Glial-immune interactions in barrier organs.

Neuro-immune interactions within barrier organs, such as lung, gut, and skin, are crucial in regulating tissue homeostasis, inflammatory responses, and host defence. Our rapidly advancing understanding of peripheral neuroimmunology is transforming the field of barrier tissue immunology, offering a fresh perspective for developing therapies for complex chronic inflammatory disorders affecting barrier organs. However, most studies have primarily examined interactions between the peripheral nervous system and the immune system from a neuron-focused perspective, while glial cells, the nonneuronal cells of the nervous system, have received less attention.

Inherited infertility: Mapping loci associated with impaired female reproduction.

Female infertility is a common and complex health problem affecting millions of women worldwide. While multiple factors can contribute to this condition, the underlying cause remains elusive in up to 15%-30% of affected individuals. In our large genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 22,849 women with infertility and 198,989 control individuals from the Finnish population cohort FinnGen, we unveil a landscape of genetic factors associated with the disorder.

Fish with slow life-history cope better with chronic manganese exposure than fish with fast life-history.

Animals with different life-history types vary in their stress-coping styles, which can affect their fitness and survival in changing environments. We studied how chronic exposure to manganese sulfate (MnSO), a common aquatic pollutant, affects life-history traits, physiology, and behavior of zebrafish () with two life-history types: fast (previously selected for fast juvenile growth, early maturation, and small adult body size) and slow life histories (selected for slow juvenile growth, late maturation, and large adult body size). We found that MnSO had negative effects on growth and condition factors, but the magnitude of these effects depended on the life-history type.

Sulfate sensitivity of early life stages of freshwater mussels Unio crassus and Margaritifera margaritifera.

Sulfate is increasingly found in elevated concentrations in freshwater ecosystems due to anthropogenic activities. Chronic exposure to sulfate has been reported to cause sublethal effects on freshwater invertebrates. Previous sulfate toxicity tests have mostly been conducted in hard or moderately hard waters, and research on species inhabiting soft water is needed, given that freshwater organisms face heightened sensitivity to toxicants in water of lower hardness.

Autoimmune hypothyroidism GWAS reveals independent autoimmune and thyroid-specific contributions and an inverse relation with cancer risk.

The high prevalence of autoimmune hypothyroidism (AIHT) - more than 5% in human populations - provides a unique opportunity to unlock the most complete picture to date of genetic loci that underlie systemic and organ-specific autoimmunity. Using a meta-analysis of 81,718 AIHT cases in FinnGen and the UK Biobank, we dissect associations along axes of thyroid dysfunction and autoimmunity. This largest-to-date scan of hypothyroidism identifies 418 independent associations (p < 5×10), more than half of which have not previously been documented in thyroid disease.

Relation of changes in peak expiratory flow (PEF) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV) during bronchoconstriction.

Diagnosis of asthma can be confirmed based on variability in peak expiratory flow (PEF) or changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV) measured with spirometry. Our aim was to use methacholine challenge as a model of induced airway obstruction to assess how well relative changes in PEF reflect airway obstruction in comparison to relative changes in FEV. We retrospectively studied 878 patients who completed a methacholine challenge test.

Oral and non-oral lichen planus show genetic heterogeneity and differential risk for autoimmune disease and oral cancer.

Lichen planus (LP) is a T-cell-mediated inflammatory disease affecting squamous epithelia in many parts of the body, most often the skin and oral mucosa. Cutaneous LP is usually transient and oral LP (OLP) is most often chronic, so we performed a large-scale genetic and epidemiological study of LP to address whether the oral and non-oral subgroups have shared or distinct underlying pathologies and their overlap with autoimmune disease. Using lifelong records covering diagnoses, procedures, and clinic identity from 473,580 individuals in the FinnGen study, genome-wide association analyses were conducted on carefully constructed subcategories of OLP (n = 3,323) and non-oral LP (n = 4,356) and on the combined group.

Adult-onset asthma, allergy, and aspirin hypersensitivity associate with self-reported food avoidance.

Background: The adoption of avoidance diets by adult-onset asthmatics has not previously been studied. We hypothesized that avoidance diets would associate with adult-onset asthma, allergy, and aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD).

Methods: A total of 1247 subjects with adult-onset asthma (age range: 31-91) from the Finnish national registry, and age- and sex-matched controls ( = 1970) participated in a questionnaire study in 1997.

Anisotropy of T and T relaxation time in articular cartilage at 3 T.

Purpose: The anisotropy of R and R relaxation rates in articular cartilage contains information about the collagenous structure of the tissue. Here we determine and study the anisotropic and isotropic components of T and T relaxation parameters in articular cartilage with a clinical 3T MRI device. Furthermore, a visual representation of the topographical variation in anisotropy is given via anisotropy mapping.

Comorbidities associated with adult asthma: a population-based matched cohort study in Finland.

Background: Asthma is a common chronic disease characterised by variable respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation, affecting roughly 4%-10% of the adult population. Adult asthma is associated with higher all-cause mortality compared to individuals without asthma. In this study, we investigate the comorbidities that may affect the management of asthma.

Cardiovascular Significance and Genetics of Epicardial and Pericardial Adiposity.

Importance: Epicardial and pericardial adipose tissue (EPAT) has been associated with cardiovascular diseases such as atrial fibrillation or flutter (AF) and coronary artery disease (CAD), but studies have been limited in sample size or drawn from selected populations. It has been suggested that the association between EPAT and cardiovascular disease could be mediated by local or paracrine effects.

Objective: To evaluate the association of EPAT with prevalent and incident cardiovascular disease and to elucidate the genetic basis of EPAT in a large population cohort.

Does size-selective harvesting erode adaptive potential to thermal stress?

Overharvesting is a serious threat to many fish populations. High mortality and directional selection on body size can cause evolutionary change in exploited populations via selection for a specific phenotype and a potential reduction in phenotypic diversity. Whether the loss of phenotypic diversity that accompanies directional selection impairs response to environmental stress is not known.

Diagnoses and prescription patterns among users of medications for obstructive airway diseases in Finland.

Background: Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are common diseases mostly treated in primary care. However, the usage patterns of drugs for obstructive airway diseases (R03 drugs) at the national level are not known.

Objective: The aims of this study were to describe (1) for which diagnoses each class of R03 drugs were used, (2) the usage pattern of different drug classes for asthma and COPD, and (3) how often these medications were used without a diagnosis of asthma or COPD in Finland.

Relation of changes in PEF and FEV1 in exercise challenge in children.

Decrease in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV ) of 10% or 15% in exercise challenge test is considered diagnostic for asthma, but a decrease of 15% in peak expiratory flow (PEF) is recommended as an alternative. Our aim was to assess the accuracy of different PEF cut-off points in comparison to FEV . We retrospectively studied 326 free running exercise challenge tests with spirometry in children 6-16 years old.

Age at asthma diagnosis and onset of symptoms among adults with allergic and non-allergic asthma.

Background: Childhood-onset allergic asthma is the best-known phenotype of asthma. Adult-onset asthma, also an important entity, is instead often shown to be more non-allergic. There is still a lack of studies concerning the association of allergies and age at asthma onset from childhood to late adulthood.

Risk factors of NSAID-exacerbated respiratory disease: A population-based study.

Background: Asthma with NSAID-exacerbated respiratory disease (NERD) is associated with uncontrolled or severe asthma. NERD patients are more prone to severe allergic reactions and their asthma exacerbations lead to hospitalisations twice as often compared to patients with non-NERD-asthma. NERD patients are prone to recurrent nasal polyposis requiring frequent endoscopic sinus surgeries.

Glucose exchange parameters in a subset of physiological conditions.

The chemical exchange of labile protons of the hydroxyl groups can be exploited in a variety of magnetic resonance experiments to gain information about the groups and their physicochemical environment. The exchangeable -OH protons provide important contributions to the of water signals thus contributing to the -weighted contrast of MRI images. This exchange can be exploited more specifically and sensitively in chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) or longitudinal rotating frame relaxation () experiments.