Publications by authors named "Boland A"

To ensure the correct euploid state of embryos, it is essential that vertebrate oocytes await fertilization arrested at metaphase of meiosis II. This MII arrest is mediated by XErp1/Emi2, which inhibits the ubiquitin ligase APC/C (anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome). Cyclin B3 in complex with Cdk1 (cyclin-dependent kinase 1) is essential to prevent an untimely arrest of vertebrate oocytes in meiosis I by targeting XErp1/Emi2 for degradation.

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Venous thromboembolism (VT) is a frequent (annual incidence of 1 to 2 per 1,000) and potentially life-threatening (case-fatality rate up to 10%) disease. VT is associated with serious short-term and long-term complications including a recurrence rate of approximately 20% within five years. Anticoagulant therapy, the mainstay of VT treatment, drastically reduces the risk of early VT recurrence, but it exposes patients to a substantial risk of bleeding.

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  • A study was conducted to investigate the X-chromosome's role in Alzheimer's Disease (AD), which had been overlooked in previous genome-wide association studies.
  • The research included 115,841 AD cases and 613,671 controls, considering different X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) states in females.
  • While no strong genetic risk factors for AD were found on the X-chromosome, seven significant loci were identified, suggesting areas for future research.
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  • - The study explores the challenges faced by community-based providers of medications for opioid use disorders (MOUD) when collaborating with recovery courts, which mandate treatment instead of incarceration but rely on outside resources for support.
  • - Providers reported that a lack of knowledge about recovery courts, negative feelings toward the criminal justice system, and staffing shortages hinder effective collaboration, while complex communication requirements and unresponsive courts were common obstacles.
  • - Despite these barriers, direct interactions with recovery court staff and shared goals of helping individuals in recovery were identified as key factors that could enhance collaboration and improve access to care.
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  • The study explores the genetics of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), which is not widely researched and can impact the understanding of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
  • Researchers conducted exome sequencing on 78 patients diagnosed with early-onset CAA, finding notable genetic variants, including pathogenic NOTCH3 mutations in two patients related to CADASIL, a rare vascular condition.
  • The findings suggest that there are shared genetic factors between AD and CAA beyond just the APOE gene, with potential susceptibility linked to other rare genetic variants in various risk factor genes.
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APC/C is a multi-subunit complex that functions as a master regulator of cell division. It controls progression through the cell cycle by timely marking mitotic cyclins and other cell cycle regulatory proteins for degradation. The APC/C itself is regulated by the sequential action of its coactivator subunits CDC20 and CDH1, post-translational modifications, and its inhibitory binding partners EMI1 and the mitotic checkpoint complex.

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Background: Isolated posterior leaflet mitral valve prolapse (PostMVP), a common form of MVP, often referred as fibroelastic deficiency, is considered a degenerative disease. PostMVP patients are usually asymptomatic and often undiagnosed until chordal rupture. The present study aims to characterize familial PostMVP phenotype and familial recurrence, its genetic background, and the pathophysiological processes involved.

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Racecar drivers use left-foot braking, i.e., simultaneously engaging brake and throttle, to carefully balance acceleration and traction when navigating chicanes.

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In a patient with permanent neonatal syndromic diabetes clinically similar to cases with ONECUT1 biallelic mutations, we identified a disease-causing deletion located upstream of ONECUT1. Through genetic, genomic, and functional studies, we identified a crucial regulatory region acting as an enhancer of ONECUT1 specifically during pancreatic development. This enhancer region contains a low-frequency variant showing a strong association with type 2 diabetes and other glycemic traits, thus extending the contribution of this region to common forms of diabetes.

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  • Factor V (FV) is crucial for the blood coagulation process, and its plasma levels are linked to various health issues like blood clots and diabetes.
  • The researchers used a specific statistical method called the Brown-Forsythe methodology to analyze genetic factors affecting FV levels in 4505 individuals from four different studies.
  • They identified a significant genetic variant (rs75463553) associated with the variability in FV plasma levels, highlighting the interaction between neutrophil-related genes and FV biology.
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The μ-opioid receptor (μOR), a prototypical G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), is the target of opioid analgesics such as morphine and fentanyl. Due to the severe side effects of current opioid drugs, there is considerable interest in developing novel modulators of μOR function. Most GPCR ligands today are small molecules, however biologics, including antibodies and nanobodies, represent alternative therapeutics with clear advantages such as affinity and target selectivity.

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RNA sequencing technology combining short read and long read analysis can be used to detect chimeric RNAs in malignant cells. Here, we propose an integrated approach that uses k-mers to analyze indexed datasets. This approach is used to identify chimeric RNA in chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) cells, a myeloid malignancy that associates features of myelodysplastic and myeloproliferative neoplasms.

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  • Propionic acidemia (PA) is a rare genetic metabolic disorder that can lead to serious health issues like hyperammonemia and neurological complications, particularly in newborns.
  • A case study of an eight-month-old boy showed how respiratory symptoms from a viral infection masked underlying neurological deficits related to PA, including hypotonia and weakness.
  • The need for careful monitoring and additional investigations is highlighted, as acute illnesses can obscure other significant metabolic problems and complicate diagnosis and treatment.
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  • Renal cell carcinoma is the most prevalent kidney cancer, representing about 85% of renal cancers, with patients categorized based on their risk for disease progression.
  • The objective of the appraisal was to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the drug combination lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab compared to other approved treatments such as sunitinib and nivolumab plus ipilimumab.
  • The assessment relied on systematic reviews and meta-analyses, specifically analyzing data from the CLEAR trial, which supported the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib combined with pembrolizumab over sunitinib.
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  • The study investigates the demographic history of France using genotype datasets from individuals in Northern France, revealing significant population structure and differentiation in regions like Brittany and the Loire basin.
  • The research highlights a connection between the ancestry of local populations and genetic variations, particularly indicating a distinction in shared ancestry related to Neolithic and steppe populations.
  • Findings suggest the necessity of studying local demographics to better comprehend the distribution of genetic variants and their role in the prevalence of diseases among populations in Brittany and neighboring areas.
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  • Microsatellite instability (MSI), often linked to mismatch repair deficiency in colorectal cancer (CRC), leads to numerous noncoding DNA mutations, particularly affecting RNA splicing sites.
  • This research shows that these noncoding mutations happen early in tumor development, even before the cancer cells become mutated in their coding regions, and are associated with altered splicing patterns in mRNA.
  • The altered RNA splicing impacts cellular differentiation and promotes the initiation of MSI CRC, indicating that these noncoding changes are significant for cancer progression before traditional coding mutations occur.
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Background: Congenital myopathies are severe genetic diseases with a strong impact on patient autonomy and often on survival. A large number of patients do not have a genetic diagnosis, precluding genetic counseling and appropriate clinical management. Our objective was to find novel pathogenic variants and genes associated with congenital myopathies and to decrease diagnostic odysseys and dead-end.

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Background: Analysis of the survival of root-filled posterior teeth and the associated prognostic tooth-related factors will enable clinicians to predict the outcome of root canal treatment.

Objectives: To investigate (i) the survival of root-filled posterior teeth and (ii) the tooth-related factors that may affect their survival.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials, comparative studies and observational studies assessing survival rates of root-filled posterior teeth with a minimum 4-year follow-up period were identified through an electronic search of the following databases up to January 2023: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline via PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Embase, Web of Science and NIHR centre for reviews and dissemination.

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  • Venous thromboembolism (VTE) poses significant health risks, with a notable difference in incidence rates between Black and White Americans.
  • Researchers developed polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for VTE using data from both European and African-ancestry populations to enhance predictive capability.
  • Results showed that multi-ancestry PRSs slightly outperformed ancestry-specific ones in predicting VTE risk, indicating potential benefits in using diverse data for better risk assessment across populations.
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Human populations harbor a high concentration of deleterious genetic variants. Here, we tested the hypothesis that non-random mating practices affect the distribution of these variants, through exposure in the homozygous state, leading to their purging from the population gene pool. To do so, we produced whole-genome sequencing data for two pairs of Asian populations exhibiting different alliance rules and rates of inbreeding, but with similar effective population sizes.

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  • The thrombin generation assay (TGA) measures how well plasma can produce thrombin, which helps assess an individual's blood clotting ability.
  • The study sought to find new biological factors affecting thrombin generation by analyzing data from 770 venous thrombosis patients and validating findings in 536 healthy individuals.
  • Results showed that complement proteins C5 and C9 were significantly linked to thrombin generation, with C9 having a notable impact when tested in the lab, suggesting these proteins could influence clotting, though more research is needed to clarify their roles.
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  • - Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease influenced by genetic and environmental factors, with rare genetic variants potentially contributing to its development.
  • - Researchers identified rare genetic variants linked to RA using whole-exome sequencing in French families, focusing on a significant pathway related to cell adhesion.
  • - The study utilized a multifactor dimensionality reduction approach to discover gene interactions affecting RA risk, highlighting 11 genes with both risk-increasing and risk-decreasing interactions confirmed in additional samples.
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  • Increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a critical concern for individuals using oral contraceptives (OCs) or hormone therapy (HT), prompting research into genetic factors that may increase this risk.
  • A gene-by-environment case-only meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) examined genetic predispositions in OC and HT users, identifying potential risk variants associated with VTE events.
  • While primary GWAS results did not find significant genetic variants, the analysis of 138 candidate variants revealed two noteworthy associations: F5 rs6025 (previously noted) and F11 rs2036914 (newly identified), offering insight into genetic risks related to OC and HT use.
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Highlanders and lowlanders of Papua New Guinea have faced distinct environmental stress, such as hypoxia and environment-specific pathogen exposure, respectively. In this study, we explored the top genomics regions and the candidate driver SNPs for selection in these two populations using newly sequenced whole-genomes of 54 highlanders and 74 lowlanders. We identified two candidate SNPs under selection - one in highlanders, associated with red blood cell traits and another in lowlanders, which is associated with white blood cell count - both potentially influencing the heart rate of Papua New Guineans in opposite directions.

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  • - The study investigates the role of 3D chromatin organization in gene regulation and its link to human Mendelian diseases, particularly focusing on a new cardiac condition found in 7 families caused by a deletion of CTCF binding sites on chromosome 4q25.
  • - This deletion results in the fusion of topologically associating domains (TADs) and alters chromatin structure, affecting the expression of the PITX2 gene, which is critical for heart function.
  • - Using a mouse model that mimics the human genetic deletion, researchers observed changes in PITX2 expression in the heart, leading to the conclusion that TAD remodeling due to CTCF site deletion is responsible for a novel autosomal dominant Mend
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