Publications by authors named "Labus J"

Emerging research suggests that the gut microbiome plays a crucial role in stress. We assess stress-microbiome associations in two samples of healthy adults across three stress domains (perceived stress, stressful life events, and biological stress /Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia; RSA). Study 1 (n = 62; mean-age = 37.

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Objectives: In the dynamic perioperative setting, changing fluid states complicate determination of ventricular function. This study evaluated the feasibility of clinical ventricular pressure-volume loop (PVL) construction using routine monitoring (echocardiography and invasive pressure monitoring). An application was developed and tested with biventricular simulated data and right ventricular (RV) clinical data.

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The brain-gut-microbiome (BGM) system plays an influential role on mental health. We characterized BGM patterns related to resilience using fecal samples and multimodal MRI. Data integration analysis using latent components showed the high resilience phenotype was associated with lower depression and anxiety symptoms, higher frequency of bacterial transcriptomes (related to environmental adaptation, genetic propagation, energy metabolism, anti-inflammation), increased metabolites (N-acetylglutamate; dimethylglycine), and cortical signatures (increased resting state functional connectivity between reward circuits and sensorimotor networks; decreased grey matter volume and white matter tracts within the emotion regulation network).

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Background: Homo- and heteromerization of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) plays an important role in the regulation of receptor functions. Recently, we demonstrated an interaction between the serotonin receptor 7 (5-HT7R), a class A GPCR, and the cell adhesion molecule CD44. However, the functional consequences of this interaction on 5-HT7R-mediated signaling remained enigmatic.

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Stress resilience is the ability of neuronal networks to maintain their function despite the stress exposure. Using a mouse model we investigate stress resilience phenomenon. To assess the resilient and anhedonic behavioral phenotypes developed after the induction of chronic unpredictable stress, we quantitatively characterized the structural and functional plasticity of excitatory synapses in the hippocampus using a combination of proteomic, electrophysiological, and imaging methods.

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Background: Discrimination is a recognized psychosocial stressor that has been linked to various negative health outcomes. This study explored the impact of discrimination on gut health, specifically focusing on microbiome changes, predicted metagenomic differences, transcriptomic profiles, and the potential for using a multi-omic approach to predict discrimination to identify discrimination status for an individual. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive investigation involving male and premenopausal female participants, using the Everyday Discrimination Scale to classify them into either high or low discrimination.

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Objectives: To assess the feasibility of intraoperative 3-dimensional speckle-tracking-based myocardial deformation analysis for evaluation of twist, torsion, and strain using speckle tracking, and to investigate the immediate changes in these parameters after aortic valve replacement.

Design: Prospective observational study SETTING: Single-center study at a tertiary academic cardiac center PARTICIPANTS: Forty-nine patients undergoing minimally invasive surgical aortic valve replacement INTERVENTIONS: Acquisition of full-volume images of the left ventricle after induction of anesthesia and at the end of surgery using transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), and analysis of the datasets using 3D speckle-tracking-based myocardial deformation analysis (Tomtec Arena).

Measurements And Main Results: Of the 49 complete volume datasets, 30 (61%) had quality sufficient for speckle tracking.

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Article Synopsis
  • The gut microbiome may play a significant role in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but more research is needed to fully understand its impact on AD pathology.
  • A study analyzed fecal microbiome data from participants in the Wisconsin Microbiome in Alzheimer's Risk Study, finding differences in gut microbiome composition between AD patients and cognitively healthy individuals, confirmed in another cohort.
  • The variations in gut microbiome features were linked to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers associated with AD, suggesting a connection between gut microbes and AD progression.
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Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a female-predominant disorder of brain-gut interactions. Our previous study on colonic mucosal microbiota demonstrated significant differences between IBS bowel habit subtypes and showed that gut microbiota is associated with abdominal pain in IBS patients. However, there is no consensus on sex-related differences in mucosal microbiota in IBS compared to healthy controls (HC).

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  • The study investigates the biological basis of stress reactivity (SR) differences in individuals, focusing on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients and healthy controls (HCs) to understand how these differences impact their health.
  • It uses data from 291 participants, applying methods like transcriptomics profiling and brain imaging to categorize individuals into high and low SR groups and analyze their differences.
  • Results indicate that those with high SR have greater sympathetic nervous system activation and brain changes linked to heightened stress responses, suggesting that this increased activity could be a risk factor for IBS and may inform personalized treatment approaches.
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Background Brainstem nuclei play a critical role in both ascending monoaminergic modulation of cortical function and arousal, and in descending bulbospinal pain modulation. Even though sex-related differences in the function of both systems have been reported in animal models, a complete understanding of sex differences, as well as menopausal effects, in brainstem connectivity in humans is lacking. This study evaluated resting-state connectivity of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), right and left locus coeruleus complex (LCC), and periaqueductal gray (PAG) according to sex and menopausal status in healthy individuals.

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  • * This study involved 43 ASD and 41 neurotypical children, using fecal metabolomics and fMRI to explore brain activity related to socio-emotional and sensory tasks.
  • * Findings revealed correlations between specific tryptophan metabolites and atypical brain activity in areas linked to ASD, suggesting that gut-brain interactions could influence ASD severity and behavioral symptoms.
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Objective: Evaluation of noninvasive left ventricular (LV) myocardial work (MW) enables insights into cardiac contractility and efficacy beyond conventional echocardiography. However, there is limited intraoperative data on patients undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR). The aim of this study was to describe the feasibility and the intraoperative course of this technique of ventricular function assessment in these patients and compare it to conventional two (2D)- and three-dimensional (3D) echocardiographic measurements and strain analysis.

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Right ventricular myocardial work is an echocardiographic technique yielding significant insights into cardiac mechanics, energetics, and efficiency. Combining right ventricular myocardial strain with loading conditions correlates with invasively measured myocardial work and myocardial oxygen consumption. This method has not yet been described intraoperatively by transesophageal echocardiography.

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Background: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as promising diagnostic biomarkers. Here, we investigated the cardiac-expressed and plasma-detectable lncRNA PDE4DIPP6 as a biomarker for non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), specifically assessing its potential to enhance the diagnostic efficacy of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTnT).

Methods And Results: The study enrolled individuals presenting with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

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Article Synopsis
  • Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are linked to a higher risk of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which affects more women than men, but both genders show similar ACE prevalence related to IBS.* -
  • A study with 798 participants found that individuals with IBS had more ACE, with emotional abuse increasing IBS odds in women and sexual abuse in men.* -
  • Anxiety significantly mediated the relationship between ACE and IBS for both sexes, while resilience played a role only for women, highlighting the importance of mental health factors in this association.*
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  • The study explores the relationship between early life adversity (ELA), food addiction, and brain structure in individuals with obesity, revealing distinct brain patterns related to reward processing.
  • It involved 114 participants who underwent MRIs and filled out questionnaires to assess factors like food addiction and resilience, finding that high levels of ELA correlate with reward-related brain changes linked to food addiction.
  • Additionally, resilience was identified as a protective factor that can mitigate the negative impacts of ELA on food addiction, suggesting that incorporating resilience-building strategies could enhance obesity treatment approaches.
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Introduction: Chronic adolescent stress profoundly affects prefrontal cortical networks regulating top-down behavior control. However, the neurobiological pathways contributing to stress-induced alterations in the brain and behavior remain largely unknown. Chronic stress influences brain growth factors and immune responses, which may, in turn, disrupt the maturation and function of prefrontal cortical networks.

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  • Neurodegenerative diseases like tauopathies are linked to abnormal protein aggregation, particularly involving hyperphosphorylated Tau, which is influenced by the serotonin receptor 7 (5-HT7R) through the activation of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5).
  • The study utilized various scientific methods to analyze how 5-HT7R interacts with CDK5, discovering that specific regions of 5-HT7R are crucial for this interaction and identifying key phenylalanine residues that impact complex formation.
  • The findings suggest that targeting the interaction between 5-HT7R and CDK5 could lead to new treatments for diseases related to Tau aggregation, offering a potential pathway for drug development.
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Importance: Perceived social isolation is associated with negative health outcomes, including increased risk for altered eating behaviors, obesity, and psychological symptoms. However, the underlying neural mechanisms of these pathways are unknown.

Objective: To investigate the association of perceived social isolation with brain reactivity to food cues, altered eating behaviors, obesity, and mental health symptoms.

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Objectives: Left ventricular (LV) diastolic function strongly predicts outcomes after cardiac surgery, but there is no consensus about appropriate intraoperative assessment. Recently, intraoperative diastolic strain-based measurements assessed by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) have shown a strong correlation with LV relaxation, compliance, and filling, but there are no reports about evaluation through the entire perioperative period. Therefore, the authors describe the intraoperative course of this novel assessment technique in patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting, and compare it with conventional echocardiographic measures and common grading algorithms of LV diastolic dysfunction (LVDD).

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Experiences of discrimination are associated with adverse health outcomes, including obesity. However, the mechanisms by which discrimination leads to obesity remain unclear. Utilizing multi-omics analyses of neuroimaging and fecal metabolites, we investigated the impact of discrimination exposure on brain reactivity to food images and associated dysregulations in the brain-gut-microbiome system.

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Background: Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) show lower resilience than healthy controls (HCs), associated with greater symptom severity and worse quality of life. However, little is known about affected markers of resilience or the influence of sex. Furthermore, as resilience is complex, a comprehensive assessment, with multiple resilience measures, is needed.

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Integrin αβ is an adhesion receptor that binds to collagen and laminin. It regulates cell adhesion, cytoskeletal organization, and migration. The cytoplasmic tail of the α subunit consists of 15 amino acids and contains six positively charged lysine residues.

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