BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with diseases of the colon including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the functional role of many of these SNPs is largely unknown and tissue-specific resources are lacking. Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) mapping identifies target genes of disease-associated SNPs. This study provides a comprehensive eQTL map of distal colonic samples obtained from 40 healthy African Americans and demonstrates their relevance for GWAS of colonic diseases. RESULTS: 8.4 million imputed SNPs were tested for their associations with 16,252 expression probes representing 12,363 unique genes. 1,941 significant cis-eQTL, corresponding to 122 independent signals, were identified at a false discovery rate (FDR) of 0.01. Overall, among colon cis-eQTL, there was significant enrichment for GWAS variants for IBD (Crohn's disease [CD] and ulcerative colitis [UC]) and CRC as well as type 2 diabetes and body mass index. ERAP2, ADCY3, INPP5E, UBA7, SFMBT1, NXPE1 and REXO2 were identified as target genes for IBD-associated variants. The CRC-associated eQTL rs3802842 was associated with the expression of C11orf93 (COLCA2). Enrichment of colon eQTL near transcription start sites and for active histone marks was demonstrated, and eQTL with high population differentiation were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Through the comprehensive study of eQTL in the human colon, this study identified novel target genes for IBD- and CRC-associated genetic variants. Moreover, bioinformatic characterization of colon eQTL provides a tissue-specific tool to improve understanding of biological differences in diseases between different ethnic groups.

In the present investigation peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and different cancer states were treated with various agents and compared with lymphocytes from healthy control individuals (HCI) treated in the same way and measured in the Comet assay. For inflammatory bowel disease, patient's responses in IBD patients treated with H2O2 were higher than in HCI and Crohn's patients (CD) were found to have higher responses than Ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. The responses for all IBD and HCI were all reduced in the presence of chaga mushroom extract which behaved in an antioxidant manner. A second group of IBD patients were treated with the heterocyclic amine (food mutagen), IQ and H2O2 and responses were reduced in the presence of the flavonoids, quercetin and epicatechin and compared with HCI similarity treated. In all cells responses were reduced with flavonoids and again CD had higher responses than the UC patients and IBD patients higher than HCI. The responses with CD and UC were that confirmed in two independent studies with IBD, one with chaga mushroom extract and the other with flavonoids. Peripheral lymphocytes from malignant melanoma and suspected melanoma patients and colon cancer and polyposis patients were compared to the lymphocytes from HCI and treated with UVA. There were differential sensitivities when measured in the micronucleus and Comet assays. The cancer patients had higher responses than those in the precancerous states and they in turn were higher than responses in HCI. In all the studies, untreated baseline DNA damage values were also higher in IBD and cancer patients and pre-cancerous patients than HCIs. This would suggest that baseline frequencies of different diseases compared to controls could be an important biomarker in the diagnosis of pre-cancers and early stage cancers. Also peripheral lymphocytes are a useful surrogate for cancers and pre-cancerous disease states since, blood is present in all organs and tissues and DNA is basically the same in all cells.

Quorum sensing enables bacteria to communicate with bacteria of the same or different species, and to modulate their behavior in a cell-density dependent manner. Communication occurs by means of small quorum sensing signaling molecules (QSMs) whose concentration is proportional to the population size. When a QSM threshold concentration is reached, certain genes are expressed, thus allowing control of several processes, such as, virulence factor production, antibiotic production, and biofilm formation. Not only many pathogenic bacteria are known to produce QSMs, but also QSMs have been identified in some bacteria-related disorders. Therefore, quantitative detection of QSMs present in clinical samples may be a useful tool in the investigation and monitoring of bacteria-related diseases, thus prompting the use of QSMs as biomarkers of disease. Herein, we have developed and utilized whole-cell biosensing systems and protein based biosensing systems to detect QSMs in clinical samples, such as, saliva, stool, and bowel secretions. Additionally, since bacteria are responsible for food spoilage, we employed the developed biosensing systems to detect QSMs in food samples and demonstrated their applicability for early identification of food contamination. Furthermore, we have utilized these biosensing systems to screen antibacterial compounds employed for food preservation, namely, generally regarded as safe (GRAS) compounds, for their effect on quorum sensing.

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine, with therapeutic applications in inflammatory bowel disease. For the in situ delivery of IL-10 by Escherichia coli as carrier chassis, a modified transporter was designed with the ability to secrete biologically active IL-10. De novo DNA synthesis comprised a 561-bp fragment encoding the signal sequence of the E. coli outer membrane protein F fused in frame to an E. coli codon-optimized mature human IL-10 gene under control of a T7 promoter. The construct was overexpressed in E. coli laboratory strains, E. coli BL21 (DE3) and E. coli MDS42:T7. The mean concentrations of human IL-10 in the periplasm and culture supernatant of E. coli BL21 (DE3) were 355.8 ± 86.3 and 5.7 ± 1.7 ng/ml, respectively. The molecular mass of the recombinant E. coli-derived human IL-10 was 19 kDa, while under non-reducing conditions the native IL-10 dimer could be demonstrated. Reduction of tumor necrosis factor-α secretion in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated mouse macrophages and detection of the activated form of the transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription protein 3 proved the biological activity of the bacteria-produced human IL-10. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

No description available.

Background: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a group of chronic gastrointestinal diseases with a relapsing nature. The two main types are Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Both CD and UC patients experience very similar and distressing symptoms: acute abdominal pain, vomiting, malnutrition, fever, fatigue, diarrhoea and rectal bleeding. These symptoms are disabling and have a severe impact on physical and psychosocial wellbeing. Around 30% of patients suffer from moderate to severe psychological distress and have difficulties coping with the illness even in remission. However, it appears that mental health is overlooked by clinicians who often focus on physical gastrointestinal symptoms only. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is evidence based, group psychological intervention that has been successful in reducing depression and anxiety scores in patients with depression while improving overall quality of life. However, MBCT has never been tested in the IBD population before. PhD question: Can MBCT be used as an adjunct therapy to IBD symptom management, for improving IBD patients' general well-being and quality of life? Aims and objectives: The overall aim of the thesis was to develop and collate the evidence for a definitive randomised controlled trial (RCT) testing the effectiveness of MBCT for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The thesis brings together six publications. The six publications were integrated into four objectives that collectively contributed in answering the overall PhD question. Results: The findings from the first three publications highlighted the disease-related concerns and psychological needs for patients with IBD. The findings from the last three publications highlighted how feasible it is to use MBCT in IBD and emphasised the IBD patients’ perspectives about MBCT. Conclusion: The thesis concluded that a definitive RCT of MBCT for IBD patients is both feasible and acceptable.

Inflammatory bowel disease encompasses a variety of heterogeneous chronic inflammatory diseases that affect the gastrointestinal tract, where Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the principal examples. The etiology of these, and many other complex human diseases, remain largely unknown and therefore pose relevant targets for novel research strategies. One such strategy is the in silico application of network theory derived methods to data sourced from publicly available repositories of e.g. gene expression data. Specifically, methods generating graphs of interconnected elements enriched by differentially expressed genes—disease modules—were inferred with data available through the Gene Expression Omnibus. Based on a previous method, the current project aimed to evaluate disease modules, combined from stand-alone inferential methods, in disease consensus modules: representing pathophenotypical motifs for the diseases of interest. The modules found to be significantly enriched by genome-wide association study inferred single-nucleotide polymorphisms, as validated using the Pathway Scoring Algorithm, were subsequently subjects for further analysis using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes-pathway enrichment, and literature searches. The results of this study adheres to previous findings relating to the employed method, but lack any novelty pertaining the diseases of interest. However, the results substantiate the preceding methods’ conclusion by including parameters that increase statistical validity. In addition, the study contributed to peripheral results concerning both the methodology of consensus module methods, and the elucidation of inflammatory bowel disease etiology and disease subtype differentiation, that pose interesting subjects for future investigation.

Neste trabalho foi estudado o potencial imunorregulador da crotoxina (CTX) obtida do veneno de C. d. terrificus, em modelo experimental de colite induzida pelo TNBS em camundongos. A CTX foi capaz de diminuir a perda de peso, o score clínico e histológico, síntese de MPO e citocinas pró-inflamatórias. Menor número de neutrófilos e macrófagos com fenótipos M1 e M2 na lâmina própria foi observado nos grupos TNBS/CTX em relação ao TNBS. A CTX induziu TGF-b e IL-10, PGE2 e LXA4. A neutralização in vivo dessas citocinas ou o bloqueio da síntese desses eicosanoides indica que estas moléculas exercem papel relevante na ação moduladora da CTX no quadro inflamatório. As análises das diferentes populações celulares da lâmina própria, linfonodos e Placas de Peyer mostraram que não houve diferença nos linfócitos CD4+Tbet+ entre os grupos TNBS e TNBS/CTX. No entanto, a CTX promoveu aumento de CD4+FoxP3+ e diminuição de CD4+RORg+. Estes resultados indicam que a CTX é capaz de modular a resposta inflamatória aguda intestinal melhorando o quadro clinico observado nos animais. / In this work it was analyzed the immunomodulatory effect of crotoxin (CTX) isolated from C.d. terrificus snake venom, on the experimental model of colitis induced by TNBS in mice. The CTX was able to inhibit the weight loss, clinical and histological score, MPO synthesis and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Lower number of neutrophils and macrophage (M1 and M2) in lamina propria was observed in TNBS/CTX mice compared with the TNBS group. In contrast, the CTX induced increased TGF-b, IL-10, PGE2 and LXA4. The in vivo neutralization of these cytokines or eicosanoids synthesis indicates that these molecules exert significant role in the modulatory effect of CTX. The analyzes of distinct cell populations from lamina propria, lymph nodes and Peyers pathes showed no difference in CD4+Tbet+ between TNBS or TNBS/CTX mice. However, CTX induced an increase of CD4+FoxP3+ and decreased CD4+RORgt+. Together, these results indicate that CTX is able to modulate intestinal acute inflammatory response induced by TNBS improving the clinical status of the mice.

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi diagnosticar a doença inflamatória intestinal crônica em cães acometidos por sinais gastrointestinais bem como avaliar a contribuição de diferentes parâmetros utilizados no diagnóstico desta afecção. Para tanto, 20 cães apresentando sinais compatíveis com a doença foram incluídos no estudo (grupo afetado) e comparados com 20 animais saudáveis (grupo controle). Foram atribuídos escores clínicos e realizadas avaliações endoscópicas e histopatológicas dos animais do grupo afetado. Amostras de sangue e fezes de ambos os grupos foram coletadas, armazenadas a -80°C e, posteriormente, utilizadas para a mensuração de TNF-alpha, proteína C-reativa, calprotectina, proteína S100A12, Folato e Cobalamina. A mediana dos valores de albumina sérica foi 3,17 e apenas um animal apresentou hipoalbuminemia. Todas as avaliações endoscópicas mostraram algum grau de alteração nos parâmetros avaliados, sendo que o edema e a hiperemia foram os mais observados. Quanto à avaliação histopatológica, processos do tipo linfocítico plasmocítico foram os mais diagnosticados, presentes em 12 dos 17 acometimentos gástricos, nove dos 15 acometimentos duodenais e nove de 11 acometimentos colônicos. Quando se analisam os escores atribuídos aos parâmetros gástricos, 67,3% das avaliações foram consideradas normais, enquanto que 27,4% foram considerados com alterações leves. Para os fragmentos duodenais, 55,3% das avaliações demonstraram tecidos normais enquanto que 36,0% foram considerados com alterações leves. No que se refere ao cólon, apenas 38,6% dos parâmetros avaliados foram normais enquanto que 45,4% receberam avaliações de alterações leves. As medianas dos escores atribuídos para estômago, duodeno e cólon foram, respectivamente, 3; 3 e 6. A comparação entre valores de proteína C-reativa entre grupo afetado e controle apresentou diferença estatisticamente significante. Esta diferença também foi significante quando se comparou o grupo controle aos subgrupos afetado I e afetado II. Embora valores séricos de calprotectina não foram estatisticamente significantes, a mensuração fecal desta proteína foi mostrou diferença significante entre os grupos. Em relação mensuração sanguínea da proteína S100A12, os valores de medianas de ambos os grupos foram próximos (195,90 µg/L e 195,55 µg/L para grupos afetado e controle, respectivamente) e a comparação entre estes valores não foi estatisticamente significante. Esta diferença também não foi significante na comparação dos valores fecais. Mensurações de folato e cobalamina não se mostraram estatisticamente significante na comparação entre animais afetados e sadios. Observaram-se correlações entre valores de proteína C-reativa e escore clínico, proteína C reativa e escore histopatológico do cólon, albumina e calprotectina fecal, albumina e S100A12 fecal, valores séricos de S100A12 e calprotectina, valores fecais de S100A12 e calprotectina. / The purpose of this study was to diagnose inflammatory bowel disease in dogs with gastrointestinal signs as well as to evaluate the contribution of different parameters used in the diagnosis of this disease. Twenty dogs with compatible signs of the disease were included in the study (affected group) and compared with 20 healthy animals (control group). Clinical scores were assigned and endoscopic and histopathological analysis were performed in affected animals. Samples of blood and feces were collected from both groups, stored at -80°C and then used to measure TNF-alpha, C-reactive protein, calprotectin, S100A12 protein, folate and cobalamin. Seric albumin median level was 3.17g/dL and only one animal had hypoalbuminemia. All endoscopic evaluations showed some degree of change in the assessed parameters, and hyperemia and edema were the most frequently ones observed. In the histopathological evaluation, lymphocytic plasmocytic process was the most frequently diagnosed (12 out 17 gastric conditions, nine out 15 duodenal conditions and nine out 11 colonic conditions). When analyzing the scores assigned to the gastric parameters, 67.3% of the evaluations were considered normal, while 27.4% presented slight alterations. For duodenal fragments, 55.3% of the evaluations showed normal tissue, while 36.0% were considered slightly altered. Regarding the colon, only 38.6% of these parameters were normal, whereas 45.4% of the evaluations presented slight changes. The median of the scores assigned to the stomach, duodenum and colon were 3, 3 and 6, respectively. The comparison of the Creactive protein values between affected and control groups showed statistical difference. This difference was also significant when comparing the control group to affected I and affected II subgroups. Although seric values of calprotectin werent statistically significant, fecal data statistically differed between the groups. Regarding seric protein S100A12 measurement, the median values of both groups were similar (195.90 mg/L and 195.55 mg/L for the affected and control groups, respectively) and the difference between these values was not statistically significant. The comparison between fecal S100A12 protein values didnt showed a significant difference. Folate and cobalamin measurements showed no statistical difference when comparing healthy and affected animals. A direct positive correlation was found between C-reactive protein and clinical score. C-reactive protein and histopathological score of colon, albumin and fecal calprotectin, albumin and fecal protein S100A12, seric protein S100A12 and seric calprotetin and fecal protein S100A12 and fecal calprotectin were correlated.

As doenças inflamatórias intestinais (DII) - doença de Crohn e retocolite ulcerativa, são condições crônicas que, na maioria dos casos, exigem controle com terapia medicamentosa. A atenção farmacêutica (AF), definida como a provisão responsável do tratamento farmacológico, com o propósito de alcançar resultados concretos que melhorem a qualidade de vida do paciente, constitui nova forma de cuidado ao paciente, que necessita ser mais extensivamente avaliada. Este estudo teve o objetivo de avaliar a contribuição da atenção farmacêutica ao tratamento clínico de pacientes com DII em acompanhamento ambulatorial em hospital terciário. Ao longo de um ano, foi avaliado um grupo que recebeu a atenção farmacêutica (GAF; N=18) e um grupo controle (GC; N=17) não submetido aos procedimentos da AF. Os resultados da contribuição da AF foram avaliados pela comparação de diferentes variáveis entre os grupos, que foram obtidas na primeira entrevista - T(0), aos seis - T(6) e 12 - T(12) meses do estudo. Quanto aos aspectos clínicos, houve redução significativa dos índices de atividade clínica de T(6) para T(12) no GAF (mediana; variação: 2,20; 0,99 3,77 versus 1,90; 0,99 3,77; p=0,02), o que não ocorreu no GC (1,69; 0,99 3,77 versus 1,69; 0,99 3,48). No GAF, houve aumento significativo do percentual de pacientes mais aderentes ao tratamento medicamentoso (27,8% versus 72,2%; p<0,05), quando da avaliação por meio do teste de Morisky, mas não foram observadas diferenças (72,2% versus 88,9%) na adesão avaliada pelo cotejo entre medicamentos utilizados e prescrições registradas. Em ambas as formas de avaliação da adesão, tanto pelo teste de Morisky (41,2% versus 41,2%), quanto pelo confronto das medicações utilizadas e prescrições registradas (88,2% versus 82,4%), não foram observadas alterações no GC. Houve aumento significativo dos índices de conhecimento do paciente sobre o tratamento no GAF entre T(0) e T(12) (mediana; variação: 80%; 40% 100% versus 100%; 100% 100%; p0,0001), o que não ocorreu no GC (80%; 0 100% versus 80%; 60% 100%). No que se refere à qualidade de vida, avaliada pelo instrumento SF36, houve diferenças estatisticamente significativas nos dois grupos apenas no domínio de saúde mental. No GAF, houve elevação dos escores deste domínio entre T(0) e T(12) (54,0 versus 66,0; p=0,04), o que, também ocorreu no GC (60,0 versus 68,0; p=0,01). Porém, no GAF, esta mudança ocorreu mais precocemente, de T(0) para T(6) (54,0 versus 66,0; p<0,01). A AF possibilitou a identificação, em média, de 3,8 problemas relacionados ao medicamento por paciente, que em sua maioria foram resolvidos, com intervenções predominantemente focadas em orientações aos pacientes. Os pacientes do GAF, ao término do estudo, apresentaram alto grau de satisfação com a AF. Os resultados obtidos permitem concluir que a introdução de um programa de atenção farmacêutica a pacientes ambulatoriais com DII seguidos em hospital terciário trouxe contribuição positiva, proporcionando benefícios mensuráveis aos pacientes. / Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic conditions which are usually controlled with drug therapy. Pharmaceutical care (PC), defined as the responsible provision of drug therapy for the purpose of achieving definite outcomes that improve patients quality of life, is a new patient care modality, which needs to be more extensively evaluated. This study aimed at assessing the contribution of pharmaceutical care to the clinical treatment of outpatients with IBD assisted at a reference hospital. During one year, a group receiving pharmaceutical care (PCG; N=18) and a control group (CG; N=17), which did not undergo PC procedures, were evaluated. Results of PC contribution were assessed by comparing the two groups regarding different variables obtained in the first interview at - T(0), at six - T(6) and 12 - T(12) months of study. Regarding the clinical aspects, there was a significant decrease of clinical activity indexes from T(6) to T(12) in the PCG (median; range: 2.20; 0.99 3.77 versus 1.90; 0.99 3.77; p=0.22), but not in the CG (1.69; 0.99 3.77 versus 1.69; 0.99 3.48). In the PCG, there was a significant increase in the percentage of patients who were more compliant to drug treatment (27.8 % versus 72.2 %; p<0.05) as assessed using the Morisky scale; however, no differences in compliance rates were observed (72.2 % versus 88.9 %) by comparing drugs taken with registered prescriptions. In the CG, no differences were observed in none of the compliance assessment methods, neither by the Morisky scale (41.2% versus 41.2%), nor by comparing drugs taken with registered prescriptions (88.2% versus 81.2%). There was a significant increase in the values of an index for patients knowledge about the treatment in the PCG between T(0) and T(12) (median; range: 80%; 40 100 versus 100%; 100 100; p0,0001), but not in the CG (80%; 0 100 versus 80%; 60 100). With respect to quality of life, assessed by the SF36 scale, there were statistically significant differences in both groups only in the mental health domain. There was an increase in scores for this domain between T(0) and T(12) in both PCG (54.0 versus 66.0; p=0,04), and CG (60.0 versus 68.0; p=0,01). However, PCG had this increasing scores earlier, between T(0) and T(12) (54.0 versus 74.0; p<0,01). PC enabled the identification of a number of drug-related problems per patient (mean = 3.8), which were mostly solved by interventions predominantly focused on patient orientation. At the end of the study, patients in the PC group showed a high degree of satisfaction with the intervention. The achieved results allow concluding that the implementation of a pharmaceutical care program to outpatients with IBD followed at a tertiary hospital gave a positive contribution, providing measurable benefits to patients.