Shing, Ka Fai. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 158-188). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.i / 摘要 --- p.iv / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.vi / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.vii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.x / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.xii / Chapter SECTION I: --- BACKGROUND --- p.1 / Chapter CHAPTER 1: --- CELL-FREE NUCLEIC ACIDS IN HUMAN BODILY FLUIDS --- p.2 / Chapter 1.1 --- Early studies on the presence of cell-free nucleic acids in human bodily fluids --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2 --- Circulating nucleic acids in plasma and serum --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Cancer Detection --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2.1.1 --- Circulating tumor-derived DNA --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2.1.2 --- Circulating tumor-derived RNA --- p.5 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Prenatal diagnosis --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2.2.1 --- Circulating fetal DNA --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2.2.2 --- Circulating fetal messenger RNA --- p.11 / Chapter 1.2.2.3 --- Circulating placental microRNA --- p.13 / Chapter 1.3 --- Cell-free nucleic acids in urine --- p.14 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Transrenal DNA (Tr-DNA) --- p.15 / Chapter 1.3.1.1 --- Biology of Tr-DNA --- p.15 / Chapter 1.3.1.2 --- Detection of fetal-derived Tr-DNA --- p.15 / Chapter 1.3.1.3 --- Potential problems associated with the detection of Tr-DNA --- p.16 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Cell-free DNA in urine as released from the urinary tract --- p.17 / Chapter 1.4 --- Other bodily fluids with cell-free nucleic acids --- p.18 / Chapter 1.4.1 --- Amniotic fluid --- p.19 / Chapter 1.4.2 --- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) --- p.20 / Chapter 1.4.3 --- Peritoneal fluid --- p.20 / Chapter CHAPTER 2: --- MICRORNA IN HUMANS --- p.21 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.21 / Chapter 2.2 --- Biogenesis --- p.21 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Transcription of microRNA genes --- p.21 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Processing and maturation of microRNA precursors --- p.23 / Chapter 2.3 --- Mechanisms of gene regulation --- p.24 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Cleavage of target mRNA --- p.24 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Translational repression of mRNA --- p.25 / Chapter 2.4 --- Functional roles of microRNAs --- p.25 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Oncogenesis --- p.25 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Programmed cell death --- p.26 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- Cellular differentiation and development --- p.27 / Chapter 2.4.4 --- Regulation of physiological and cellular processes --- p.28 / Chapter 2.5 --- Aim of this thesis --- p.28 / Chapter SECTION II: --- MATERIALS AND METHODS --- p.30 / Chapter CHAPTER 3: --- QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF CIRCULATING AND URINARY NUCLEIC ACIDS --- p.31 / Chapter 3.1 --- Preparation of samples --- p.31 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Preparation of plasma --- p.31 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Preparation of blood cells --- p.32 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Preparation of placental tissue --- p.32 / Chapter 3.1.4 --- Preparation of urine and urine cell pellet --- p.32 / Chapter 3.2 --- Nucleic acid extraction --- p.33 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- "Extraction of small RNA-containing total RNA from plasma, blood cells and placental tissue" --- p.33 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Extraction of DNA from urine --- p.37 / Chapter 3.3 --- Quantitative measurements of nucleic acids --- p.38 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Principle of real-time quantitative PCR --- p.38 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- One-step QRT-PCR assays for mRNA quantification --- p.40 / Chapter 3.3.2.1 --- Principle --- p.40 / Chapter 3.3.2.2 --- Quantification of human placental lactogen （hPL) mRNA --- p.40 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Two-step QRT-PCR assays for microRNA quantification --- p.45 / Chapter 3.3.3.1 --- Principle --- p.45 / Chapter 3.3.3.2 --- Advantages --- p.46 / Chapter 3.3.3.3 --- TaqMan® MicroRNA Assays --- p.47 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- QPCR assays for DNA quantification --- p.53 / Chapter 3.3.4.1 --- Principle --- p.53 / Chapter 3.3.4.2 --- Quantification of the leptin gene and the sex-determining region on Ychromosome gene --- p.53 / Chapter 3.4 --- Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) --- p.57 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Principle --- p.57 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Zinc finger protein gene assay for determining the fractional concentration of male DNA --- p.58 / Chapter 3.5 --- Statistical analyses --- p.65 / Chapter SECTION III: --- CIRCULATING PLACENTAL MICRORNAS IN MATERNAL PLASMA AS MARKERS FOR PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS　 --- p.66 / Chapter CHAPTER 4: --- THE EXISTENCE AND QUANTITATIVE DETECTION OF CELL-FREE MICRORNAS IN PLASMA --- p.67 / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.67 / Chapter 4.2 --- Materials and methods --- p.69 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Sample collection --- p.69 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Experimental design --- p.69 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- RNA extraction and quantification --- p.72 / Chapter 4.3 --- Results --- p.75 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Validation of two-step QRT-PCR system for miRNA quantification --- p.75 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Detection of cell-free miRNA in maternal plasma --- p.82 / Chapter 4.4 --- Discussion --- p.82 / Chapter CHAPTER 5: --- SYSTEMATIC IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PLACENTAL MICRORNAS IN MATERNAL PLASMA --- p.86 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.86 / Chapter 5.2 --- Materials and methods --- p.88 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Sample collection --- p.88 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Experimental design --- p.88 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- RNA extraction and miRNA quantification --- p.91 / Chapter 5.3 --- Results --- p.93 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- A systematic search for placental miRNAs in maternal plasma using two-step QRT-PCR assays --- p.93 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Detection rate and clearance kinetics of placental miRNAs in maternal plasma --- p.97 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- Effects of filtering maternal plasma on the concentration of placental miRNA and mRNA --- p.99 / Chapter 5.3.5 --- Temporal profile of placental miRNA concentrations in maternal plasma across different trimesters of pregnancies --- p.103 / Chapter 5.4 --- Discussion --- p.115 / Chapter SECTION IV: --- DETECTION OF CELL-FREE DNA IN URINE --- p.119 / Chapter CHAPTER 6: --- HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION RECIPIENTS AS A MODEL TO STUDY CELL-FREE DNA IN URINE --- p.120 / Chapter 6.1 --- Introduction --- p.120 / Chapter 6.2 --- Materials and methods --- p.123 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Sample collection --- p.123 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Experimental design --- p.124 / Chapter 6.2.3 --- DNA extraction and quantification --- p.125 / Chapter 6.3 --- Results --- p.128 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- Validation of the zinc finger protein gene assay --- p.128 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- Fractional concentration of male DNA in blood cells and plasma of sex-mismatched HSCT patients --- p.129 / Chapter 6.3.3 --- Fractional concentration of male DNA in the urine and the urine cell pellets of sex-mismatched HSCT patients --- p.131 / Chapter 6.3.4 --- Size distribution of cell-free DNA in peripheral blood and urine samples of sex-mismatched HSCT patients --- p.132 / Amplicon size --- p.138 / Chapter 6.4 --- Discussion --- p.143 / Chapter SECTION V: --- CONCLUDING REMARKS --- p.147 / Chapter CHAPTER 7: --- CONCLUSION AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES --- p.148 / Chapter 7.1 --- Circulating miRNA is a valuable resource for molecular analysis --- p.148 / Chapter 7.2 --- The presence of donor-derived DNA in the urine of HSCT recipients --- p.150 / Chapter 7.3 --- Prospects for future work --- p.152 / APPENDIX 1 --- p.154 / REFERENCES --- p.158

Em todo o mundo, milhões de pacientes são atendidos em emergências por apresentarem dor torácica de início aguda, mas apenas uma parcela deve-se a síndrome coronariana aguda (SCA). Em situações como essa é de extrema importância distinguir quando a dor torácica é devido à isquemia do miocárdio, pois esta é de alto risco e o início do tratamento deve ser imediato. Novos biomarcadores são necessários para auxiliar no diagnóstico e conduta clínica a ser tomada diante de situações de emergência como esta. Recentemente a quantificação de troponinas através de ensaios ultrassensíveis tem sido amplamente utilizado para diagnósticos e prognóstico de isquemia cardíaca, porém esses ensaios não tiveram seus valores de referências estabelecidos e validados para diversas situações clínicas. O presente estudo identificou a troponina I cardíaca nitrada como um novo biomarcador para isquemia cardíaca. Através de experimentos de imunoluorecência, foi possível colocalizar a marcação de troponina I cardíaca e nitrotirosina em modelos celulares e murinos de isquemia cardíaca, sugerindo assim que a troponina I cardíaca é nitrada. A partir do soro de modelos porcinos de isquemia, foi realizado o enriquecimento de proteínas nitradas por imunoprecipitação seguido da identificação da troponina I cardíaca por western blot. Dessa maneira foi possível identificar a troponina I cardíaca nitrada no soro poucos minutos após o evento x isquêmico, a qual permaneceu circulante por até 24 horas. Nessas mesmas amostras outros biomarcadores de isquemia como CKMB, Troponina I e Troponina T ultrassensível foram dosados e nenhum marcador de elevou após a isquemia cardíaca seguida de reperfusão. A troponina I cardíaca nitrada foi caracterizada por espectrometria de massas. Esse proteína é um potencial marcador circulante sensível para o diagnóstico e prognóstico precoce de isquemia cardíaca com ou sem necrose do miocárdio / Worldwide, millions of patients are treated in emergencies because they had acute-onset chest pain, but only a portion is due to coronary syndrome. In situations like this is extremely important to distinguish when the chest pain is due to myocardial ischemia, as this is high risk and initiation of treatment should be immediate. New biomarkers are needed to assist clinical decision-making in ACS. Recently, the quantification of ultra-sensitive tests for troponins has been widely used for diagnosis and prognosis of myocardial ischemia, however the reference values was not well validated and established for different subjects groups. The present study identified the nitrated cardiac troponin I as a novel biomarker of cardiac ischemia. We performed immunofluorescence colocalization marking of cardiac troponin I and nitrotyrosine in cell and rat model of cardiac ischemia, suggesting that cardiac troponin I is a nitrated protein. From serum of porcine models cardiac ischemia was made enrichment of nitrated proteins by immunoprecipitation with anti-nitrotyrosine followed by detection of cardiac troponin I by western blot. It was possible to identify the cardiac troponin I in serum nitrated few minutes after the ischemic event, which remains current for up to 24 hours. In these samples, other markers of cardiac ischemia such as CK-MB, troponin I and ultra-sensitive troponin T did not increase after ischemia followed by reperfusion. Nitrated cardiac troponin I was characterized by MS/MS. The xii nitrated cardiac troponin I is a potential circulating marker sensitive for the diagnosis and prognosis for early cardiac ischemia with or without myocardial necrosis

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2009.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2007. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Feb. 4, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2009. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

The total annual incidence of arthritis in this prospective cross-sectional study on adults was 115/100 000. The annual incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was 24/100 000, 29/100 000 for women, and 18/100 000 for men. For reactive arthritis (ReA) the annual incidence was slightly higher, 28/100 000, and for undifferentiated arthritis 41/100 000. The annual incidence of Lyme disease and sarcoid arthritis was low. The annual incidence of arthritis in this study compares well with findings in earlier reports from both registers and case review studies. Almost 50% of the patients in the series of 71 patients with arthritis of less than 3 months’ duration had a preceding infection. Campylobacter jejuni ReA dominated the enteric ReA group. We found only a few patients with preceding Chl. trachomatis, Chl. pneumoniae, Borrelia burgdorferi or parvovirus B19 infections. The arthritis patients with a preceding infection went into remission more often than the patients without a preceding infection. The disease specificity of anti-CCP antibodies for RA was high, 96%, confirming earlier results. Anti-CCP antibodies differentiated RA from other arthritides. Several patients in the different diagnosis groups had raised serum COMP levels, indicating cartilage involvement very early in the disease, even in mild and self-limiting disease with good prognosis. The economic burden of early joint inflammation was found to be considerable already during the first few months of the arthritis irrespective of diagnosis. Surprisingly, patients with ReA generated almost as high costs as patients with RA during thefirst few months of the disease, even though most of the ReA patients had a relatively mild disease. Sick leave accounted for about 50% of the costs. The distribution of costs in the different patient groups was skewed. The median cost per patient for the group of patients with RA was US$4385, for ReA US$4085, for other types of specified arthritis US$3361, and for undifferentiated arthritis US$1482. This underlines the necessity of quick referral and therapy, not only to decrease the inflammation and prevent functional impairment, but also to decrease the costs of early arthritis.

Anxiety is a highly prevalent comorbidity in coronary artery disease (CAD) and confers increased risk of subsequent cardiac events and mortality. However, biological mechanisms of this relationship are not well understood. Ceramides are sphingolipids involved in inflammatory signaling and cell viability in the periphery and nervous system, and are implicated in pathophysiological mechanisms associated with anxiety. This study aimed to investigate relationships between plasma ceramide concentrations and anxiety symptomology as assessed by the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory trait subscale (STAI-T) in CAD patients with linear regressions. High performance liquid chromatography coupled electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was used to assay sphingolipid species. Plasma C22:0 ceramide (β=-0.232, p=0.018) concentrations and 8 other species of sphingolipids (SM18:0, SM20:1, C18:0, C20:0, C18:1, DHC22:0, LacC22:0, LacC24:1) were negatively correlated with STAI-T score when controlling for gender, BMI, and CES-D. Findings suggest specific sphingolipids to be potential markers for anxiety severity in CAD.

Anxiety is a highly prevalent comorbidity in coronary artery disease (CAD) and confers increased risk of subsequent cardiac events and mortality. However, biological mechanisms of this relationship are not well understood. Ceramides are sphingolipids involved in inflammatory signaling and cell viability in the periphery and nervous system, and are implicated in pathophysiological mechanisms associated with anxiety. This study aimed to investigate relationships between plasma ceramide concentrations and anxiety symptomology as assessed by the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory trait subscale (STAI-T) in CAD patients with linear regressions. High performance liquid chromatography coupled electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry was used to assay sphingolipid species. Plasma C22:0 ceramide (β=-0.232, p=0.018) concentrations and 8 other species of sphingolipids (SM18:0, SM20:1, C18:0, C20:0, C18:1, DHC22:0, LacC22:0, LacC24:1) were negatively correlated with STAI-T score when controlling for gender, BMI, and CES-D. Findings suggest specific sphingolipids to be potential markers for anxiety severity in CAD.

No description available.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.