Disease Phenotypes and Mechanisms of iPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes From Brugada Syndrome Patients With a Loss-of-Function SCN5A Mutation.

Brugada syndrome (BrS) is one of the major causes of sudden cardiac death in young people, while the underlying mechanisms are not completely understood. Here, we investigated the pathophysiological phenotypes and mechanisms using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) from two BrS patients (BrS-CMs) carrying a heterozygous mutation p.S1812X.

Ultrasonic-augmented Primary Adult Fibroblast Isolation.

Primary adult fibroblasts have become an important tool to study fibrosis, fibroblast interactions and inflammation in all body tissues. Since primary fibroblasts cannot divide indefinitely due to myofibroblast differentiation or senescence induction, new cultures must be established regularly. However, there are several obstacles to overcome during the processes of developing a reliable isolation protocol and primary fibroblast isolation itself: the method's degree of difficulty (especially for beginners), the risk of bacterial contamination, the required time until primary fibroblasts can be used for experiments, and subsequent cell quality and viability.

Lipidomic Changes in Skeletal Muscle in Patients after Biliopancreatic Diversion.

The mechanisms behind the fast improvements of insulin sensitivity and release of the diabetic metabolic state after bariatric surgery are still not completely understood. To further elucidate the effects on the individual cellular level, we applied mass spectrometry to investigate the changes in the lipidomic profile of skeletal muscle cells before and after biliopancreatic diversion in six patients. We found a decrease in lipid storage species, mainly triacylglycerides (e.

Urinary Lipidomics: evidence for multiple sources and sexual dimorphism in healthy individuals.

Urinary lipidomics may add new valuable biomarkers to the diagnostic armamentarium for early detection of metabolic and kidney diseases. Sources and composition of urinary lipids in healthy individuals, however, have not been investigated in detail. Shotgun lipidomics was used to quantify lipidomic profiles in native urine samples from 16 individuals (eight men, eight women) collected in five fractions over 24 h.

The mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier associates with the inner membrane presequence translocase in a stoichiometric manner.

The majority of mitochondrial proteins are synthesized with amino-terminal signal sequences. The presequence translocase of the inner membrane (TIM23 complex) mediates the import of these preproteins. The essential TIM23 core complex closely cooperates with partner protein complexes like the presequence translocase-associated import motor and the respiratory chain.

Mitochondrial inner membrane protease promotes assembly of presequence translocase by removing a carboxy-terminal targeting sequence.

The presequence translocase of the inner mitochondrial membrane (TIM23 complex) is essential for importing cleavable preproteins into mitochondria. The preproteins contain amino-terminal targeting sequences that are removed by the mitochondrial processing peptidase (MPP). Some preproteins carry bipartite presequences that are cleaved twice, by MPP and the inner membrane protease (IMP).

Mgr2 promotes coupling of the mitochondrial presequence translocase to partner complexes.

Many mitochondrial proteins are synthesized with N-terminal presequences in the cytosol. The presequence translocase of the inner mitochondrial membrane (TIM23) translocates preproteins into and across the membrane and associates with the matrix-localized import motor. The TIM23 complex consists of three core components and Tim21, which interacts with the translocase of the outer membrane (TOM) and the respiratory chain.

Is a patient controller for Parkinson's disease patients with subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation reasonable?

Background: A patient controller (PC) is an optional device for patients with deep brain stimulation (DBS) to have limited control of their stimulator system.

Objectives: We investigated the impact of a PC on DBS safety, most notably the handling/prevention of unexpected DBS failure in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: PD patients with subthalamic DBS were educated in the use of a PC.

Distinct forms of mitochondrial TOM-TIM supercomplexes define signal-dependent states of preprotein sorting.

Mitochondrial import of cleavable preproteins occurs at translocation contact sites, where the translocase of the outer membrane (TOM) associates with the presequence translocase of the inner membrane (TIM23) in a supercomplex. Different views exist on the mechanism of how TIM23 mediates preprotein sorting to either the matrix or inner membrane. On the one hand, two TIM23 forms were proposed, a matrix transport form containing the presequence translocase-associated motor (PAM; TIM23-PAM) and a sorting form containing Tim21 (TIM23(SORT)).

Light retardance by human oocyte spindle is positively related to pronuclear score after ICSI.

Disturbed spindle assembly increases risks of chromosome mal-segregation. Non-invasive polarization microscopy (PolScope) was employed in two centres to assess spindle integrity for the first time quantitatively in human oocytes from consenting patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with respect to pronuclear (PN) score after fertilization. In one centre oocytes were selected before ICSI, in another selection was after ICSI according to PN score.

Influence of motility and vitality in intracytoplasmic sperm injection with ejaculated and testicular sperm.

The vitality of spermatozoa used for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a crucial factor for fertilization, establishment and outcome of a pregnancy in assisted reproductive technique cycles. The sperm origin may also be a limiting factor, although little is known about this issue. It is known that the motility of injected spermatozoa and their origin from ejaculate or testicular biopsies are important predictors in terms of fertilization, pregnancy and birth rates.

Effect of reactive oxygen species produced by spermatozoa and leukocytes on sperm functions in non-leukocytospermic patients.

Objective: To investigate whether there is an impact of different sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on sperm functions.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Patients at the Center for Dermatology and Andrology, Giessen, Germany.

Sperm function and assisted reproduction technology.

The evaluation of different functional sperm parameters has become a tool in andrological diagnosis. These assays determine the sperm's capability to fertilize an oocyte. It also appears that sperm functions and semen parameters are interrelated and interdependent.

High magnitude of light retardation by the zona pellucida is associated with conception cycles.

Background: Failures in expression of zona proteins correlate to subfertility in animals. Low expression of the zona proteins by the growing human oocyte may indicate reduced developmental potential. Therefore, we non-invasively analysed the thickness and the structure of the zona pellucida (ZP) of human oocytes with respect to embryo fate after ICSI.

Supported ionic liquid catalysis.

Supported ionic liquid catalysis is a concept which combines the advantages of ionic liquids with those of heterogeneous support materials. The viability of this concept has been confirmed by several studies which have successfully confined various ionic phases to the surface of support materials and explored their potential catalytic applications. Although the majority of the evaluated supports were silica based, several studies focused on polymeric materials including membranes.

Influence of deoxyribonucleic acid damage on fertilization and pregnancy.

Objective: To investigate sperm DNA damage in relation to fertilization and pregnancy.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: The Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Giessen, Germany.

DNA fragmentation of spermatozoa and assisted reproduction technology.

Despite the ever-increasing knowledge of the fertilization process, there is still a need for better understanding of the causes of sperm DNA fragmentation and its impact on fertilization and pregnancy. For this reason, human sperm DNA fragmentation was investigated by means of the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUDP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assay and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the ejaculate and in the spermatozoa themselves. These data were correlated with fertilization and pregnancy data from IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) patients.

Supported ionic liquid catalysis investigated for hydrogenation reactions.

The concept of supported ionic liquid catalysis (silc) has successfully been applied to hydrogenation reactions, which significantly reduced the required amounts of ionic liquid phase and enabled the usage of fixed-bed technology; the resulting catalysts exhibited high activity and outstanding stability.

Supported ionic liquid catalysis--a new concept for homogeneous hydroformylation catalysis.

The new concept of supported ionic liquid catalysis involves the surface of a support material that is modified with a monolayer of covalently attached ionic liquid fragments. Treatment of this surface with additional ionic liquid results in the formation of a multiple layer of free ionic liquid on the support. These layers serve as the reaction phase in which a homogeneous hydroformylation catalyst was dissolved.

Influence of polarization effects in ooplasma and pronuclei on embryo quality and implantation in an IVF program.

Purpose: The presence of a clear half-moon-like zone of cytoplasm in oocytes is called "halo effect." The prognostic value of this effect is not yet determined. Aligned nucleoli in pronuclei (PN) represent a further polarization phenomenon and a marker for implantation potential.

Preparation of C9-aldehyde via aldol condensation reactions in ionic liquid media.

C9-aldehyde has been prepared via aldol condensation reactions in ionic liquid media; catalyst investigation showed enhanced product selectivity for the desired aldehyde in ionic liquid media than in conventional solvent systems.

Age-associated changes in the densities of presynaptic monoamine transporters in different regions of the rat brain from early juvenile life to late adulthood.

The binding parameters of highly selective ligands of serotonin (5-HT) transporters ([3H]paroxetine), noradrenaline (NE) transporters ([3H]nisoxetine), and of dopamine (DA) transporters ([3H]GBR-12935) were determined on membrane preparations from frontal cortex, striatum, midbrain and brain stem of Wistar rats on postnatal days 25, 50, 90 and 240, i.e., from the time of weaning till late adulthood.