Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 200 common genetic variants independently associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, but the causal variants and target genes are mostly unknown. We sought to fine-map all known CRC risk loci using GWAS data from 100,204 cases and 154,587 controls of East Asian and European ancestry. Our stepwise conditional analyses revealed 238 independent association signals of CRC risk, each with a set of credible causal variants (CCVs), of which 28 signals had a single CCV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Our study aimed to investigate the changes in hepatic endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, inflammation, insulin signaling, and lipid metabolism during the administration of a high-fat diet (HFD) in mice in order to identify correlations between obesity and metabolic disease development in the liver.
Methods: We used short-, medium-, and long-term HFD periods, corresponding to 4, 8, and 12 weeks, respectively, and isolated exosomes from adipose tissue. We confirmed the effect of adipose tissue-derived exosomes on metabolic disorders in obesity in alpha mouse liver 12 (AML12) hepatocytes.
Nat Genet
March 2023
Despite the widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States, vaccine hesitancy remains high among certain groups. This study examined the correlates of being unvaccinated among a sample of students attending a single university (N = 2900) during the spring and summer of 2021, when the campus had been closed for over a year and students were preparing to return to in-person learning. Students responded to an email invitation and completed electronic surveys.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo-step tests for gene-environment ( ) interactions exploit marginal single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) effects to improve the power of a genome-wide interaction scan. They combine a screening step based on marginal effects used to "bin" SNPs for weighted hypothesis testing in the second step to deliver greater power over single-step tests while preserving the genome-wide Type I error. However, the presence of many SNPs with detectable marginal effects on the trait of interest can reduce power by "displacing" true interactions with weaker marginal effects and by adding to the number of tests that need to be corrected for multiple testing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Genet
January 2023
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. We conducted a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of 100,204 CRC cases and 154,587 controls of European and east Asian ancestry, identifying 205 independent risk associations, of which 50 were unreported. We performed integrative genomic, transcriptomic and methylomic analyses across large bowel mucosa and other tissues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObservational studies have shown higher folate consumption to be associated with lower risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Understanding whether and how genetic risk factors interact with folate could further elucidate the underlying mechanism. Aggregating functionally relevant genetic variants in set-based variant testing has higher power to detect gene-environment (G × E) interactions and may provide information on the underlying biological pathway.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (BNT162b2 by BioNTech/Pfizer and mRNA-1273 by Moderna) significantly reduce morbidity and mortality, recent evidence suggests that immunity wanes over time, and that a booster dose could further reduce COVID-19 transmission and severe illness. However, research examining attitudes on booster willingness in diverse populations is needed. This study examined COVID-19 booster vaccine attitudes and behaviors among university students and staff in the fall of 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study examined characteristics associated with being unvaccinated among a sample of university staff and faculty prior to university campus reopening for in-person learning in 2021.
Methods: Staff and faculty responded to an email invitation to complete an online survey. Survey questions included demographic data (race/ethnicity, age, sex), COVID-19 knowledge and behaviors, employment specific data including division and subdivision (healthcare vs.
Background: Body mass index (BMI) and diabetes are established risk factors for colorectal cancer (CRC), likely through perturbations in metabolic traits (e.g. insulin resistance and glucose homeostasis).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The two most common general anesthesia techniques are total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) and venous/inhalation balanced general anesthesia (BGA). It is unclear whether any of these two techniques affect patient perception of the quality of recovery. The aim of this randomized, double-blinded clinical trial was to assess the quality of postoperative recovery of women undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is technology available for anti-thrombus with earthworms, but the procedure is complex and extracts protein with inferior purity. In order to develop a simplified process with a stronger purity of protease, we investigated the earthworm and lugworm. We purified water extracts cut off at 10 kDa of molecular weight using ultrafiltration because proteins are large biomolecules, or macromolecules, consisting of one or more long chains of amino acid residues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe interferon-related developmental regulator 1 (IFRD1) protein is expected to play a role in the regulation of inflammatory responses in adult mice, since it is known to repress transcription of NF-κB in myoblasts that regenerate skeletal muscle after traumatic injury Micheli et al., 2011. The IFRD2 gene is expressed in many tissues including skeletal muscle, kidney, heart, brain, lung, placenta and liver in adult humans and is highly expressed in adult human skeletal muscle and heart.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis a known etiologic agent that causes damage leading to death in flatfish (). Liposomes were used to deliver streptococcal oral vaccines to the intestinal mucous membranes of . The liposomes were coated for stabilization, and stability was measured with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
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