pp 10983–10991
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1021/ic401072d
Sept 23, 2013

Synopsis
A statistical analysis in terms of zinc coordinating amino acids, metal-to-ligand
bond lengths, coordination number, and structural classification was performed,
revealing coordination spheres from classical tetrahedral cysteine/histidine binding
sites to more complex binuclear sites with carboxylated lysine residues. According
to the results, coordination spheres of hundreds of crystal structures in the PDB
could be misinterpreted due to symmetry-related molecules or missing electron
densities for ligands.

Protein-folding location can regulate manganese-binding versus copper- or
zinc-binding.
Tottey S, Waldron KJ, Firbank SJ, Reale B, Bessant C, Sato K, Cheek TR, et al.
Nature. 2008 Oct 23;455(7216):1138-42. http://dx.doi.org:/10.1038/nature07340

Metals are needed by at least one-quarter of all proteins. Although metallo-
chaperones insert the correct metal into some proteins, they have not been
found for the vast majority, and the view is that most metalloproteins acquire
their metals directly from cellular pools. However, some metals form more
stable complexes with proteins than do others. For instance, as described
in the Irving-Williams series, Cu(2+) and Zn(2+) typically form more stable
complexes than Mn(2+). Thus it is unclear what cellular mechanisms manage
metal acquisition by most nascent proteins. To investigate this question, we
identified the most abundant Cu(2+)-protein, CucA (Cu(2+)-cupin A), and the
most abundant Mn(2+)-protein, MncA (Mn(2+)-cupin A), in the periplasm of
the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803. Each of these newly identified
proteins binds its respective metal via identical ligands within a cupin fold.
Consistent with the Irving-Williams series, MncA only binds Mn(2+) after
folding in solutions containing at least a 10(4) times molar excess of Mn(2+)
over Cu(2+) or Zn(2+). However once MncA has bound Mn(2+), the metal
does not exchange with Cu(2+). MncA and CucA have signal peptides for
different export pathways into the periplasm, Tat and Sec respectively. Export
by the Tat pathway allows MncA to fold in the cytoplasm, which contains only
tightly bound copper or Zn(2+) (refs 10-12) but micromolar Mn(2+) (ref. 13). In
contrast, CucA folds in the periplasm to acquire Cu(2+). These results reveal
a mechanism whereby the compartment in which a protein folds overrides its
binding preference to control its metal content. They explain why the cytoplasm
must contain only tightly bound and buffered copper and Zn(2+).

Predicting copper-, iron-, and zinc-binding proteins in pathogenic species of the
Paracoccidioides genus
GB Tristão, L do Prado Assunção, LPA dos Santos, CL Borges, MG Silva-Bailão,
CM de Almeida Soares, G Cavallaro and AM Bailão*
Front. Microbiol., 9 Jan 2015 http://dx.doi.org:/10.3389/fmicb.2014.00761

Approximately one-third of all proteins have been estimated to contain at least
one metal cofactor, and these proteins are referred to as metalloproteins. These
represent one of the most diverse classes of proteins, containing metal ions that
bind to specific sites to perform catalytic, regulatory and structural functions.
Bioinformatic tools have been developed to predict metalloproteins encoded by
an organism based only on its genome sequence. Its function and the type of
metal binder can also be predicted via a bioinformatics approach. Paracoccidioides
complex includes termodimorphic pathogenic fungi that are found as saprobic
mycelia in the environment and as yeast, the parasitic form, in host tissues. They
are the etiologic agents of Paracoccidioidomycosis, a prevalent systemic mycosis
in Latin America. Many metalloproteins are important for the virulence of several
pathogenic microorganisms. Accordingly, the present work aimed to predict the
copper, iron and zinc proteins encoded by the genomes of three phylogenetic species
of Paracoccidioides (Pb01, Pb03, andPb18). The metalloproteins were identified
using bioinformatics approaches based on structure, annotation and domains. Cu-,
Fe-, and Zn-binding proteins represent 7% of the total proteins encoded by
Paracoccidioides spp. genomes. Zinc proteins were the most abundant metallo-
proteins, representing 5.7% of the fungus proteome, whereas copper and iron
proteins represent 0.3 and 1.2%, respectively. Functional classification revealed that
metalloproteins are related to many cellular processes. Furthermore, it was observed
that many of these metalloproteins serve as virulence factors in the biology of the
fungus. Thus, it is concluded that the Cu, Fe, and Zn metalloproteomes of the
Paracoccidioides spp. are of the utmost importance for the biology and virulence
of these particular human pathogens.

Zinc finger proteins: new insights into structural and functional diversity
John H Laity, Brian M Lee, Peter E Wright
Current Opinion in Structural Biology Feb 2001; 11(1): 39–46
http://epigenie.com/key-epigenetic-players/chromatin-modifying-and-dna-
binding-proteins/zinc-finger-proteins/

Zinc finger proteins are among the most abundant proteins in eukaryotic genomes.
Their functions are extraordinarily diverse and include DNA recognition, RNA
packaging, transcriptional activation, regulation of apoptosis, protein folding
and assembly, and lipid binding. Zinc finger structures are as diverse as their
functions. Structures have recently been reported for many new zinc finger
domains with novel topologies, providing important insights into structure/function
relationships. In addition, new structural studies of proteins containing the
classical Cys2His2 zinc finger motif have led to novel insights into mechanisms
of DNA binding and to a better understanding of their broader functions in
transcriptional regulation.

Zinc Finger Proteins

Zinc finger (ZnF) proteins are a massive, diverse family of proteins that serve a
wide variety of biological functions. Due to their diversity, it is difficult to come up
with a simple definition of what unites all ZnF proteins; however, the most common
approach is to define them as all small, functional domains that require coordination
by at least one zinc ion (Laity et al., 2001). The zinc ion serves to stabilize the
integration of the protein itself, and is generally not involved in binding targets.
The “finger” refers to the secondary structures (α-helix and β-sheet) that are
held together by the Zn ion. Zinc finger containing domains typically serve
as interactors, binding DNA, RNA, proteins or small molecules (Laity et al., 2001).

ZnF Protein Families

Cys2His2 was the first domain discovered (also known as Krüppel-type). It was
initially discovered as a repeating domain in the IIIA transcription factor in
Xenopus laevis (Brown et al., 1985; Miller et al., 1985). IIIA has nine repeats
of the 30 amino acids that make up the Cys2His2 domain. Each domain forms
a left-handed ββα secondary structure, and coordinates a Zn ion between
two cysteines on the β-sheet hairpin and two histidines in the α-helix, hence
the name Cys2His2 (Lee et al., 1989). These resides are highly conserved,
as well as a general hydrophobic core that allows the helix to form. The other
residues can show great sequence diversity (Michael et al., 1992). Cys2His2
zinc fingers that bind DNA tend to have 2-4 tandem domains as part of a
larger protein. The residues of the alpha helices form specific contacts with a
specific DNA sequence motif by “reading” the nucleotides in major groove
of DNA (Elrod-Erickson et al., 1996; Pavletich and Pabo, 1991). Cys2His2
proteins are the biggest group of transcription factors in most species. Non-
DNA binding proteins can have much more flexible tertiary structure.
Examples of Cys2His2 proteins include the Inhibitor of Apoptosis (IAP) family
of proteins and the CTFC transcription factor.

Treble clef fingers are a very diverse group of ZnF protiens both in terms of
structure and function. What makes them a family is a shared fold at their core
that looks a little like a musical treble clef, especially if you squint (Grishin,
2001). Most treble clef finger motifs have a β hairpin, a variable loop region,
a β hairpin, and an α helix. The “knuckle” of the β hairpin and the α helix contain
the Cys-x-x-Cys sequence necessary to coordinate the Zn ion. Treble clef
fingers often form the core of protein structures, for example the L24E and
S14 ribosomal proteins and the RING finger family.

Zinc ribbons are a little less structurally complex than the other two major groups.
Zinc ribbons contain two zinc knuckles, often β hairpins, coordinating a zinc ion via
a two Cys residures separated by 2-4 other residues on one knuckle, and a Cys-x-x-
Cys on the other (Hahn and Roberts, 2000). Examples of zinc ribbon-containing
proteins include the basal transcription factors TFIIS and TFIIB that for a complex
with RNAPII to bind DNA, and the Npl4 nuclear core protein that uses a zinc ribbon
to bind ubiquitin (Alam et al., 2004). Cys2His2, treble clef fingers, and zinc ribbons
form the majority of zinc fingers, but there are several other smaller groups that
don’t fit neatly into these three. Green fluorescent protein as a marker for gene
expression.

Metallothionein proteins expression, copper and zinc concentrations, and lipid
peroxidation level in a rodent model for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
E Tokuda, Shin-Ichi Ono, K Ishige, A Naganuma, Y Ito, T Suzuki
Toxicology Jan 2007; 229(1–2): 33–41

It has been hypothesized that copper-mediated oxidative stress contributes to the
pathogenesis of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal motor neuron
disease in humans. To verify this hypothesis, we examined the copper and zinc
concentrations and the amounts of lipid peroxides, together with that of the
expression of metallothionein (MT) isoforms in a mouse model [superoxide
dismutase1 transgenic (SOD1 Tg) mouse] of ALS. The expression of MT-I and
MT-II (MT-I/II) isoforms were measured together with Western blotting, copper
level, and lipid peroxides amounts increased in an age-dependent manner in the
spinal cord, the region responsible for motor paralysis. A significant increase was
already seen as early as 8-week-old SOD1 Tg mice, at which time the mice had not
yet exhibited motor paralysis, and showed a further increase at 16 weeks of age,
when paralysis was evident. Inversely, the spinal zinc level had significantly
decreased at both 8 and 16 weeks of age. The third isoform, the MT-III level,
remained at the same level as an 8-week-old wild-type mouse, finally increasing
to a significant level at 16 weeks of age. It has been believed that a mutant SOD1
protein, encoded by a mutant SOD1, gains a novel cytotoxic function while
maintaining its original enzymatic activity, and causes motor neuron death
(gain-of-toxic function). Copper-mediated oxidative stress seems to be a probable
underlying pathogenesis of gain-of-toxic function. Taking the above current
concepts and the classic functions of MT into account, MTs could have a disease
modifying property: the MT-I/II isoform for attenuating the gain-of-toxic function
at the early stage of the disease, and the MT-III isoform at an advanced stage.

Prion protein expression level alters regional copper, iron and zinc content in
the mouse brain
MJ Pushie, IJ Pickering, GR Martin, S Tsutsui, FR Jirik and GN George
Metallomics, 2011,3, 206-214 http://dx.doi.org:/10.1039/C0MT00037J

The central role of the prion protein (PrP) in a family of fatal neurodegenerate
diseases has garnered considerable research interest over the past two decades.
Moreover, the role of PrP in neuronal development, as well as its apparent role
in metal homeostasis, is increasingly of interest. The host-encoded form of the
prion protein (PrP^C) binds multiple copper atoms via its N-terminal domain
and can influence brain copper and iron levels. The importance of PrP^C to the
regulation of brain metal homeostasis and metal distribution, however, is not
fully understood. We therefore employed synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence
imaging to map the level and distributions of several key metals in the brains of
mice that express different levels of PrP^C. Brain sections from wild-type, prion
gene knockout (Prnp^−/−) and PrP^C over-expressing mice revealed striking
variation in the levels of iron, copper, and even zinc in specific brain regions as
a function of PrP^C expression. Our results indicate that one important function
of PrP^C may be to regulate the amount and distribution of specific metals within
the central nervous system. This raises the possibility that PrP^C levels, or its
activity, might regulate the progression of diseases in which altered metal
homeostasis is thought to play a pathogenic role such as Alzheimer’s,
Parkinson’s and Wilson’s diseases and disorders such as hemochromatosis.

Zinc & Copper Imbalances: Immense Biochemical Implications
Mar 27, 2013 by Michael McEvoy
http://metabolichealing.com/zinc-copper-imbalances-immense-biochemical-
implications/

The status of zinc and copper levels may have profound implications for
many people. Much has been written about the significance of these two
trace elements for many, many years. Many health conditions may be
directly caused by abnormal zinc and copper levels.

With all of the recent attention given to methylation status, gene mutations,
MTHFR, and the associated neurological and mental/behavioral disorders
that may ensue, zinc and copper status remains a pivotal ratio in these regards.

While zinc toxicity and copper deficiency are possible, the subject of this
article is on the more common imbalance: copper toxicity and zinc deficiency.

The Physiological Roles Of Zinc & Copper

Zinc and copper are antagonists. The balance between these two trace
elements is an example of the effects of biological dualism. While zinc
toxicity is possible, far more common is zinc deficiency and copper toxicity.
Both zinc and copper play essential roles in the body, and there can be a
number of causes for why imbalances ensue.

It may be easier to identify the roles that zinc doesn’t play in the body,
than the roles it does play. Zinc is an essential trace element that activates
several hundred enzymatic reactions. These reactions are fundamental
to life and biological activity. Some of the activities that zinc are involved in:

DNA & RNA synthesis
Gene expression
Nervous system function
Immune function & immune signaling such as cell
apoptosis
Neuronal transmission
Brain function
Zinc possesses powerful anabolic activities in the cells
Formation of zinc proteins known as “zinc fingers”
Zinc is essential for blood clotting and platelet formation
Zinc is involved in Vitamin A synthesis
Folate is made available through zinc enzyme reactions
Along with copper, Zinc makes up the antioxidant
enzyme
system, ZnCu superoxide dismutase
Steroidal hormone synthesis
Growth & development of children
Testosterone and semen formation
The highest concentration of zinc is found in the
male prostate gland

Copper is an essential trace element serving many important functions
as well. However, copper is well documented to induce several toxic effects
in the body, when elevated. Because copper is a pro-oxidant when free and
unbound, it can quickly generate free radicals.

The major sources for copper toxicity are: exposure to industrial forms
of copper such as copper pipes, copper cookware, birth control, exposure
to copper-based fungicides. Diets high in copper and low in zinc may play
a role in copper toxicity. Pyrrole disorder, which causes depletion of zinc,
may result in elevated levels of copper.

Some of the essential roles copper plays in the body:

Connective tissue formation
ATP synthesis
Iron metabolism
Brain health via neurotransmitter synthesis
Gene transcription
Synthesis of the antioxidant superoxide dismutase
Skin pigmentation
Nerve tissue: myelin sheath formation
Copper tends to rise when estrogen is dominant

Perhaps one of the first reports that zinc and copper imbalances play
a role in human health and disease was their detection in mental
disorders made by Carl Pfeiffer, MD, PhD. Dr. Pfeiffer identified a
condition known as pyrrole disorder, sometimes referred to as
pyrroluria or “mauve factor”.

As it turns out, pyrrole disorder is a major biochemical imbalance
in many people with chronic illnesses such as chronic Lyme disease,
autism, schizophrenia, depression, bi-polar, and chronic fatigue
syndrome. Pyrroles are a byproduct of hemoglobin synthesis.
Apparently, some individuals are more predisposed towards producing
higher amounts of pyrroles. When pyrroles are excessive, they irreversibly
bind to zinc and vitamin B6, causing their excretion. Consequently,
it is common that once zinc levels become depleted, copper levels tend to rise.

Copper Toxicity

Problems associated with copper toxicity include: pyrrole disorder,
estrogen dominance, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety disorder,
chronic fatigue, migraines, liver toxicity, thyroid conditions, chronic
candida yeast infections, PMS, to name a few. Some research has
even implicated copper toxicity with Alzheimer’s Disease and with
cardiovascular disease. Perhaps one of the primary mechanisms
through which copper toxicity can damage tissues is through its
initiation of oxidative stress and free radical formation. Free copper
ions that are not bound to copper proteins such as ceruloplasmin,
are pro-oxidants, and are highly reactive.

Empirical research from clinicians, indicates that there are different
types of copper imbalances. For example, if there is a lot of free,
unbound copper present, this may cause a situation of nutritive
copper deficiency. Another copper imbalance is when high pyrroles
depress zinc levels, and copper levels concomintantly rise. If high
pyrroles are present, B6 will also be lost in high amounts. In a general
but very real sense, all forms of copper excess will affect zinc status,
due to the dualistic nature of zinc and copper.

Copper & Estrogen

It has been known for many years that copper can cause a rise in
estrogen, and conversely estrogen may raise copper. Estrogen
dominance has been extensively studied in its role in breast
cancer development. One possible, critical role that can cause
estrogen to become carcinogenic, is through its oxidation induced by
copper. Once oxidized, estrogen forms volatile hydroxyl radicals and
the associated DNA damage and “mutagenesis”.

Zinc Deficiency

As mentioned previously, pyrrole disorder will directly depress
zinc status, causing high levels of its excretion. When zinc is
lost, copper rises. Because of their essential roles in neuro-
transmitter synthesis, low zinc and high copper levels can
directly effect cognition, behavior and thought processes.
Zinc has been studied in biochemical reactions involving
calcium-driven, synaptic neurotransmission, as well as in
glutamate/GABA balance and with limbic brain function.

Zinc & Reproduction

Zinc is essential for steroidal hormone synthesis, and is a
well known catalyst for testosterone synthesis, as well as
leutinizing hormone. Zinc has demonstrated its ability to
prevent miscarriage and toxicity during pregnancy. The male
prostate gland reportedly contains the highest concentration
of zinc in the body.

Zinc & Brain Function

Much attention has been given to excitotoxicity, such as the
effects induced by MSG (monosodium glutamtate). Excess
stimulation of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate,
may cause severe physical and psychological reactions in
certain individuals. Zinc has been studied for its ability to
enhance GABA (glutamate’s antagonistic neurotransmitter)
activity and to suppress excess glutamate.

Studies on mice demonstrated that when depleted of zinc
for two weeks, the mice developed seizures, most likely due
to GABA deficiencies and glutamate excess.

There is an emerging body of evidence that demonstrates
that Alzheimer’s disease may involve copper toxicity and
zinc deficiency. Not only can excess copper cause zinc
depletion, but so can excess lead.

The hippocampus, a major part of the limbic brain, records
memories and is responsible for processing meaningful
experiences. Numerous studies site that if hippocampal
cells are deprived of zinc, the hippocampal cells die. In
addition to hippocampus cell death induced by zinc
deprivation, the amygdala, the other major limbic gland
experiences cell death as well, when deprived of zinc.

Green Fluorescent Protein

Chalfie M, Tu Y, Euskirchen G, Ward WW, Prasher DC.
Science. 1994 Feb 11;263(5148):802-5.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8303295

A complementary DNA for the Aequorea victoria green fluorescent protein (GFP)
produces a fluorescent product when expressed in prokaryotic (Escherichia coli)
or eukaryotic (Caenorhabditis elegans) cells. Because exogenous substrates and
cofactors are not required for this fluorescence, GFP expression can be used
to monitor gene expression and protein localization in living organisms.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_fluorescent_protein

The green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a protein composed of 238 amino acid
residues (26.9 kDa) that exhibits bright green fluorescence when exposed
to light in the blue to ultraviolet range. Although many other marine organisms
have similar green fluorescent proteins, GFP traditionally refers to the protein
first isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. The GFP from A. victoria
has a major excitation peak at a wavelength of 395 nm and a minor one at
475 nm. Its emission peak is at 509 nm, which is in the lower green portion
of the visible spectrum. The fluorescence quantum yield (QY) of GFP is 0.79.
The GFP from the sea pansy (Renilla reniformis) has a single major excitation
peak at 498 nm.

In cell and molecular biology, the GFP gene is frequently used as a reporter of
expression. In modified forms it has been used to make biosensors, and many
animals have been created that express GFP as a proof-of-concept that a gene
can be expressed throughout a given organism. The GFP gene can be introduced
into organisms and maintained in their genome through breeding, injection with a
viral vector, or cell transformation. To date, the GFP gene has been introduced
and expressed in many Bacteria, Yeast and other Fungi, fish (such as zebrafish),
plant, fly, and mammalian cells, including human. Martin Chalfie, Osamu Shimomura,
and Roger Y. Tsien were awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on 10 October
2008 for their discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein.

http://www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/GFP-1.htm

In Aequorea victoria a protein called aequorin releases blue light upon binding
with calcium. This blue light is then totally absorbed by the GFP, which in turn
gives off the green light as in the animation below.

In 1994 GFP was cloned. Now GFP is found in laboratories all over the world where
it is used in every conceivable plant and animal. Flatworms, algae, E. coli and pigs
have all been made to fluoresce with GFP.

The importance of GFP was recognized in 2008 when the Nobel Committee awarded
Osamu Shimomura, Marty Chalfie and Roger Tsien the Chemistry Nobel Prize ”
for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP.”

Why is it so popular? Well, I like to think of GFP as the microscope of the twenty-
first century. Using GFP we can see when proteins are made, and where they can go.
This is done by joining the GFP gene to the gene of the protein of interest so that
when the protein is made it will have GFP hanging off it. Since GFP fluoresces, one
can shine light at the cell and wait for the distinctive green fluorescence associated
with GFP to appear.

A variant of yellow fluorescent protein with fast and efficient maturation for
cell-biological applications
T Nagai, K Ibata, E Sun Park, M Kubota, K Mikoshiba & A Miyawaki
Nature Biotechnology 20, 87 – 90 (2002) http://dx.doi.org:/10.1038/nbt0102-87

The green fluorescent protein (GFP) from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria
has provided a myriad of applications for biological systems. Over the last
several years, mutagenesis studies have improved folding properties of GFP.
However, slow maturation is still a big obstacle to the use of GFP variants for
visualization. These problems are exacerbated when GFP variants are expressed
at 37°C and/or targeted to certain organelles. Thus, obtaining GFP variants that
mature more efficiently is crucial for the development of expanded research
applications. Among Aequorea GFP variants, yellow fluorescent proteins (YFPs)
are relatively acid-sensitive,and uniquely quenched by chloride ion (Cl−)3. For
YFP to be fully and stably fluorescent, mutations that decrease the sensitivity
to both pH and Cl− are desired. Here we describe the development of an
improved version of YFP named “Venus”. Venus contains a novel mutation,
F46L, which at 37°C greatly accelerates oxidation of the chromophore, the rate-
limiting step of maturation. As a result of other mutations, F64L/M153T/
V163A/S175G, Venus folds well and is relatively tolerant of exposure
to acidosis and Cl−. We succeeded in efficiently targeting a neuropeptide
Y-Venus fusion protein to the dense-core granules of PC12 cells. Its secretion
was readily monitored by measuring release of fluorescence into the medium.
The use of Venus as an acceptor allowed early detection of reliable signals of
fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) for Ca2+ measurements in brain
slices. With the improved speed and efficiency of maturation and the increased
resistance to environment, Venus will enable fluorescent labelings that were not
possible before.

Rhodopsin-like Protein from the Purple Membrane of Halobacterium halobium
DIETER OESTERHELT & WALTHER STOECKENIUS
Nature New Biology 29 Sep 1971; 233, 149-152 | http://dx.doi.org:/10.1038/
newbio233149a0

HALOPHILIC bacteria require high concentrations of sodium chloride and lower
concentrations of KCl and MgCl2 for growth. The cell membrane dissociates into
fragments of varying size when the salt is removed1. One characteristic fragment—
termed the “purple membrane” because of its characteristic deep purple colour—
has been isolated in relatively pure form from Halobacterium halobium. We can
now show that the purple colour is due to retinal bound to an opsin-like protein,
the only protein present in this membrane fragment.

References

Stoeckenius, W. , and Rowen, R. , J. Cell Biol., 34, 365 (1967).

Stoeckenius, W. , and Kunau, W. H. , J. Cell Biol., 38, 337 (1968).

Blaurock, A. E. , and Stoeckenius, W. , Nature New Biology, 233, 152 (1971).

Sehgal, S. N. , and Gibbons, N. E. , Canad. J. Microbiol., 6, 165 (1960).

Kelly, M. , Norgård, S. , and Liaach-Jensen, S. , Acta Chem. Scand., 2A, 2169 (1970).

Shapiro, A. L. , Vinnela, E. , and Maizel, jun., J. V. , Biochem. Biophys. Res.
Commun., 28, 815 (1967).

The monomerization of the Purple protein, a member of the GFP-family
Corning, Brooke

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) has been used extensively since its discovery
in the 1960s to report and visualize gene expression. For years it has been the only
known naturally occurring fluorescent pigment that is encoded by a single gene,
making it extremely useful in various fields of biology, because the expression of
this gene directly leads to the appearance of the fluorescent green color. Recently,
however, many more proteins with similar properties to GFP, and available in a
variety of colors, have been isolated from the class of marine organisms called
Anthozoa, which includes the corals. This increase in the availability of colored
proteins in GFP family in turn has expanded the number of available biotech-
nology applications. However, some of these newly discovered GFP-like
proteins do not have wild-type forms that readily allow for the creation of
fusion proteins, particularly because of oligomerization. It is widely accepted
that almost all members of the GFP-family form dimers or tetramers in their
functional forms.

This study investigates a GFP-ike protein, Purple, isolated from two species,
Galaxea fascicularis and Montipora efflorescens. Purple protein forms oligomers
when expressed, which would then interfere with the normal expression of a protein
to be tagged in gene fusion experiments. We selectively mutated 3 amino acids,
which we believed were responsible for oligomerization in Purple. These 3
residues were chosen based on sequence similarities to a very similar protein,
a mutant form of the Rtms5 chromoprotein from Montipora efflorescens. While
we had hoped that the resulting triple-mutant Purple protein would form
monomers in vivo while retaining its purple coloration, this turned out to
be incorrect. The resulting mutants had lost their ability to turn purple. However,
we also determined that we had successfully changed the oligomerization
state of Purple by examining the relative molecular mass of one our
mutant proteins, which turned out to be half the size of the original
purple protein. It is possible that by adding additional mutations in
the future, the original spectral properties could be recovered. If
successful, this would further expand the utility of the GFP family.

Rhodopsin, also known as visual purple, from Ancient Greek ῥόδον
(rhódon, “rose”), due to its pinkish color, and ὄψις (ópsis, “sight”), is
a light-sensitive receptor protein. It is a biological pigment in photo-
receptor cells of the retina. Rhodopsin is the primary pigment found
in rod photoreceptors. Rhodopsins belong to the G-protein-coupled
receptor (GPCR) family. They are extremely sensitive to light, enabling
vision in low-light conditions. Exposed to light, the pigment
immediately photobleaches, and it takes about 45 minutes to regenerate
fully in humans. Its discovery was reported by German physiologist
Franz Christian Boll in 1876.

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The Life and Work of Allan Wilson

Posted in Biochemical pathways, Biomedical Measurement Science, Cell Biology, Curation, De novo synthesis, Discovery process, Evolutionary cognition, Experimental validation, Explanatory, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Genome Biology, Historical relevance, Innovation in Immunology Diagnostics, Innovations, Methods, Pyridine nucleotides, RNA Biology, Scientist: Career considerations, tagged Allan Wilson, Berkely, Eve, Evolutionary Biology, Mary Claire King, mtDNA, Otago-NZ, University of Washington on January 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The Life and Work of Allan Wilson

Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

Allan Charles Wilson (18 October 1934 – 21 July 1991) was a Professor of Biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, a pioneer in the use of molecular approaches to understand evolutionary change and reconstruct phylogenies, and a revolutionary contributor to the study of human evolution. He was one of the most controversial figures in post-war biology; his work attracted a great deal of attention both from within and outside the academic world. He is the only New Zealander to have won the MacArthur Fellowship.

He is best known for experimental demonstration of the concept of the molecular clock (with his doctoral student Vincent Sarich), which was theoretically postulated by Linus Pauling and Emile Zuckerkandl, revolutionary insights into the nature of the molecular anthropology of higher primates and human evolution, called Mitochondrial Eve hypothesis (with his doctoral students Rebecca L. Cann and Mark Stoneking).

Allan Wilson was born in Ngaruawahia, New Zealand, and raised on his family’s rural dairy farm at Helvetia, Pukekohe, about twenty miles south of Auckland. At his local Sunday School, the vicar’s wife was impressed by young Allan’s interest in evolution and encouraged Allan’s mother to enroll him at the elite King’s College secondary school in Auckland. There he excelled in mathematics, chemistry, and sports.

Wilson already had an interest in evolution and biochemistry, but intended to be the first in his family to attend university by pursuing studies in agriculture and animal science. Wilson met Professor Campbell Percy McMeekan, a New Zealand pioneer in animal science, who suggested that Wilson attend the University of Otago in southern New Zealand to further his study in biochemistry rather than veterinary science. Wilson gained a BSc from the University of Otago in 1955, majoring in both zoology and biochemistry.

The bird physiologist Donald S. Farner met Wilson as an undergraduate at Otago and invited him to Washington State University at Pullman as his graduate student. Wilson obliged and completed a master’s degree in zoology at WSU under Farner in 1957, where he worked on the effects of photoperiod on the physiology of birds.

Wilson then moved to the University of California, Berkeley, to pursue his doctoral research. At the time the family thought Allan would only be gone two years. Instead, Wilson remained in the United States, gaining his PhD at Berkeley in 1961 under the direction of biochemist Arthur Pardee for work on the regulation of flavin biosynthesis in bacteria. From 1961 to 1964, Wilson studied as a post-doc under biochemist Nathan O. Kaplan at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. In Kaplan’s lab, working with lactate and malate dehydrogenases, Wilson was first introduced to the nascent field of molecular evolution. Nate Kaplan was one of the very earliest pioneers to address phylogenetic problems with evidence from protein molecules, an approach that Wilson later famously applied to human evolution and primate relationships. After Brandeis, Wilson returned to Berkeley where he set up his own lab in the Biochemistry department, remaining there for the rest of his life.

Wilson joined the UC Berkeley faculty of biochemistry in 1964, and was promoted to full professor in 1972. His first major scientific contribution was published as Immunological Time-Scale For Hominid Evolution in the journal Science in December 1967. With his student Vincent Sarich, he showed that evolutionary relationships of the human species with other primates, in particular the Great Apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans), could be inferred from molecular evidence obtained from living species, rather than solely from fossils of extinct creatures.

Their microcomplement fixation method (see complement system) measured the strength of the immune reaction between an antigen (serum albumin) from one species and an antibody raised against the same antigen in another species. The strength of the antibody-antigen reaction was known to be stronger between more closely related species: their innovation was to measure it quantitatively among many species pairs as an “immunological distance”. When these distances were plotted against the divergence times of species pair with well-established evolutionary histories, the data showed that the molecular difference increased linearly with time, in what was termed a “molecular clock”. Given this calibration curve, the time of divergence between species pairs with unknown or uncertain fossil histories could be inferred. Most controversially, their data suggested that divergence times between humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas were on the order of 3~5 million years, far less than the estimates of 9~30 million years accepted by conventional paleoanthropologists from fossil hominids such as Ramapithecus. This ‘recent origin’ theory of human/ape divergence remained controversial until the discovery of the “Lucy” fossils in 1974.

Wilson and another PhD student Mary-Claire King subsequently compared several lines of genetic evidence (immunology, amino acid differences, and protein electrophoresis) on the divergence of humans and chimpanzees, and showed that all methods agreed that the two species were >99% similar.[4][19] Given the large organismal differences between the two species in the absence of large genetic differences, King and Wilson argued that it was not structural gene differences that were responsible for species differences, but gene regulation of those differences, that is, the timing and manner in which near-identical gene products are assembled during embryology and development. In combination with the “molecular clock” hypothesis, this contrasted sharply with the accepted view that larger or smaller organismal differences were due to large or smaller rates of genetic divergence.

In the early 1980s, Wilson further refined traditional anthropological thinking with his work with PhD students Rebecca Cann and Mark Stoneking on the so-called “Mitochondrial Eve” hypothesis.[20] In his efforts to identify informative genetic markers for tracking human evolutionary history, he focused on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) — genes that are found in mitochondria in the cytoplasm of the cell outside the nucleus. Because of its location in the cytoplasm, mtDNA is passed exclusively from mother to child, the father making no contribution, and in the absence of genetic recombination defines female lineages over evolutionary timescales. Because it also mutates rapidly, it is possible to measure the small genetic differences between individual within species by restriction endonuclease gene mapping. Wilson, Cann, and Stoneking measured differences among many individuals from different human continental groups, and found that humans from Africa showed the greatest inter-individual differences, consistent with an African origin of the human species (the so-called “Out of Africa” hypothesis). The data further indicated that all living humans shared a common maternal ancestor, who lived in Africa only a few hundreds of thousands of years ago.

This common ancestor became widely known in the media and popular culture as the Mitochondrial Eve. This had the unfortunate and erroneous implication that only a single female lived at that time, when in fact the occurrence of a coalescent ancestor is a necessary consequence of population genetic theory, and the Mitochondrial Eve would have been only one of many humans (male and female) alive at that time.[2][3] This finding was, like his earlier results, not readily accepted by anthropologists. Conventional hypothesis was that various human continental groups had evolved from diverse ancestors, over several million of years since divergence from chimpanzees. The mtDNA data, however, strongly suggested that all humans descended from a common, quite recent, African mother.

Wilson became ill with leukemia, and after a bone marrow transplant, died on Sunday, 21 July 1991, at the Fred Hutchinson Memorial Cancer Research Center in Seattle. He had been scheduled to give the keynote address at an international conference the same day. He was 56, at the height of his scientific recognition and powers.

Wilson’s success can be attributed to his strong interest and depth of knowledge in biochemistry and evolutionary biology, his insistence of quantification of evolutionary phenomena, and has early recognition of new molecular techniques that could shed light on questions of evolutionary biology. After development of quantitative immunological methods, his lab was the first to recognize restriction endonuclease mapping analysis as a quantitative evolutionary genetic method, which led to his early use of DNA sequencing, and the then-nascent technique of PCR to obtain large DNA sets for genetic analysis of populations. He trained scores of undergraduate, graduate (34 people, 17 each of men and women, received their doctoral degrees in his lab), and post-doctoral students in molecular evolutionary biology, including sabbatical visitors from six continents. His lab published more than 300 technical papers, and was recognized as a mecca for those wishing to enter the field of molecular evolution in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution was established in 2002 in his honour to advance knowledge of the evolution and ecology of New Zealand and Pacific plant and animal life, and human history in the Pacific. The Centre is under the Massey University, at Palmerston North, New Zealand, and is a national collaboration involving the University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington, the University of Otago, University of Canterbury and the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research.

A 41-minutes documentary film of his life entitled Allan Wilson, Evolutionary: Biochemist, Biologist, Giant of Molecular Biology was released by Films Media Group in 2008.

Allan Charles Wilson. 18 October 1934 — 21 July 1991

Rebecca L. Cann

Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Biomedical Sciences Building T514, 1960 East–West Rd, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA

Abstract

Allan Charles Wilson was born on 18 October 1934 at Ngaruawahia, New Zealand. He died in Seattle, Washington, on 21 July 1991 while undergoing treatment for leukemia. Allan was known as a pioneering and highly innovative biochemist, helping to define the field of molecular evolution and establish the use of a molecular clock to measure evolutionary change between living species. The molecular clock, a method of measuring the timescale of evolutionary change between two organisms on the basis of the number of mutations that they have accumulated since last sharing a common genetic ancestor, was an idea initially championed by Émile Zuckerkandl and Linus Pauling (Zuckerkandl & Pauling 1962), on the basis of their observations that the number of changes in an amino acid sequence was roughly linear with time in the aligned hemoglobin proteins of animals. Although it is now not unusual to see the words ‘molecular evolution’ and ‘molecular phylogeny’ together, when Allan formed his own biochemistry laboratory in 1964 at the University of California, Berkeley, many scientists in the field of evolutionary biology considered these ideas complete heresy. Allan’s death at the relatively young age of 56 years left behind his wife, Leona (deceased in 2009), a daughter, Ruth (b. 1961), and a son, David (b. 1964), as well his as mother, Eunice (deceased in 2002), a younger brother, Gary Wilson, and a sister, Colleen Macmillan, along with numerous nieces, nephews and cousins in New Zealand, Australia and the USA. In this short span of time, he trained more than 55 doctoral students and helped launch the careers of numerous postdoctoral fellows.

Allan Charles Wilson, Biochemistry; Molecular Biology: Berkeley

1934-1991

Professor

The sudden death of Allan Wilson, of leukemia, on 21 July 1991, at the age of 56, and at the height of his powers, robbed the Berkeley campus and the international scientific community of one of its most active and respected leaders.

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Evolution of Myoglobin and Hemoglobin

Posted in Amino acids, Cell Biology, Curation, Evolutionary cognition, Experimental validation, Explanatory, Gene Regulation and Evolution, Genome Biology, Hematology, Historical relevance, Metabolism, Nitric Oxide in Health and Disease, Proteins, Theoretic convergence, tagged Evolutionary Biology, globin chains, heme, Hemoglobin, iron, myoglobin, oxygen affinity, oxygen transport on January 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Evolution of Myoglobin and Hemoglobin

Author and Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

Nitric oxide dioxygenase function and mechanism of flavohemoglobin, hemoglobin, myoglobin and their associated reductases

Paul R. Gardner
Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry Jan 2005; 99(1): 247–266
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2004.10.003

Microbial flavohemoglobins (flavoHbs) and hemoglobins (Hbs) show large radical dotNO dioxygenation rate constants ranging from 745 to 2900 μM−1 s−1 suggesting a primal radical dotNO dioxygenase (NOD) (EC 1.14.12.17) function for the ancient Hb superfamily. Indeed, modern O2-transporting and storing mammalian red blood cell Hb and related muscle myoglobin (Mb) show vestigial radical dotNO dioxygenation activity with rate constants of 34–89 μM−1 s−1. In support of a NOD function, microbial flavoHbs and Hbs catalyze O2-dependent cellular radical dotNO metabolism, protect cells from radical dotNO poisoning, and are induced by radical dotNO exposures. Red blood cell Hb, myocyte Mb, and flavoHb-like activities metabolize radical dotNO in the vascular lumen, muscle, and other mammalian cells, respectively, decreasing radical dotNO signalling and toxicity. HbFe(III)–OOradical dot, HbFe(III)–OONO and protein-caged [HbFe(III)–Oradical dotradical dotNO2] are proposed intermediates in a reaction mechanism that combines both O-atoms of O2 with radical dotNO to form nitrate and HbFe(III). A conserved Hb heme pocket structure facilitates the dioxygenation reaction and efficient turnover is achieved through the univalent reduction of HbFe(III) by associated reductases. High affinity flavoHb and Hb heme ligands, and other inhibitors, may find application as antibiotics and antitumor agents that enhance the toxicity of immune cell-derived radical dotNO or as vasorelaxants that increase radical dotNO signaling.

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The evolution of the globin family genes: Concordance of stochastic and augmented maximum parsimony genetic distances for α hemoglobin, β hemoglobin and myoglobin phylogenies
R Holmquist, TH Jukes, H Moise, M Goodman, GW Moore
Journal of Molecular Biology Jul 1976; 105(1): 39–74
http://dx.doi.org:/10.1016/0022-2836(76)90194-7

We compare the amino acid sequences of 70 globing, representing the following families: (a) α hemoglobin chains; (b) β hemoglobin chains; (c) myoglobins; (d) two lamprey, a mollusc, and two plant globins. The comparisons show a convergence of maximal and minimal estimates of genetic differences as calculated respectively by the stochastic and maximum parsimony procedures, thus demonstrating for the first time the logical consistency and complementarity of the two procedures. Evolutionary rates are non-constant, varying over a range of 1 to 75 nucleotide replacements per 100 codons per 108 years. These rate differentials are resolved into two components (a) due to change in the number of codon sites free to fix mutations during the period of divergence of the species involved; (b) due to change in fixation intensity at each site. These two components also show non-uniformity along different lineages. Positive Darwinian natural selection can bring about an increase in either component, and negative or stabilizing selection in protein evolution can lead to decreases. Accelerated rates of globin evolution were found in lineages of cold-blooded vertebrates, some marsupials, and early placental mammals, while slower rates were found in warm-blooded vertebrates, especially higher primates. One manifestation of negative selection in the globins is that minimal 3-base type amino acid replacements occur less frequently than would be expected if base replacements had occurred and were accepted at random. The selection against these replacements is not due to atypical behavior with respect to the change in electrical charge involved in the replacements. Interestingly, the globins from the lamprey, sea hare and the legumes are as distant from one another as are α-hemoglobin and β-hemoglobin from myoglobin.

Hemoglobin Orthologs
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/Molbio/MolStudents/spring2005/Heiner/ortholog.html

Orthologs are sequences of genes that evolved from a common ancestor and can be traced evolutionarily through different species. By comparing the ortholog sequences of a specific gene between many species, the amino acid sequences which are conserved can be determined. These highly conserved sequences are important, because they provide information on which amino acids are essential to the protein structure and function.

Evolution of Hemoglobin

Hemoglobin is derived from the myoglobin protein, and ancestral species just had myoglobin for oxygen transport. 500 million years ago the myoglobin gene duplicated and part of the gene became hemoglobin. Lampreys are the most ancestral animal to have hemoglobin, and the ancestral version was composed of dimers instead of tetramers and was only weakly cooperative. 100 million years later, the hemoglobin gene duplicated again forming alpha and beta subunits. This form of derived hemoglobin is found in bony fish, reptiles, and mammals, which all have both alpha and beta subunits to form a tetramer (Mathews et al., 2000).

Conserved Sequences

When the amino acid sequences of myoglobin, the hemoglobin alpha subunit, and the hemoglobin beta subunit are compared, there are several amino acids that remain conserved between all three globins (Mathews et al., 2000). These amino acid sequences are considered truly essential, because they have remained unchanged throughout evolution, and therefore are fundamental to the function of the protein. These essential amino acids can be seen in Figure 1, which compares myoglobin, and the alpha and beta subunits of hemoglobin. The histidines in helix F8 and helix E7 are highly conserved. These histidines are located proximally and distally to the heme molecule and keep the heme molecule in place within the hemoglobin protein as seen in Figure 2 (Mathews et al., 2000). This shows that the position of the heme molecule within the globin protein is essential to its function. Likewise, the amino acids in the FG region are also highly conserved. This region of the protein is essential to the conformational change between the T to R states (Mathews et al., 2000). Additionally, the amino acids at the alpha-beta subunit interfaces are highly conserved, because they also affect the conformational change between the subunits, which regulates oxygen affinity and cooperativity. In general, the most highly conserved sequences are located within the interior of the hemoglobin protein where the subunits contact each other (Gribaldo et al., 2003).

http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/Molbio/MolStudents/spring2005/Heiner/figure2.jpg

Figure 2: A cartoon drawing of the structure of hemoglobin around heme molecule. The histadines in helix F8 and E7 interact directly with the heme molecule. http://www.aw-bc.com/mathews/ch07/fi7p5.htm (permission pending).

Figure 1: The amino acid sequences of myoglobin, alpha subunit of hemoglobin, and beta subunit of hemoglobin. The amino acid sequences highlighted in tan are conserved between all three globins and the amino acid sequences highlighted in gray are conserved between alpha and beta hemoglobin. http://www.aw-bc.com/mathews/ch07/fi7p11.htm (permission pending).

http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/Molbio/MolStudents/spring2005/Heiner/figure1.jpg

Figure 2: A cartoon drawing of the structure of hemoglobin around heme molecule. The histidines in helix F8 and E7 interact directly with the heme molecule. http://www.aw-bc.com/mathews/ch07/fi7p11.htm (permission pending).

Alpha Subunit of Hemoglobin

The alpha subunit of hemoglobin has several amino acid sequences that are conserved across many species and are essential to its function. The alpha subunit of hemoglobin is encoded by the 2 genes HBA1 and HBA2 both located on chromosome 16 (GeneCard, 2005). Click here to see the gene card for HBA1. To determine which amino acid sequences are conserved, I compared the orthologs of HBA1 in Homo sapiens (humans) to 5 additional species including, Xenopus tropicalis (African clawed frog), Danio rerio (Zebra fish), Gallus gallus (Red jungle fowl), Mus musculus (mouse), and Rattus norvegicus (rat) using the Ensembl program. Figure 3 shows the 6 orthologs aligned and the important conserved regions highlighted. The stars indicate amino acids that are conserved between all of the species. As a general observation, the mouse ortholog of HBA is the most similar to human HBA, because it is the most evolutionarily related. The amino acid sequences that are conserved in all globin proteins (highlighted in blue) can be seen in Figure 3. There are also several conserved amino acids that are specifically important to HBA structure (highlighted in red) including: the phenylalanine (F) at position 44, which is in direct contact with the heme group; tyrosine (Y) at position 142, which stabilizes the hemoglobin molecule by forming hydrogen bonds between two of the helices; and glycine (G) at position 26, which is small and therefore allows two of the helices to approach each other, which is important to the structure of hemoglobin (Natzke, 1998). Additionally, there are several proteins found in the alpha subunit that are involved in the movement of the alpha and beta subunits (also highlighted in red) including: the tyrosine (Y) at position 43, which interacts with the beta subunit during the R state, and the arginine (N) at position 143, which interacts with the beta subunit during the T state (Gribaldo et al., 2003).

Mutations

Looking at the effects mutated portions of a gene is also a good way to determine the function of highly conserved sequences. In hemoglobin, deleterious mutations are most common in the heme pockets of the protein and in the alpha and beta subunit interfaces (Mathews et al., 2000). There are several key mutations in highly conserved portions of HBA (highlighted in yellow) including: the substitution of histidine (H) at position 88 to tyrosine (Y), which disrupts the heme molecule leading to decreased oxygen affinity; the substitution of arginine (N) at position 143 to histidine (H), which eliminates a bond in the T state and therefore favors the R state, resulting in increased oxygen affinity; the substitution of proline (P) at position 97 to arginine (N), which alters the alpha-beta contact region and results in the disassociation of the hemoglobin complex; and the substitution of leucine (L) at position 138 for proline (P), which interrupts the helix formation and also results in the disassociation of the hemoglobin complex (Mathews et al., 2000).

Bar-headed Goose Hemoglobin

As mentioned on the previous page, the bar-headed goose has hemoglobin that is specifically adapted to high altitudes. The bar-headed goose hemoglobin has an increased oxygen affinity which allows it to live in low oxygen pressure environments (Liang et al., 2001). This increased oxygen affinity is the result of a mutation at position 121 in the alpha subunit, which is highly conserved in other species, from proline to alanine, as seen in Figure 4 (Liang et al., 2001). This substitution leaves a two-carbon gap between the alpha-beta dimer, which relaxes the T structure and allows it to bind oxygen more readily under lower pressures (Jessen et al. 1991). Thus, comparing orthologs can also be used to explain differences in the oxygen binding capabilities of hemoglobin in different species.

References

Ensembl. Ensembl Genome Browser. http://www.ensembl.org/. Accessed March 2005.

GeneCard. 2005. GeneCard for HBA1. http://genome-www.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/genecards/carddisp?HBA1&search=HBA&suff=txt. Accessed March 2005.

Gribaldo, Simonetta, Didier Casane, Philippe Lopez and Herve Philippe. 2003. Functional Divergence Prediction from Evolutionary Analysis: A Case Study of Vertebrate Hemoglobin. Molecular Biology and Evolution 20 (11): 1754-1759.

Jessen, Timm H et al. 1991. Adaptation of bird hemoglobins to high altitudes: Demonstration of molecular mechanism by protein engineering. Evolution 88: 6519-6522.

Liang, Yuhe et al. 2001. The Crystal Structure of Bar-headed Goose Hemoglobin in Deoxy Form: The Alloseteric Mechanism of a Hemoglobin Species with High Oxygen Affinity. Journal of Molecular Biology 313: 123-137.

Mathews, Christopher, Kensal Van Holde and Kevin Ahern. 2000. Biochemistry 3 rd edition. http://www.aw-bc.com/mathews/ch07/c07emhp.htm . Accessed March 2005.

Natzke, Lisa. 1998. Hemoglobin. http://biology.kenyon.edu/BMB/Chime/Lisa/FRAMES/hemetext.htm. Accessed March 2005.

Divergence pattern and selective mode in protein evolution: the example of vertebrate myoglobins and hemoglobin chains.
Otsuka J1, Miyazaki K, Horimoto K.
J Mol Evol. 1993 Feb; 36(2):153-81.

The evolutionary relation of vertebrate myoglobin and the hemoglobin chains including the agnathan hemoglobin chain is investigated on the basis of a new view of amino acid changes that is developed by canonical discriminant analysis of amino acid residues at individual sites. In contrast to the clear discrimination of amino acid residues between myoglobin, hemoglobin alpha chain, and hemoglobin beta chain in warm-blood vertebrates, the three types of globins in the lower class of vertebrates show so much variation that they are not well discriminated. This is seen particularly at the sites that are ascertained in mammals to carry the amino acid residues participating in stabilizing the monomeric structure in myoglobin and the residues forming the subunit contacts in hemoglobin. At these sites, agnathan hemoglobin chains are evaluated to be intermediate between the myoglobin and hemoglobin chains of gnathostomes. The variation in the phylogenetically lower class of globins is also seen in the internal region; there the amino acid residues of myoglobin and hemoglobin chains in the phylogenetically higher class exhibit an example of parallel evolution at the molecular level. New quantities, the distance of sequence property between discriminated groups and the variation within each group, are derived from the values of discriminant functions along the peptide chain, and this set of quantities simply describes an overall feature of globins such that the distinction between the three types of globins has been clearer as the vertebrates have evolved to become jawed, landed, and warm-blooded. This result strongly suggests that the functional constraint on the amino acid sequence of a protein is changed by living conditions and that severe conditions constitute a driving force that creates a distinctive protein from a less-constrained protein.

The globin gene repertoire of lampreys: Convergent evolution of hemoglobin and myoglobin in jawed and jawless vertebrates
K Schwarze, KL Campbell, T Hankeln, JF Storz, FG Hoffmann and T Burmester
Mol Biol Evol (2014). http://dx.doi.org:/10.1093/molbev/msu216

Agnathans (jawless vertebrates) occupy a key phylogenetic position for illuminating the evolution of vertebrate anatomy and physiology. Evaluation of the agnathan globin gene repertoire can thus aid efforts to reconstruct the origin and evolution of the globin genes of vertebrates, a superfamily that includes the well-known model proteins hemoglobin and myoglobin. Here we report a comprehensive analysis of the genome of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) which revealed 23 intact globin genes and two hemoglobin pseudogenes. Analyses of the genome of the Arctic lamprey (Lethenteron camtschaticum) identified 18 full length and five partial globin gene sequences. The majority of the globin genes in both lamprey species correspond to the known agnathan hemoglobins. Both genomes harbor two copies of globin X, an ancient globin gene that has a broad phylogenetic distribution in the animal kingdom. Surprisingly, we found no evidence for an ortholog of neuroglobin in the lamprey genomes. Expression and phylogenetic analyses identified an ortholog of cytoglobin in the lampreys; in fact, our results indicate that cytoglobin is the only orthologous vertebrate-specific globin that has been retained in both gnathostomes and agnathans. Notably, we also found two globins that are highly expressed in the heart of P. marinus, thus representing functional myoglobins. Both genes have orthologs in L. camtschaticum. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that these heart-expressed globins are not orthologous to the myoglobins of jawed vertebrates (Gnathostomata), but originated independently within the agnathans. The agnathan myoglobin and hemoglobin proteins form a monophyletic group to the exclusion of functionally analogous myoglobins and hemoglobins of gnathostomes, indicating that specialized respiratory proteins for O2 transport in the blood and O2 storage in the striated muscles evolved independently in both lineages. This dual convergence of O2-transport and O2-storage proteins in agnathans and gnathostomes involved the convergent co-option of different precursor proteins in the ancestral globin repertoire of vertebrates.

Globin evolution
Kent Holsinger
http://darwin.eeb.uconn.edu/eeb348/lecturenotes/molevol-multigene/node2.html

I’ve just pointed out the distinction between myoglobin and hemoglobin. You may also remember that hemoglobin is a multimeric protein consisting of four subunits, 2 α\alpha subunits and 2 β\beta subunits. What you may not know is that in humans there are actually two types of α\alpha hemoglobin and four types of β\beta hemoglobin, each coded by a different genetic locus (see Table 1). The five α\alpha -globin loci (α\alpha_1, α\alpha_2, ς\zeta, and two non-functional pseudogenes) are found in a cluster on chromosome 16. The six β\beta-globin loci (ε\epsilon, ϒ\gamma_G, ϒ\gamma_A, δ\delta, β\beta, and a pseudogene) are found in a cluster on chromosome 11. The myoglobin locus is on chromosome 22.

Table 1: Human hemoglobins arranged in developmental sequence. Adult hemoglobins composed of 2 and 2 subunits typically account for less than 3% of hemoglobins in adults (http://sickle.bwh.harvard.edu/hbsynthesis.html).

Not only do we have all of these different types of globin genes in our bodies, they’re all related to one another. Comparative sequence analysis has shown that vertebrate myoglobin and hemoglobins diverged from one another about 450 million years ago. Figure 1 shows a phylogenetic analysis of globin genes from humans, mice, and a variety of Archaea. Focus your attention on the part of the tree that has human and mouse sequences. You’ll notice two interesting things:

Human and mouse neuroglobins (Ngb) are more closely related to one another than they are to other globins, even those from the same species. The same holds true for cytoglobins (Cyg) and myoglobins (Mb).

Within the hemoglobins, only mouse β\beta-globin (Mouse HbB) is misplaced. All other α\alpha- and β\beta-globins group with the corresponding mouse and human loci.

This pattern is exactly what we expect as a result of duplication and divergence. Up to the time that a gene becomes duplicated, its evolutionary history matches the evolutionary history of the organisms containing it. Once there are duplicate copies, each follows an independent evolutionary history. Each traces the history of speciation and divergence. And over long periods duplicate copies of the same gene share more recent common ancestry with copies of the same gene in a different species than they do with duplicate genes in the same genome.

Figure 1: Evolution of globin genes in Archaea and mammals (from [2]).

http://darwin.eeb.uconn.edu/eeb348/lecturenotes/molevol-multigene/img11.png

Evolution of globin genes in Archaea and mammals

A history of duplication and divergence in multigene families makes it important to distinguish between two classes of related loci: those that represent the same locus in different species and between which divergence is a result of species divergence are orthologs. Those that represent different loci and between which divergence occurred after duplication of an ancestral gene are paralogs. The β\beta-globin loci of humans and chickens are orthologous. The α\alpha $- and $\beta $-globin loci of any pair of taxa are paralogous.

As multigene families go, the globin family is relatively simple and easy to understand. There are only about a dozen loci involved, one isolated locus (myoglobin) and two clusters of loci ($\alpha- and β\beta-globins). You’ll find a diagram of the β\beta-globin cluster in Figure 2. As you can see the β\beta-globins are not only evolutionarily related to one another they occur relatively close to one another on chromosome 11 in humans.

Figure 2: Structure of the human β\beta-globin gene cluster. % identity refers to similarity to the mouse β\beta-globin sequence. From http://globin.cse.psu.edu/html/pip/betaglobin/iplot.ps (retrieved 28 Nov 2006).

Other families are far more complex. Class I and class II MHC loci, for example are part of the same multigene family. Moreover, immunoglobulins, T-cell receptors, and, and MHC loci are part of a larger superfamily of genes, i.e., all are ultimately derived from a common ancestral gene by duplication and divergence. Table 2 lists a few examples of multigene families and superfamilies in the human genome and the number of proteins produced.

Table 2: A few gene families from the human genome (adapted from [5,6]).

Distribution and conservation of sequence

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRHcfUpQ09ufj8cleSgnhDfQVUEHsTvnYGNxKaPa5wxMqNFzFU6

Distribution and conservation of sequence motifs throughout mammalian beta-globin gene clusters.A detailed map of the gene cluster is shown on the numbered line

evolutionary history of three hypothetical living species (C, D, and E)

the evolutionary history of three hypothetical living species (C, D, and E), inferred by comparing amino-acid differences in their myoglobin molecules.

http://media-1.web.britannica.com/eb-media/98/52998-004-A8682A5B.jpg

oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve

much higher affinity for oxygen than haemoglobin.

http://i.stack.imgur.com/WQJe9.jpg

myoglobin hs much higher oxygen affinity than Hb

Evolution of Myoglobin / Hemoglobin Proteins

Primitive Globin – Very primitive animals had only a myoglobin-like, single-chain ancestral globin for oxygen storage and were so small that they did not require a transport protein. Roughly 500 million years ago the ancestral myoglobin gene was duplicated. One copy became the ancestor of the myoglobin genes of all higher organisms. The other copy evolved into the gene for an oxygen transport protein and gave rise to the hemoglobins.

Most Primitive Hemoglobin – The most primitive animals to possess hemoglobin are the lampreys. Lamprey hemoglobin can form dimers but not tetramers and is only weakly cooperative. It represents a first step toward allosteric binding. Subsequently a second gene duplication must have occurred, giving rise to the ancestors of the present-day and hemoglobin chain families. This must have happened about 400 million years ago, at about the time of divergence of the sharks and bony fish. The evolutionary line of the bony fish led to the reptiles and eventually to the mammals, all carrying genes for both and globins and capable of forming tetrameric 22 hemoglobins. Further gene duplications have occurred in the hemoglobin line, leading to the embryonic forms and , the fetal form, , and the infant form (Figure 7.22).

Conserved Amino Acid Sequences – During the long evolution of the myoglobin/hemoglobin family of proteins, only a few amino acid residues have remained invariant (Figure 7.11). They include the histidines proximal and distal to the heme iron (F8 and E7- see Figure 7.5b) and Val FG5, which has been implicated in the hemoglobin deoxy/oxy conformation change. These may mark the truly essential positions in the molecule. Other regions highly conserved in hemoglobins are those near the 1 – 2 and 2 – 1 contacts. These parts of the molecule are most directly involved in the allosteric conformational change.

http://web.squ.edu.om/med-lib/med_cd/e_cds/Electronic%20Study%20Guide%20of%20Biochemistry/ch07/c07emhp.htm

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The Union of Biomarkers and Drug Development

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The Union of Biomarkers and Drug Development

Author and Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

There has been consolidation going on for over a decade in both thr pharmaceutical and in the diagnostics industry, and at the same time the page is being rewritten for health care delivery. I shall try to work through a clear picture of these not coincidental events.

Key notables:

A growing segment of the US population is reaching Medicare age
There is also a large underserved population in both metropolitan and nonurban areas and a fragmentation of the middle class after a growth slowdown in the economy since the 2008 deep recession.
The deep recession affecting worldwide economies was only buffered by availability of oil or natural gas.
In addition, there was a self-destructive strategy to cut spending on national scales that withdrew the support that would bolster support for infrastrucrue renewl.
There has been a dramatic success in the clinical diagnostics industry, with a long history of being viewed as a loss leader, and this has been recently followed by the pharmaceutical industry faced with inability to introduce new products, leading to more competition in off-patent medications.
The introduction of the Accountable Care Act has opened the opportunities for improved care, despite political opposition, and has probably sustained opportunity in the healthcare market.

Let’s take a look at this three headed serpent. – Pharma, Diagnostics, New Entity
? The patient ?
? Insurance ?
? Physician ?

Part I. The Concept

When Illumina Buys Roche: The Dawning Of The Era Of Diagnostics Dominance

Robert J. Easton, Alain J. Gilbert, Olivier Lesueur, Rachel Laing, and Mark Ratner
http://PharmaMedtechBI.com | IN VIVO: The Business & Medicine Report Jul/Aug 2014; 32(7).

With current technology and resources, a well-funded IVD company can create and pursue a strategy of information gathering and informatics application to create medical knowledge, enabling it to assume the risk and manage certain segments of patients
We see the first step in the process as the emergence of new specialty therapy companies coming from an IVD legacy, most likely focused in cancer, infection, or critical care

When Illumina Inc. acquired the regulatory consulting firm Myraqa, a specialist in in vitro diagnostics (IVD), in July, the press release announcement characterized the deal as one that would bolster illumina’s in-house capabilities for clinical readiness and help prepare for its next growth phase in regulated markets. That’s not surprising given the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval a year and a half ago of its MiSeq next-generation sequencer for clinical use. But the deal could also suggest illumina is beginning to move along the path toward taking on clinical risk – that is, eventually

advising physicians and patients, which would mean facing regulators directly

Such a move – by illumina, another life sciences tools firm, or an information specialist from the high-tech universe – is inevitable given

the emerging power of diagnostics and traditional health care players’ reluctance to themselves take on such risk.

Alternatively, we believe that a well-funded diagnostics company could establish this position. either way, such a champion would establish dominion over and earn higher valuation than less-aggressive players who

only supply compartmentalized drug and device solutions.

Diagnostics companies have long been dogged by a fundamental issue:

they are viewed and valued more along the lines of a commodity business than as firms that deliver a unique product or service
diagnostics companies are in position to do just that today because they are now advantaged by having access to more data points.
if they were to cobble together the right capabilities, diagnostics companies would have the ability to turn information into true medical knowledge

Example: PathGEN PathChip

nucleic-acid-based platform detects 296 viruses, bacteria, fungi & parasites

http://ow.ly/d/2GvQ http://ow.ly/DSORV

This puts the diagnostics player in an unfamiliar realm where it can ask the question of what value they offer compared with a therapeutic. The key is that diagnostics can now offer unique information and potentially unique tools to capture that information. In order to do so, it has to create information from the data it generates, and then to supply that knowledge to users who will value and act on that knowledge. Complex genomic tests, as much as physical examination, may be the first meaningful touch point for physicians’ classification of disease.

Even if lab tests are more expensive, it is a cheaper means for deciding what to do first for a patient than the trial and error of prescribing medication without adequate information. Information is gaining in value as the amount of treatment data available on genomically characterizable subpopulations increases. In such a circumstance
it is the ability to perform that advisory function that will add tremendous value above what any test provides, the leverage of being able to apply a proprietary diagnostics platform – and importantly, the data it generates. It is the ability to perform that advisory function that will add tremendous value above what any test provides.

Integrated Diagnostics Inc. and Biodesix Inc. with mass spectrometry has the tools for unraveling disease processes, and numerous players are quite visibly in or are getting into the business of providing medical knowledge and clinical decision support in pursuit of a huge payout for those who actually solve important disease mysteries. Of course one has to ask whether MS/MS is sufficient for the assigned task, and also whether the technology is ready for the kind of workload experienced in a clinical service compared to a research vehicle. My impression (as a reviewer) is that it is not now the time to take this seriously.

Roche has not realized its intent with Ventana: failing to deliver on the promise of boosting Roche’s pipeline, which was a significant factor in the high price Roche paid. The combined company was to be “uniquely positioned to further expand Ventana’s business globally and together develop more cost-efficient, differentiated, and targeted medicines. On the other hand, Biodesix decided to use Veristrat to look back and analyze important trial data to try to ascertain which patients would benefit from ficlatuzumab (subset). The predictive effect for the otherwise unimpressive trial results was observed in both progression-free survival and overall survival endpoints, and encouraged the companies to conduct a proof-of-concept study of ficlatuzumab in combination with Tarceva in advanced Non Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients (NSCLC) selected using the Veristrat test.

A second phase of IVD evolution will be far more challenging to pharma, when the most accomplished companies begin to assemble and integrate much broader data
sets, thereby gaining knowledge sufficient to actually manage patients and dictate therapy, including drug selection. No individual physician has or will have access to all of this information on thousands of patients, combined with the informatics to tease out from trillions of data points the optimal personalized medical approach. When the IVD-origin knowledge integrator amasses enough data and understanding to guide therapy decisions in large categories, particularly drug choices, it will become more valuable than any of the drug suppliers.

This is an apparent reversal of fortune. The pharmaceutical industry has been considered the valued provider, while the IVD manufacturer has been the low valued cousin. Now, it is by an ability to make kore accurate the drug administration that the IVD company can control the drug bill, to the detriment of drug developers, by finding algorithms that generate equal-to-innovative-drug outcomes using generics for most of the patients, thereby limiting the margins of drug suppliers and the upsides for new drug discovery/development.

It is here that there appears to be a misunderstanding of the whole picture of the development of the healthcare industry. The pharmaceutical industry had a high value added only insofar it could replace market leaders for treatment before or at the time of patent expiration, which largely depended either introducing a new class of drug, or by relieving the current drug in its class of undesired toxicities or “side effects”. Otherwise, the drug armamentarium was time limited to the expiration date. In other words, the value was dependent on a window of no competition. In addition, as the regulation of healthcare costs were tightening under managed care, the introduction of new products that were deemed to be only marginally better, could be substitued by “off-patent” drug products.

The other misunderstanding is related to the IVD sector. Laboratory tests in the 1950’s were manual, and they could be done by “technicians” who might not have completed a specialized training in clinical laboratory sciences. The first sign of progress was the introduction of continuous flow chemistry, with a sampling probe, tubing to bring the reacting reagents into a photocell, and the timing of the reaction controlled by a coiled glass tubing before introducing the colored product into a uv-visible photometer. In perhaps a decade, the Technicon SMA 12 and 6 instruments were introduced that could do up to 18 tests from a single sample.

Part 2. Emergence of an IVD Clinical Automated Diagnostics Industry

Why tests are ordered

Screening
Diagnosis
Monitoring

Historical Perspective

Case in Point 1: Outstanding Contributions in Clinical Chemistry. 1991. Arthur Karmen.

Dr. Karmen was born in New York City in 1930. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1946 and earned an A.B. and M.D. in 1950 and 1954, respectively, from New York University. In 1952, while a medical student working on a summer project at Memorial-Sloan Kettering, he used paper chromatography of amino acids to demonstrate the presence of glutamic-oxaloacetic and glutaniic-pyruvic ransaminases (aspartate and alanine aminotransferases) in serum and blood. In 1954, he devised the spectrophotometric method for measuring aspartate aminotransferase in serum, which, with minor modifications, is still used for diagnostic testing today. When developing this assay, he studied the reaction of NADH with serum and demonstrated the presence of lactate and malate dehydrogenases, both of which were also later used in diagnosis. Using the spectrophotometric method, he found that aspartate aminotransferase increased in the period immediately after an acute myocardial infarction and did the pilot studies that showed its diagnostic utility in heart and liver diseases. This became as important as the EKG. It was replaced in cardiology usage by the MB isoenzyme of creatine kinase, which was driven by Burton Sobel’s work on infarct size, and later by the troponins.

Case in point 2: Arterial Blood Gases. Van Slyke. National Academy of Sciences.

The test is used to determine the pH of the blood, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide and oxygen, and the bicarbonate level. Many blood gas analyzers will also report concentrations of lactate, hemoglobin, several electrolytes, oxyhemoglobin, carboxyhemoglobin and methemoglobin. ABG testing is mainly used in pulmonology and critical care medicine to determine gas exchange which reflect gas exchange across the alveolar-capillary membrane.

DONALD DEXTER VAN SLYKE died on May 4, 1971, after a long and productive career that spanned three generations of biochemists and physicians. He left behind not only a bibliography of 317 journal publications and 5 books, but also more than 100 persons who had worked with him and distinguished themselves in biochemistry and academic medicine. His doctoral thesis, with Gomberg at University of Michigan was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in 1907. Van Slyke received an invitation from Dr. Simon Flexner, Director of the Rockefeller Institute, to come to New York for an interview. In 1911 he spent a year in Berlin with Emil Fischer, who was then the leading chemist of the scientific world. He was particularly impressed by Fischer’s performing all laboratory operations quantitatively —a procedure Van followed throughout his life. Prior to going to Berlin, he published the classic nitrous acid method for the quantitative determination of primary aliphatic amino groups, the first of the many gasometric procedures devised by Van Slyke, and made possible the determination of amino acids. It was the primary method used to study amino acid

composition of proteins for years before chromatography. Thus, his first seven postdoctoral years were centered around the development of better methodology for protein composition and amino acid metabolism.

With his colleague G. M. Meyer, he first demonstrated that amino acids, liberated during digestion in the intestine, are absorbed into the bloodstream, that they are removed by the tissues, and that the liver alone possesses the ability to convert the amino acid nitrogen into urea. From the study of the kinetics of urease action, Van Slyke and Cullen developed equations that depended upon two reactions: (1) the combination of enzyme and substrate in stoichiometric proportions and (2) the reaction of the combination into the end products. Published in 1914, this formulation, involving two velocity constants, was similar to that arrived at contemporaneously by Michaelis and Menten in Germany in 1913.

He transferred to the Rockefeller Institute’s Hospital in 2013, under Dr. Rufus Cole, where “Men who were studying disease clinically had the right to go as deeply into its fundamental nature as their training allowed, and in the Rockefeller Institute’s Hospital every man who was caring for patients should also be engaged in more fundamental study”. The study of diabetes was already under way by Dr. F. M. Allen, but patients inevitably died of acidosis. Van Slyke reasoned that if incomplete oxidation of fatty acids in the body led to the accumulation of acetoacetic and beta-hydroxybutyric acids in the blood, then a reaction would result between these acids and the bicarbonate ions that would lead to a lower than-normal bicarbonate concentration in blood plasma. The problem thus became one of devising an analytical method that would permit the quantitative determination of bicarbonate concentration in small amounts of blood plasma. He ingeniously devised a volumetric glass apparatus that was easy to use and required less than ten minutes for the determination of the total carbon dioxide in one cubic centimeter of plasma. It also was soon found to be an excellent apparatus by which to determine blood oxygen concentrations, thus leading to measurements of the percentage saturation of blood hemoglobin with oxygen. This found extensive application in the study of respiratory diseases, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis. It also led to the quantitative study of cyanosis and a monograph on the subject by C. Lundsgaard and Van Slyke.

In all, Van Slyke and his colleagues published twenty-one papers under the general title “Studies of Acidosis,” beginning in 1917 and ending in 1934. They included not only chemical manifestations of acidosis, but Van Slyke, in No. 17 of the series (1921), elaborated and expanded the subject to describe in chemical terms the normal and abnormal variations in the acid-base balance of the blood. This was a landmark in understanding acid-base balance pathology. Within seven years after Van moved to the Hospital, he had published a total of fifty-three papers, thirty-three of them coauthored with clinical colleagues.

In 1920, Van Slyke and his colleagues undertook a comprehensive investigation of gas and electrolyte equilibria in blood. McLean and Henderson at Harvard had made preliminary studies of blood as a physico-chemical system, but realized that Van Slyke and his colleagues at the Rockefeller Hospital had superior techniques and the facilities necessary for such an undertaking. A collaboration thereupon began between the two laboratories, which resulted in rapid progress toward an exact physico-chemical description of the role of hemoglobin in the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide, of the distribution of diffusible ions and water between erythrocytes and plasma,
and of factors such as degree of oxygenation of hemoglobin and hydrogen ion concentration that modified these distributions. In this Van Slyke revised his volumetric gas analysis apparatus into a manometric method. The manometric apparatus proved to give results that were from five to ten times more accurate.

A series of papers on the CO2 titration curves of oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin, of oxygenated and reduced whole blood, and of blood subjected to different degrees of oxygenation and on the distribution of diffusible ions in blood resulted. These developed equations that predicted the change in distribution of water and diffusible ions between blood plasma and blood cells when there was a change in pH of the oxygenated blood. A significant contribution of Van Slyke and his colleagues was the application of the Gibbs-Donnan Law to the blood—regarded as a two-phase system, in which one phase (the erythrocytes) contained a high concentration of nondiffusible negative ions, i.e., those associated with hemoglobin, and cations, which were not freely exchaThe importance of Vanngeable between cells and plasma. By changing the pH through varying the CO2 tension, the concentration of negative hemoglobin charges changed in a predictable amount. This, in turn, changed the distribution of diffusible anions such as Cl” and HCO3″ in order to restore the Gibbs-Donnan equilibrium. Redistribution of water occurred to restore osmotic equilibrium. The experimental results confirmed the predictions of the equations.

As a spin-off from the physico-chemical study of the blood, Van undertook, in 1922, to put the concept of buffer value of weak electrolytes on a mathematically exact basis.
This proved to be useful in determining buffer values of mixed, polyvalent, and amphoteric electrolytes, and put the understanding of buffering on a quantitative basis. A
monograph in Medicine entitled “Observation on the Courses of Different Types of Bright’s Disease, and on the Resultant Changes in Renal Anatomy,” was a landmark that
related the changes occurring at different stages of renal deterioration to the quantitative changes taking place in kidney function. During this period, Van Slyke and R. M. Archibald identified glutamine as the source of urinary ammonia. During World War II, Van and his colleagues documented the effect of shock on renal function and, with R. A. Phillips, developed a simple method, based on specific gravity, suitable for use in the field.

Over 100 of Van’s 300 publications were devoted to methodology. The importance of Van Slyke’s contribution to clinical chemical methodology cannot be overestimated.
These included the blood organic constituents (carbohydrates, fats, proteins, amino acids, urea, nonprotein nitrogen, and phospholipids) and the inorganic constituents (total cations, calcium, chlorides, phosphate, and the gases carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen). It was said that a Van Slyke manometric apparatus was almost all the special equipment needed to perform most of the clinical chemical analyses customarily performed prior to the introduction of photocolorimeters and spectrophotometers for such determinations.

The progress made in the medical sciences in genetics, immunology, endocrinology, and antibiotics during the second half of the twentieth century obscures at times the progress that was made in basic and necessary biochemical knowledge during the first half. Methods capable of giving accurate quantitative chemical information on biological material had to be painstakingly devised; basic questions on chemical behavior and metabolism had to be answered; and, finally, those factors that adversely modified the normal chemical reactions in the body so that abnormal conditions arise that we characterize as disease states had to be identified.

Viewed in retrospect, he combined in one scientific lifetime (1) basic contributions to the chemistry of body constituents and their chemical behavior in the body, (2) a chemical understanding of physiological functions of certain organ systems (notably the respiratory and renal), and (3) how such information could be exploited in the
understanding and treatment of disease. That outstanding additions to knowledge in all three categories were possible was in large measure due to his sound and broadly based chemical preparation, his ingenuity in devising means of accurate measurements of chemical constituents, and the opportunity given him at the Hospital of the Rockefeller Institute to study disease in company with physicians.

In addition, he found time to work collaboratively with Dr. John P. Peters of Yale on the classic, two-volume Quantitative Clinical Chemistry. In 1922, John P. Peters, who had just gone to Yale from Van Slyke’s laboratory as an Associate Professor of Medicine, was asked by a publisher to write a modest handbook for clinicians describing useful chemical methods and discussing their application to clinical problems. It was originally to be called “Quantitative Chemistry in Clinical Medicine.” He soon found that it was going to be a bigger job than he could handle alone and asked Van Slyke to join him in writing it. Van agreed, and the two men proceeded to draw up an outline and divide up the writing of the first drafts of the chapters between them. They also agreed to exchange each chapter until it met the satisfaction of both.At the time it was published in 1931, it contained practically all that could be stated with confidence about those aspects of disease that could be and had been studied by chemical means. It was widely accepted throughout the medical world as the “Bible” of quantitative clinical chemistry, and to this day some of the chapters have not become outdated.

History of Laboratory Medicine at Yale University.

The roots of the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Yale can be traced back to John Peters, the head of what he called the “Chemical Division” of the Department of Internal Medicine, subsequently known as the Section of Metabolism, who co-authored with Donald Van Slyke the landmark 1931 textbook Quantitative Clinical Chemistry (2.3); and to Pauline Hald, research collaborator of Dr. Peters who subsequently served as Director of Clinical Chemistry at Yale-New Haven Hospital for many years. In 1947, Miss Hald reported the very first flame photometric measurements of sodium and potassium in serum (4). This study helped to lay the foundation for modern studies of metabolism and their application to clinical care.

The Laboratory Medicine program at Yale had its inception in 1958 as a section of Internal Medicine under the leadership of David Seligson. In 1965, Laboratory Medicine achieved autonomous section status and in 1971, became a full-fledged academic department. Dr. Seligson, who served as the first Chair, pioneered modern automation and computerized data processing in the clinical laboratory. In particular, he demonstrated the feasibility of discrete sample handling for automation that is now the basis of virtually all automated chemistry analyzers. In addition, Seligson and Zetner demonstrated the first clinical use of atomic absorption spectrophotometry. He was one of the founding members of the major Laboratory Medicine academic society, the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists.

Case in Point 3. Nathan Gochman. Developer of Automated Chemistries.

Nathan Gochman, PhD, has over 40 years of experience in the clinical diagnostics industry. This includes academic teaching and research, and 30 years in the pharmaceutical and in vitro diagnostics industry. He has managed R & D, technical marketing and technical support departments. As a leader in the industry he was President of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) and the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS, now CLSI). He is currently a Consultant to investment firms and IVD companies.

Nathan Gochman

The clinical laboratory has become so productive, particularly in chemistry and immunology, and the labor, instrument and reagent costs are well determined, that today a physician’s medical decisions are 80% determined by the clinical laboratory. Medical information systems have lagged far behind. Why is that? Because the decision for a MIS has historical been based on billing capture. Moreover, the historical use of chemical profiles were quite good at validating healthy dtatus in an outpatient population, but the profiles became restricted under Diagnostic Related Groups. Thus, it came to be that the diagnostics was considered a “commodity”. In order to be competitive, a laboratory had to provide “high complexity” tests that were drawn in by a large volume of “moderate complexity”tests.

Part 3. Biomarkers in Medical Practice

Case in Point 1.

A Solid Prognostic Biomarker

HDL-C: Target of Therapy or Fuggedaboutit?

Steven E. Nissen, MD, MACC, Peter Libby, MD

DisclosuresNovember 06, 2014

Steven E. Nissen, MD, MACC: I am Steve Nissen, chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. I am here with Dr Peter Libby, chief of cardiology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. We are going to discuss high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), a topic that has been very controversial recently. Peter, HDL-C has been a pretty good biomarker. The question is whether it is a good target.

Peter Libby, MD: Since the early days in Berkley, when they were doing ultracentrifugation, and when it was reinforced and put on the map by the Framingham Study,^[1] we have known that HDL-C is an extremely good biomarker of prospective cardiovascular risk with an inverse relationship with all kinds of cardiovascular events. That is as solid a finding as you can get in observational epidemiology. It is a very reliable prospective marker. It’s natural that the pharmaceutical industry and those of us who are interested in risk reduction would focus on HDL-C as a target. That is where the controversies come in.

Dr Nissen: It has been difficult. My view is that the trials that have attempted to modulate HDL-C or the drugs they used have been flawed. Although the results have not been promising, the jury is yet out. Torcetrapib, the cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor developed by Pfizer, had anoff-target toxicity.^[2] Niacin is not very effective, and there are a lot of downsides to the drug. That has been an issue, but people are still working on this. We have done some studies. We did our ApoA-1 Milano infusion study^[3]about a decade ago, which showed very promising results with respect to shrinking plaques in coronary arteries. I remain open to the possibility that the right drug in the right trial will work.

Dr Libby: What do you do with the genetic data that have come out in the past couple of years? Sekar Kathiresan masterminded and organized an enormous collaboration^[4] in which they looked, with contemporary genetics, at whether HDL had the genetic markers of being a causal risk factor. They came up empty-handed.

Dr Nissen: I am cautious about interpreting those data, like I am cautious about interpreting animal studies of atherosclerosis. We have both lived through this problem in which something works extremely well in animals but doesn’t work in humans, or it doesn’t work in animals but it works in humans. The genetic studies don’t seal the fate of HDL. I have an open mind about this. Drugs are complex. They work by complex mechanisms. It is my belief that what we have to do is test these hypotheses in well-designed clinical trials, which are rigorously performed with drugs that are clean—unlike torcetrapib—and don’t have off-target toxicities.

An Unmet Need: High Lp(a) Levels

Dr Nissen: I’m going to push back on that and make a couple of points. The HPS2-THRIVE study was flawed. They studied the wrong people. It was not a good study, and AIM-HIGH^[8] was underpowered. I am not putting people on niacin. What do you do with a patient whose Lp(a) is 200 mg/dL?

Dr Libby: I’m waiting for the results of the PCSK9 and anacetrapib studies. You can tell me about evacetrapib.^[9]Reducing Lp(a) is an unmet medical need. We both care for kindreds with high Lp(a) levels and premature coronary artery disease. We have no idea what to do with them other than to treat them with statins and lower their LDL-C levels.

Dr Nissen: I have taken a more cautious approach with respect to taking people off of niacin. If I have patients who are doing well and tolerating it (depending on why it was started), I am discontinuing niacin in some people. I am starting very few people on the drug, but I worry about the quality of the trial.

Dr Libby: So you are of the “don’t start don’t stop” school?

Dr Nissen: Yes. It’s difficult when the trial is fatally flawed. There were 11,000 patients from China in this study. I have known for years that if you give niacin to people of Asiatic ethnic descent, they have terrible flushing and they won’t continue the drug. One question is, what was the adherence? The adverse events would have been tolerable had there been efficacy. The concern here is that this study was destined to fail because they studied a low LDL/high HDL population, a group of people for whom niacin just isn’t used.

Triglycerides and HDL: Do We Have It Backwards?

Dr Libby: What about the recent genetic^[10] and epidemiologic data that support triglycerides, and apolipoprotein C3 in particular as a causal risk factor? Have we been misled through all of the generations in whom we have been adjusting triglycerides for HDL-C and saying that triglycerides are not a causal risk factor because once we adjust for HDL, the risk goes away? Do you think we got it backwards?

Dr Nissen: The tricky factor here is that because of this intimate inverse relationship between triglycerides and HDL, we may be talking about the same phenomenon. That is one of the reasons that I am not certain we are not going to be able to find a therapy. What if you had a therapy that lowered triglycerides and raised HDL-C? Could that work? Could that combination be favorable? I want answers from rigorous, well-designed clinical trials that ask the right questions in the right populations. I am disappointed, just as I have been disappointed by the fibrate trials.^[11,12] There is a class of drugs that raises HDL-C a little and lowers triglycerides a lot.

Dr Nissen: But the gemfibrozil studies (VA-HIT^[13] and Helsinki Heart^[14]) showed benefit.

The Dyslipidemia Bar Has Been Raised

Dr Libby: Those studies were from the pre-statin era. We both were involved in trials in which patients were on high-dose statins at baseline. Do you think that this is too high a bar?

Dr Nissen: The bar has been raised, and for the pharmaceutical industry, the studies that we need to find out whether lowering triglycerides or raising HDL is beneficial are going to be large. We are doing a study with evacetrapib. It has 12,000 patients. It’s fully enrolled. Evacetrapib is a very clean-looking drug. It doesn’t have such a long biological half-life as anacetrapib, so I am very encouraged that it won’t have that baggage of being around for 2-4 years. We’ve got a couple of shots on goal here. Don’t forget that we have multiple ongoing studies of HDL-C infusion therapies that are still under development. Those have some promise too. The jury is still out.

Dr Libby: We agree on the need to do rigorous, large-scale endpoint trials. Do the biomarker studies, but don’t wait to start the endpoint trial because that’s the proof in the pudding.

Dr Nissen: Exactly. We have had a little controversy about HDL-C. We often agree, but not always, and we may have a different perspective. Thanks for joining me in this interesting discussion of what will continue to be a controversial topic for the next several years until we get the results of the current ongoing trials.

Case in Point 2.

NSTEMI? Honesty in Coding and Communication?

Melissa Walton-Shirley

November 07, 2014

The complaint at ER triage: Weakness, fatigue, near syncope of several days’ duration, vomiting, and decreased sensorium.

The findings: O_2sat: 88% on room air. BP: 88 systolic. Telemetry: Sinus tachycardia 120 bpm. Blood sugar: 500 mg/dL. Chest X ray: atelectasis. Urinalysis: pyuria. ECG: T-wave-inversion anterior leads. Echocardiography: normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and wall motion. Troponin I: 0.3 ng/mL. CT angiography: negative for pulmonary embolism (PE). White blood cell count: 20K with left shift. Blood cultures: positive for Gram-negative rods.

The treatment: Intravenous fluids and IV levofloxacin—changed to ciprofloxacin.

The communication at discharge: “You had a severe urinary-tract infection and grew bacteria in your bloodstream. Also, you’ve had a slight heart attack. See your cardiologist immediately upon discharge-no more than 5 days from now.”

The diagnoses coded at discharge: Urosepsis and non-ST segment elevation MI (NSTEMI) 410.1.

One year earlier: This moderately obese patient was referred to our practice for a preoperative risk assessment. The surgery planned was a technically simple procedure, but due to the need for precise instrumentation, general endotracheal anesthesia (GETA) was being considered. The patient was diabetic, overweight, and short of air. A stress exam was equivocal for CAD due to poor exercise tolerance and suboptimal imaging. Upon further discussion, symptoms were progressive; therefore, cardiac cath was recommended, revealing angiographically normal coronaries and a predictably elevated left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP) in the mid-20s range. The patient was given a diagnosis of diastolic dysfunction, a prescription for better hypertension control, and in-depth discussion on exercise and the Mediterranean and DASH diets for weight loss. Symptoms improved with a low dose of diuretic. The surgery was completed without difficulty. Upon follow-up visit, the patient felt well, had lost a few pounds, and blood pressure was well controlled.

Five days after ER workup: While out of town, the patient developed profound weakness and went to the ER as described above. Fast forward to our office visit in the designated time frame of “no longer than 5 days’ postdischarge,” where the patient and family asked me about the “slight heart attack” that literally came on the heels of a normal coronary angiogram.

But the patient really didn’t have a “heart attack,” did they? The cardiologist aptly stated that it was likely nonspecific troponin I leak in his progress notes. Yet the hospitalist framed the diagnosis of NSTEMI as item number 2 in the final diagnoses.

The motivations on behalf of personnel who code charts are largely innocent and likely a direct result of the lack of understanding of the coding system on behalf of us as healthcare providers. I have a feeling, though, that hospitals aren’t anxious to correct this misperception, due to an opportunity for increased reimbursement. I contacted a director of a coding department for a large hospital who prefers to remain anonymous. She explained that NSTEMI ICD9 code 410.1 falls in DRG 282 with a weight of .7562. The diagnosis of “demand ischemia,” code 411.89, a slightly less inappropriate code for a nonspecific troponin I leak, falls in DRG 311 with a weight of .5662. To determine reimbursement, one must multiply the weight by the average hospital Medicare base rate of $5370. Keep in mind that each hospital’s base rate and corresponding payment will vary. The difference in reimbursement for a large hospital bill between these two choices for coding is substantial, at over $1000 difference ($4060 vs $3040).

Although hospitals that are already reeling from shrinking revenues will make more money on the front end by coding the troponin leak incorrectly as an NSTEMI, when multiple unnecessary tests are generated to follow up on a nondiagnostic troponin leak, the amount of available Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reimbursement pie shrinks in the long run. Furthermore, this inappropriate categorization generates extreme concern on behalf of patients and family members that is often never laid to rest. The emotional toll of a “heart-attack” diagnosis has an impact on work fitness, quality of life, cost of medication, and the cost of future testing. If the patient lived for another 100 years, they will likely still list a “heart attack” in their medical history.

As a cardiologist, I resent the loose utilization of one of “my” heart-attack codes when it wasn’t that at all. At discharge, we need to develop a better way of communicating what exactly did happen. Equally important, we need to communicate what exactly didn’t happen as well.

Case in Point 3.

Blood Markers Predict CKD Heart Failure

Published: Oct 3, 2014 | Updated: Oct 3, 2014

Elevated levels of high-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) strongly predicted heart failure in patients with chronic kidney disease followed for a median of close to 6 years, researchers reported.

Compared with patients with the lowest blood levels of hsTnT, those with the highest had a nearly five-fold higher risk for developing heart failure and the risk was 10-fold higher in patients with the highest NT-proBNP levels compared with those with the lowest levels of the protein, researcher Nisha Bansal, MD, of the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues wrote online in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

A separate study, published online in theJournal of the American Medical Association earlier in the week, also examined the comorbid conditions of heart and kidney disease, finding no benefit to the practice of treating cardiac surgery patients who developed acute kidney injury with infusions of the antihypertensive drug fenoldopam.

The study, reported by researcher Giovanni Landoni, MD, of the IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy, and colleagues, was stopped early “for futility,” according to the authors, and the incidence of hypotension during drug infusion was significantly higher in patients infused with fenoldopam than placebo (26% vs. 15%; P=0.001).

Blood Markers Predict CKD Heart Failure

The study in patients with mild to moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) was conducted to determine if blood markers could help identify patients at high risk for developing heart failure.

Heart failure is the most common cardiovascular complication among people with renal disease, occurring in about a quarter of CKD patients.

The two markers, hsTnT and NT-proBNP, are associated with overworked cardiac myocytes and have been shown to predict heart failure in the general population.

However, Bansal and colleagues noted, the markers have not been widely used in diagnosing heart failure among patients with CKD due to concerns that reduced renal excretion may raise levels of these markers, and therefore do not reflect an actual increase in heart muscle strain.

To better understand the importance of elevated concentrations of hsTnT and NT-proBNP in CKD patients, the researchers examined their association with incident heart failure events in 3,483 participants in the ongoing observational Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study.

All participants were recruited from June 2003 to August 2008, and all were free of heart failure at baseline. The researchers used Cox regression to examine the association of baseline levels of hsTnT and NT-proBNP with incident heart failure after adjustment for demographic influences, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, makers of kidney disease, pertinent medication use, and mineral metabolism markers.

At baseline, hsTnT levels ranged from ≤5.0 to 378.7 pg/mL and NT-proBNP levels ranged from ≤5 to 35,000 pg/mL. Compared with patients who had undetectable hsTnT, those in the highest quartile (>26.5 ng/mL) had a significantly higher rate of heart failure (hazard ratio 4.77; 95% CI 2.49-9.14).

Compared with those in the lowest NT-proBNP quintile (<47.6 ng/mL), patients in the highest quintile (>433.0 ng/mL) experienced an almost 10-fold increase in heart failure risk (HR 9.57; 95% CI 4.40-20.83).

The researchers noted that these associations remained robust after adjustment for potential confounders and for the other biomarker, suggesting that while hsTnT and NT-proBNP are complementary, they may be indicative of distinct biological pathways for heart failure.

Even Modest Increases in NP-proBNP Linked to Heart Failure

The findings are consistent with an earlier analysis that included 8,000 patients with albuminuria in the Prevention of REnal and Vascular ENd-stage Disease (PREVEND) study, which showed that hsTnT was associated with incident cardiovascular events, even after adjustment for eGFR and severity of albuminuria.

“Among participants in the CRIC study, those with the highest quartile of detectable hsTnT had a twofold higher odds of left ventricular hypertrophy compared with those in the lowest quartile,” Bansal and colleagues wrote, adding that the findings were similar after excluding participants with any cardiovascular disease at baseline.

Even modest elevations in NT-proBNP were associated with significantly increased rates of heart failure, including in subgroups stratified by eGFR, proteinuria, and diabetic status.

“NT-proBNP regulates blood pressure and body fluid volume by its natriuretic and diuretic actions, arterial dilation, and inhibition of the renin-aldosterone-angiotensin system and increased levels of this marker likely reflect myocardial stress induced by subclinical changes in volume or pressure, even in persons without clinical disease,” the researchers wrote.

The researchers concluded that further studies are needed to develop and validate risk prediction tools for clinical heart failure in patients with CKD, and to determine the potential role of these two biomarkers in a heart failure risk prediction and prevention strategy.

Fenoldopam ‘Widely Promoted’ in AKI Cardiac Surgery Setting

The JAMA study examined whether the selective dopamine receptor D agonist fenoldopam mesylate can reduce the need for dialysis in cardiac surgery patients who develop acute kidney injury (AKI).

Fenoldopam induces vasodilation of the renal, mesenteric, peripheral, and coronary arteries, and, unlike dopamine, it has no significant affinity for D₂receptors, meaning that it theoretically induces greater vasodilation in the renal medulla than in the cortex, the researchers wrote.

“Because of these hemodynamic effects, fenoldopam has been widely promoted for the prevention and therapy of AKI in the United States and many other countries with apparent favorable results in cardiac surgery and other settings,” Landoni and colleagues wrote.

The drug was approved in 1997 by the FDA for the indication of in-hospital, short-term management of severe hypertension. It has not been approved for renal indications, but is commonly used off-label in cardiac surgery patients who develop AKI.

Although a meta analysis of randomized trials, conducted by the researchers, indicated a reduction in the incidence and progression of AKI associated with the treatment, Landoni and colleagues wrote that the absence of a definitive trial “leaves clinicians uncertain as to whether fenoldopam should be prescribed after cardiac surgery to prevent deterioration in renal function.”

To address this uncertainty, the researchers conducted a prospective, randomized, parallel-group trial in 667 patients treated at 19 hospitals in Italy from March 2008 to April 2013.

All patients had been admitted to ICUs after cardiac surgery with early acute kidney injury (≥50% increase of serum creatinine level from baseline or low output of urine for ≥6 hours). A total of 338 received fenoldopam by continuous intravenous infusion for a total of 96 hours or until ICU discharge, while 329 patients received saline infusions.

The primary end point was the rate of renal replacement therapy, and secondary end points included mortality (intensive care unit and 30-day mortality) and the rate of hypotension during study drug infusion.

Study Showed No Benefit, Was Stopped Early

Yale Lampoon – AA Liebow. 1954

Not As a Doctor
[Fourth Year]

These lyrics, sung by John Cole, Jack Gariepy and Ed Ransenhofer to music borrowed from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, lampooned Averill Liebow, M.D., a pathologist noted for his demands on students. (CPC stands for clinical pathology conference.)

If you want to know what this is,
it’s a medical CPC
Where we give the house staff
the biz, for there’s no one so
wise as we!
We pathologists show them how,
Although it is too late now.
Our art is a sacred cow!

American physician, born 1911, Stryj in Galicia, Austria (now in Ukraine); died 1978.

Averill Abraham Liebow, born in Austria, was the “founding father” of pulmonary pathology in the United States. He started his career as a pathologist at Yale, where he remained for many years. In 1968 he moved to the University of California School of Medicine, San Diego, where he taught for 7 years as Professor and Chairman, Department of Pathology.

His studies include many classic studies of lung diseases. Best known of these is his famous classification of interstitial lung disease. He also published papers on sclerosing pneumocytoma, pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, meningothelial-like nodules, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary veno-occlusive disease, lymphomatoid granulomatosis, pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis, pulmonary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma and pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma .

As a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Medical Corps, He was a member of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission who studied the effects of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

We thank Sanjay Mukhopadhyay, M.D., for information submitted.

As a resident at UCSD, Dr. Liebow held “Organ Recitals” every morning, including Mother’s day. The organs had to be presented in specified order… heart, lung, and so forth. On one occasion, we needed a heart for purification of human lactate dehydrogenase for a medical student project, so I presented the lung out of order. Dr. Liebow asked where the heart was, and I told the group it was noprmal and I froze it for enzyme purification (smiles). In the future show it to me first. He was generous to those who showed interest. As I was also doing research in Nathan Kaplan’s laboratory, he made special arrangements for me to mentor Deborah Peters, the daughter of a pulmonary physician, and granddaughter of the Peters who collaborated with Van Slyke. I mentored many students with great reward since then. He could look at a slide and tell you what the x-ray looked like. I didn’t encounter that again until he sent me to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, DC during the Vietnam War and Watergate, and I worked in Orthopedic Pathology with Lent C. Johnson. He would not review a case without the x-ray, and he taught the radiologists.

Part 3

My Cancer Genome from Vanderbilt University: Matching Tumor Mutations to Therapies & Clinical Trials

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

My Cancer Genome from Vanderbilt University: Matching Tumor Mutations to Therapies & Clinical Trials

GenomOncology and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) today announced a partnership for the exclusive commercial development of a decision support tool based on My Cancer Genome™, an online precision cancer medicine knowledge resource for physicians, patients, caregivers and researchers.

Through this collaboration, GenomOncology and VICC will enhance My Cancer Genome through the development of a new genomics content management tool. The MyCancerGenome.org website will remain free and open to the public. In addition, GenomOncology will develop a decision support tool based on My Cancer Genome™ data that will enable automated interpretation of mutations in the genome of a patient’s tumor, providing actionable results in hours versus days.

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) launched My Cancer Genome™ in January 2011 as an integral part of their Personalized Cancer Medicine Initiative that helps physicians and researchers track the latest developments in precision cancer medicine and connect with clinical research trials. This web-based information tool is designed to quickly educate clinicians on the rapidly expanding list of genetic mutations that impact cancers and enable the research of treatment options based on specific mutations. For more information on My Cancer Genome™visit www.mycancergenome.org/about/what-is-my-cancer-genome.

Therapies based on the specific genetic alterations that underlie a patient’s cancer not only result in better outcomes but often have less adverse reactions

Up front fee

Nominal fee covers installation support, configuring the Workbench to your specification, designing and developing custom report(s) and training your team.

Per sample fee

GenomOncology is paid on signed-out clinical reports. This philosophy aligns GenomOncology with your Laboratory as we are incentivized to offer world-class support and solutions to differentiate your clinical NGS program. There is no annual license fee.

Part 4

Clinical Trial Services: Foundation Medicine & EmergingMed to Partner

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

Clinical Trial Services: Foundation Medicine & EmergingMed to Partner

Foundation Medicine and EmergingMed said today that they will partner to offer clinical trial navigation services for health care providers and their patients who have received one of Foundation Medicine’s tumor genomic profiling tests.

The firms will provide concierge services to help physicians

identify appropriate clinical trials for patients
based on the results of FoundationOne or FoundationOne Heme.

“By providing clinical trial navigation services, we aim to facilitate

timely and accurate clinical trial information and enrollment support services for physicians and patients,
enabling greater access to treatment options based on the unique genomic profile of a patient’s cancer

Currently, there are over 800 candidate therapies that target genomic alterations in clinical trials,

but “patients and physicians must identify and act on relevant options
when the patient’s clinical profile is aligned with the often short enrollment window for each trial.

These investigational therapies are an opportunity to engage patients with cancer whose cancer has progressed or returned following standard treatment in a most favorable second option after relapse. The new service is unique in notifying when new clinical trials emerge that match a patient’s genomic and clinical profile.

Google signs on to Foundation Medicine cancer Dx by offering tests to employees

By Emily Wasserman

Diagnostics luminary Foundation Medicine ($FMI) is generating some upward momentum, fueled by growing revenues and the success of its clinical tests. Tech giant Google ($GOOG) has taken note and is signing onto the company’s cancer diagnostics by offering them to employees.

Foundation Medicine CEO Michael Pellini said during the company’s Q3 earnings call that Google will start covering its DNA tests for employees and their family members suffering from cancer as part of its health benefits portfolio, Reuters reports.

Both sides stand to benefit from the deal, as Google looks to keep a leg up on Silicon Valley competitors and Foundation Medicine expands its cancer diagnostics platform. Last month, Apple ($AAPL) and Facebook ($FB) announced that they would begin covering the cost of egg freezing for female employees. A diagnostics partnership and attractive health benefits could work wonders for Google’s employee retention rates and bottom line.

In the meantime, Cambridge, MA-based Foundation Medicine is charging full speed ahead with its cancer diagnostics platform after filing for an IPO in September 2013. The company chalked up 6,428 clinical tests during Q3 2014, an eye-popping 149% increase year over year, and brought in total revenue for the quarter of $16.4 million–a 100% leap from last year. Foundation Medicine credits the promising numbers in part to new diagnostic partnerships and extended coverage for its tests.

In January, the company teamed up with Novartis ($NVS) to help the drugmaker evaluate potential candidates for its cancer therapies. In April, Foundation Medicine announced that it would develop a companion diagnostic test for a Clovis Oncology ($CLVS) drug under development to treat patients with ovarian cancer, building on an ongoing collaboration between the two companies.

Foundation Medicine also has its sights set on China’s growing diagnostics market, inking a deal in October with WuXi PharmaTech ($WX) that allows the company to perform lab testing for its FoundationOne assay at WuXi’s Shanghai-based Genome Center.

a nod to the deal with Google during a corporate earnings call on Wednesday, according to a person who listened in. Pellini said Google employees were made aware of this new benefit last week.

Foundation Medicine teams with MD Anderson for new trial of cancer Dx

Second study to see if targeted therapy can change patient outcomes

August 15, 2014 | By Joseph Keenan FierceDiagnostics

Foundation Medicine ($FMI) is teaming up with the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas for a new trial of the the Cambridge, MA-based company’s molecular diagnostic cancer test that targets therapies matched to individual patients.

The study is called IMPACT2 (Initiative for Molecular Profiling and Advanced Cancer Therapy) and is designed to build on results from the the first IMPACT study that found

40% of the 1,144 patients enrolled had an identifiable genomic alteration.

The company said that

by matching specific gene alterations to therapies,
27% of patients in the first study responded versus
5% with an unmatched treatment, and
“progression-free survival” was longer in the matched group.

The FoundationOne molecular diagnostic test

combines genetic sequencing and data gathering
to help oncologists choose the best treatment for individual patients.

Costing $5,800 per test, FoundationOne’s technology can uncover a large number of genetic alterations for 200 cancer-related genes,

blending genomic sequencing, information and clinical practice.

“Based on the IMPACT1 data, a validated, comprehensive profiling approach has already been adopted by many academic and community-based oncology practices,” Vincent Miller, chief medical officer of Foundation Medicine, said in a release. “This study has the potential to yield sufficient evidence necessary to support broader adoption across most newly diagnosed metastatic tumors.”

The company got a boost last month when the New York State Department of Health approved Foundation Medicine’s two initial cancer tests: the FoundationOne test and FoundationOne Heme, which creates a genetic profile for blood cancers. Typically,

diagnostics companies struggle to win insurance approval for their tests
even after they gain a regulatory approval, leaving revenue growth relatively flat.

However, Foundation Medicine reported earlier this week its Q2 revenue reached $14.5 million compared to $5.9 million for the same period a year ago. Still,

net losses continue to soar as the company ramps up
its commercial and business development operation,

hitting $13.7 million versus a $10.1 million deficit in the second quarter of 2013.

Oncology

There has been a remarkable transformation in our understanding of

the molecular genetic basis of cancer and its treatment during the past decade or so.

In depth genetic and genomic analysis of cancers has revealed that

each cancer type can be sub-classified into many groups based on the genetic profiles and
this information can be used to develop new targeted therapies and treatment options for cancer patients.

This panel will explore the technologies that are facilitating our understanding of cancer, and

how this information is being used in novel approaches for clinical development and treatment.

Oncology _ Reprted by Dr. Aviva Lev-Ari, Founder, Leaders in Pharmaceutical Intelligence

Opening Speaker & Moderator:

Lynda Chin, M.D.
Department Chair, Department of Genomic Medicine
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Who pays for PM?
potential of Big data, analytics, Expert systems, so not each MD needs to see all cases, Profile disease to get same treatment
business model: IP, Discovery, sharing, ownership — yet accelerate therapy
security of healthcare data
segmentation of patient population
management of data and tracking innovations
platforms to be shared for innovations
study to be longitudinal,
How do we reconcile course of disease with PM
phinotyping the disease vs a Patient in wait for cure/treatment

Panelists:

Roy Herbst, M.D., Ph.D.
Ensign Professor of Medicine and Professor of Pharmacology;
Chief of Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital

Development new drugs to match patient, disease and drug – finding the right patient for the right Clinical Trial

match patient to drugs
partnerships: out of 100 screened patients, 10 had the gene, 5 were able to attend the trial — without the biomarker — all 100 patients would participate for the WRONG drug for them (except the 5)
patients wants to participate in trials next to home NOT to have to travel — now it is in the protocol
Annotated Databases – clinical Trial informed consent – adaptive design of Clinical Trial vs protocol
even Academic MD can’t read the reports on Genomics
patients are treated in the community — more training to MDs
Five companies collaborating – comparison og 6 drugs in the same class
if drug exist and you have the patient — you must apply PM

Summary and Perspective:

The current changes in Biotechnology have been reviewed with an open question about the relationship of In Vitro Diagnostics to Biopharmaceuticals switching, with the potential, particularly in cancer and infectious diseases, to added value in targeted therapy by matching patients to the best potential treatment for a favorable outcome.

This reviewer does not see the movement of the major diagnostics leaders entering into the domain of direct patient care, even though there are signals in that direction. The Roche example is perhaps the most interesting because Roche already became the elephant in the room after the introduction of Valium, subsequently bought out Boehringer Mannheim Diagnostics to gain entry into the IVD market, and established a huge presence in Molecular Diagnostics early. If it did anything to gain a foothold in the treatment realm, it would more likely forge a relationship with Foundation Medicine. Abbott Laboratories more than a decade ago was overextended, and it had become the leader in IVD as a result of the specialty tests, but it fell into difficulties with quality control of its products in the high volume testing market, and acceeded to Olympus, Roche, and in the mid volume market to Beckman and Siemens. Of course, Dupont and Kodak, pioneering companies in IVD, both left the market.

The biggest challenge in the long run is identified by the ability to eliminate many treatments that would be failures for a large number of patients. That has already met the proof of concept. However, when you look at the size of the subgroups, we are not anywhere near a large scale endeavor. In addition, there is a lot that has to be worked out that is not related to genomic expression by the “classic” model, but has to take into account the emrging knowledge and greater understanding of regulation of cell metabolism, not only in cancer, but also in chronic inflammatory diseases.

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Archive for the ‘Historical relevance’ Category

The Reconstruction of Life Processes requires both Genomics and Metabolomics to explain Phenotypes and Phylogenetics

The Reconstruction of Life Processes requires both Genomics and Metabolomics to explain Phenotypes and Phylogenetics

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My Cancer Genome from Vanderbilt University: Matching Tumor Mutations to Therapies & Clinical Trials

Clinical Trial Services: Foundation Medicine & EmergingMed to Partner

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