Publications by authors named "D P Astling"
Article Synopsis
- Olduvai protein domains, linked to the NBPF gene family, show significant expansion in humans and correlate with brain size and neuron numbers in primates, as well as human brain variations like microcephaly and macrocephaly.
- Research indicates that overexpression of the Olduvai gene may lead to downregulation of mitochondrial functions, particularly affecting the electron transport chain and NADH dehydrogenase activity, based on transcriptome and proteome analyses.
- The findings suggest that this downregulation could slow development processes in primates, especially humans, potentially resulting in an extended neurogenic period that allows for the production of more neurons and a larger brain size.
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on improving the measurement of proteins in response to biological changes to enhance our understanding of biological systems.
- The researchers developed a new method using modified aptamers, which work like antibodies, to distinguish stable protein complexes from less stable ones, enhancing the accuracy of multiplex protein measurements.
- This innovative assay can detect a significant portion of human proteins with high sensitivity and reproducibility, and it leverages machine learning to create predictive tests for health conditions, assisting in precision medicine.
Objective: To determine the extent to which changes in plasma proteins, previously predictive of cardiometabolic outcomes, predict changes in two diabetes remission trials.
Research Design And Methods: We applied SomaSignal predictive tests (each derived from ∼5,000 plasma protein measurements using aptamer-based proteomics assay) to baseline and 1-year samples of trial intervention (Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial [DiRECT], n = 118, and Diabetes Intervention Accentuating Diet and Enhancing Metabolism [DIADEM-I], n = 66) and control (DiRECT, n = 144, DIADEM-I, n = 76) group participants.
Results: Mean (SD) weight loss in DiRECT (U.
A reliable, individualized, and dynamic surrogate of cardiovascular risk, synoptic for key biologic mechanisms, could shorten the path for drug development, enhance drug cost-effectiveness and improve patient outcomes. We used highly multiplexed proteomics to address these objectives, measuring about 5000 proteins in each of 32,130 archived plasma samples from 22,849 participants in nine clinical studies. We used machine learning to derive a 27-protein model predicting 4-year likelihood of myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, or death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSimilarity in facial characteristics between relatives suggests a strong genetic component underlies facial variation. While there have been numerous studies of the genetics of facial abnormalities and, more recently, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of normal facial variation, little is known about the role of genetic structural variation in determining facial shape. In a sample of Bantu African children, we found that only 9% of common copy number variants (CNVs) and 10-kb CNV analysis windows are well tagged by SNPs (r ≥ 0.
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