👤 George K Sakkas

We analysed intestinal tissues from groups of fast growing (Ross 308) broilers with natural or experimental coccidiosis, by genomic microarray. We identified genes that were differentially expressed (DE) in all groups and analysed expression of a panel of these, by qPCR, in Ross 308 and slow growing (Ranger classic) broilers, infected with 2500 or 7000 oocysts of Eimeria maxima for 6 or 13 days post-infection (dpi). Four genes (ADD3, MLLT10, NAV2 and PLXNA2) were upregulated (P <0.05) in Ross 308 but were not DE in Ranger Classic at 6 dpi with 2500 oocysts. Six genes (PTPRF, NCOR1, CSF3, SGK1, CROR and CD1B) were upregulated (P <0.05) in both Ross 308 and Ranger Classic infected with 2500 oocysts at 6 dpi but were not DE at 6 dpi with 7000 oocysts. At 13 dpi with 7000 oocysts, NAV2 and NCOR1 were upregulated in Ross 308 (P <0.05) and PTPRF was upregulated in both genotypes (P <0.05). DE of immune genes within the biomarker panel also occurred, with CSF3 upregulated in both genotypes infected with 2500 oocysts at 6 dpi and in Ranger Classic infected with 7000 oocysts, at 6 and 13 dpi (P <0.05). IL-22 was down-regulated in Ranger Classic infected with 2500 or 7000 oocysts at 6 dpi (P <0.05) but upregulated in both genotypes at 13 dpi (P <0.05). CD72 was down-regulated in Ranger Classic infected with 2500 oocysts at 6 dpi and with 7000 oocysts at 6 and 13 dpi (P <0.05). CD72 was upregulated in Ross 308 infected with 2500 oocysts at 6 dpi but was down-regulated following infection with 7000 oocysts at 13 dpi (P <0.05). In conclusion, differential gene expression occurs in fast and slow growing broiler genotypes with coccidiosis. In addition, we highlight a potential genetic biomarker panel for early diagnosis of coccidiosis. Show less

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sleep related movement disorder that occurs both in an idiopathic form and in symptomatic varieties. RLS is a frequent and distressing comorbidity in end stage renal disease (ESRD). For idiopathic RLS (iRLS), genetic risk factors have been identified, but their role in RLS in ESRD has not been investigated yet. Therefore, a case-control association study of these variants in ESRD patients was performed. The study genotyped 10 iRLS associated variants at four loci encompassing the genes MEIS1, BTBD9, MAP2K5/SKOR1, and PTPRD, in two independent case-control samples from Germany and Greece using multiplex PCR and MALDI-TOF (matrix assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight) mass spectrometry. Statistical analysis was performed as logistic regression with age and gender as covariates. For the combined analysis a Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test was applied. The study included 200 RLS-positive and 443 RLS-negative ESRD patients in the German sample, and 141 and 393 patients, respectively, in the Greek sample. In the German sample, variants in MEIS1 and BTBD9 were associated with RLS in ESRD (P(nom)≤0.004, ORs 1.52 and 1.55), whereas, in the Greek sample, there was a trend for association to MAP2K5/SKOR1 and BTBD9 (P(nom)≤0.08, ORs 1.41 and 1.33). In the combined analysis including all samples, BTBD9 was associated after correction for multiple testing (P(corrected)=0.0013, OR 1.47). This is the first demonstration of a genetic influence on RLS in ESRD patients with BTBD9 being significantly associated. The extent of the genetic predisposition could vary between different subgroups of RLS in ESRD. Show less

Gene expression during oocyte maturation, fertilization, and early embryo development until zygotic gene activation is regulated mainly by translational activation of maternally derived mRNAs. This process requires the presence of a poly(A)-binding protein. However, the cytoplasmic somatic cell poly(A)-binding protein (PABP1) is not expressed until later in embryogenesis. We recently identified an embryonic poly(A)-binding protein (ePAB) in Xenopus. ePAB is the predominant cytoplasmic PABP in Xenopus oocytes and early embryos and prevents deadenylation of mRNAs, suggesting its importance in the regulation of gene expression during early Xenopus development. Here we report the identification of the mouse ortholog of Xenopus ePAB. The mouse ePAB gene on chromosome 2 contains 14 exons that specify an alternatively spliced mRNA encoding a protein of 608 or 561 aa with approximately 65% identity to Xenopus ePAB. Mouse ePAB mRNA is expressed in ovaries and testis but not in somatic tissues. In situ hybridization localizes ePAB RNA to oocytes and confirms its absence from surrounding somatic cells in the mouse ovary. During early development, mouse ePAB is expressed in prophase I and metaphase II oocytes and one-cell and two-cell embryos and then becomes undetectable in four-or-more-cell embryos. In contrast, PABP1 mRNA expression is minimal in oocytes and early embryos until the eight-cell stage when it increases, becoming predominant at the blastocyst stage. The expression of mouse ePAB before zygotic gene activation argues for its importance in translational activation of maternally derived mRNAs during mammalian oocyte and early preimplantation embryo development. Show less