Publications by authors named "Johan Aarum"

Article Synopsis
  • In 2024, there was a significant increase in mpox cases due to clade I of the monkeypox virus in Central Africa.
  • The first case of MPXV clade Ib outside Africa was reported in Sweden in mid-August, linked to travel, but it resulted in a mild illness.
  • To avoid the emergence of new MPXV clades, enhanced public health measures and monitoring, including whole genome sequencing, are essential.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how the plasma proteome—specifically circulating protein aggregates—reflects an organism's inflammatory and metabolic states and serves as a predictor for various organ-specific diseases, especially amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
  • Using advanced proteomic techniques, researchers compared the protein composition of circulating aggregates from ALS patients and healthy individuals, focusing on the presence of neurofilament proteins associated with brain issues.
  • Findings revealed that ALS patient protein aggregates contain proteins related to the proteasome system and exhibit unique aggregation properties, while healthy individuals' proteins are more involved in metabolic functions, highlighting distinct differences in health status and proteostasis.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is commonly diagnosed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect viral RNA in patient samples, but RNA extraction constitutes a major bottleneck in current testing. Methodological simplification could increase diagnostic availability and efficiency, benefitting patient care and infection control. Here, we describe methods circumventing RNA extraction in COVID-19 testing by performing RT-PCR directly on heat-inactivated or lysed samples.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Many of these proteins do not have traditional RNA-binding domains, but specific nucleic acid structures, especially pyrimidine-rich regions, are key to maintaining their solubility.
  • * Interestingly, protein aggregates from ALS patients can be returned to a soluble state using RNA or synthetic oligonucleotides, suggesting new approaches to tackle protein aggregation issues.
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Protein aggregation in biofluids is a poorly understood phenomenon. Under normal physiological conditions, fluid-borne aggregates may contain plasma or cell proteins prone to aggregation. Recent observations suggest that neurofilaments (Nf), the building blocks of neurons and a biomarker of neurodegeneration, are included in high molecular weight complexes in circulation.

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Background: BORIS (CTCFL), a paralogue of the multifunctional and ubiquitously expressed transcription factor CTCF, is best known for its role in transcriptional regulation. In the nucleus, BORIS is particularly enriched in the nucleolus, a crucial compartment for ribosomal RNA and RNA metabolism. However, little is known about cytoplasmic BORIS, which represents the major pool of BORIS protein.

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Activation of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) by interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) is a fundamental step in the adaptive immune response to pathogens. Here, we show that reorganization of chromatin loop domains in the MHC is evident within the first 30 min of IFN-γ treatment of fibroblasts, and that further dynamic alterations occur up to 6 h. These very rapid changes occur at genomic sites which are occupied by CTCF and are close to IFN-γ-inducible MHC genes.

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BORIS (CTCFL) is the paralog of CTCF (CCCTC-binding factor; NM_006565), a ubiquitously expressed DNA-binding protein with diverse roles in gene expression and chromatin organisation. BORIS and CTCF have virtually identical zinc finger domains, yet display major differences in their respective C- and N-terminal regions. Unlike CTCF, BORIS expression has been reported only in the testis and certain malignancies, leading to its classification as a "cancer-testis" antigen.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Adult neural stem cells can be efficiently transformed into monocytes using the Ets transcription factor PU.1, displaying typical characteristics of monocytes.
  • * However, established neural cells cannot be reprogrammed to monocytes with PU.1, highlighting the unique reprogramming potential of neural stem cells.
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We report genetic aberrations that activate the ERK/MAP kinase pathway in 100% of posterior fossa pilocytic astrocytomas, with a high frequency of gene fusions between KIAA1549 and BRAF among these tumours. These fusions were identified from analysis of focal copy number gains at 7q34, detected using Affymetrix 250K and 6.0 SNP arrays.

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The proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitor (NP) cells can be regulated by neurotransmitters including GABA and dopamine. The present study aimed to examine how these two neurotransmitter systems interact to affect post-natal hippocampal NP cell proliferation in vitro. Mouse hippocampal NP cells express functional GABAA receptors, which upon activation led to an increase in intracellular calcium levels via the opening of L-type calcium channels.

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Article Synopsis
  • An extensive study was conducted on fetal mouse brain cell aggregates using advanced techniques like immunohistochemistry and stereology, revealing detailed characteristics of these cells.
  • The cell aggregates formed quickly in culture and mainly consisted of neurons, along with astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes, indicating a diverse cell population.
  • The research discovered that neural precursor cells could be isolated and differentiated into various neuron types, making this aggregate culture system a valuable tool for studying brain processes in mouse models.
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Recent reports have supported the existence of neural stem cells in the adult mammalian CNS. Important features of such cells are self-renewal and multipotency, i.e.

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The present report concerns the generation of specific markers and the establishment of a selection procedure for microglia specific molecules from phage displayed peptide libraries. Negative selection against a mouse monocytic cell line (IC-21) and positive selection against primary mouse microglia was combined in the selection procedures using a mixture of two random peptide libraries displayed on phage. In a first set of experiments, one clone was selected that bound microglia and IC-21 cells to equal extent, and three clones that bound to unsorted primary microglia to substantially higher levels than to IC-21 cells.

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