Burden of herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia in Sweden.

Background: The societal economic burden of herpes zoster in Sweden is not well described today. This study is a top-down analysis of Swedish registers with the objective to describe the burden of herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia in Sweden during 2011.

Methods: Data for inpatient care; outpatient primary and specialized cares; the prescriptions of drugs, sick leave and the number or diagnostic tests were collected from Swedish national databases.

Burden of severe rotavirus disease leading to hospitalization assessed in a prospective cohort study in Sweden.

Background: The aim of this prospective cohort study was to estimate the burden of severe disease caused by rotavirus-induced gastroenteritis in Swedish children aged < 5 y.

Methods: Rotavirus-positive children admitted to hospitals serving 3 geographical regions with 155,838 children aged < 5 y, were offered inclusion in this 1-year study. Rotavirus strains identified were genotyped using multiplex PCR.

Disease burden of herpes zoster in Sweden--predominance in the elderly and in women - a register based study.

Background: The herpes zoster burden of disease in Sweden is not well investigated. There is no Swedish immunization program to prevent varicella zoster virus infections. A vaccine against herpes zoster and its complications is now available.

Pre-vaccination incidence of genital warts in 15-23-year-old women and men attending youth clinics in Stockholm, Sweden.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines were introduced to the market in 2006 and 2007. The present pilot study was designed to examine the incidence of genital warts in the population up to 23 y of age in the county of Stockholm before the start of mass HPV vaccination.

Methods: Data from the electronic health records of 9 youth clinics in the county of Stockholm were collected retrospectively for the y 2006-2008.

The XPD subunit of TFIIH is required for transcription-associated but not DNA double-strand break-induced recombination in mammalian cells.

Mutations in the XPD gene can give rise to three phenotypically distinct disorders: xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), trichothiodystrophy (TTD) or combined XP and Cockayne syndrome (CS) (XP/CS). The role of Xeroderma Pigmentosum group D protein (XPD) in nucleotide excision repair explains the increased risk of skin cancer in XP patients but not all the clinical phenotypes found in XP/CS or TTD patients. Here, we describe that the XPD-defective UV5 cell line is impaired in transcription-associated recombination (TAR), which can be reverted by the introduction of the wild-type XPD gene expressed from a vector.

Transcription-associated recombination is dependent on replication in Mammalian cells.

Transcription can enhance recombination; this is a ubiquitous phenomenon from prokaryotes to higher eukaryotes. However, the mechanism of transcription-associated recombination in mammalian cells is poorly understood. Here we have developed a construct with a recombination substrate in which levels of recombination can be studied in the presence or absence of transcription.

Spontaneous homologous recombination is induced by collapsed replication forks that are caused by endogenous DNA single-strand breaks.

Homologous recombination is vital to repair fatal DNA damage during DNA replication. However, very little is known about the substrates or repair pathways for homologous recombination in mammalian cells. Here, we have compared the recombination products produced spontaneously with those produced following induction of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) with the I-SceI restriction endonuclease or after stalling or collapsing replication forks following treatment with thymidine or camptothecin, respectively.

Regulation of postnatal lung development and homeostasis by estrogen receptor beta.

Estrogens have well-documented effects on lung development and physiology. However, the classical estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) is undetectable in the lung, and this has left many unanswered questions about the mechanism of estrogen action in this organ. Here we show, both in vivo and in vitro, that ERbeta is abundantly expressed and biologically active in the lung.

C/EBP transcription factors in the lung epithelium.

During recent years, the biological roles of CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins (C/EBPs) in the lung have started to be uncovered. C/EBPs form a family within the basic region-leucine zipper class of transcription factors. In the lung epithelium C/EBPalpha, -beta, and -delta are expressed.

Evidence that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta influences cholesterol metabolism in men.

Objective: The objective of this work was to explore the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARD) in lipid metabolism in humans.

Methods And Results: PPARD is a nuclear receptor involved in lipid metabolism in primates and mice. We screened the 5'-region of the human gene for polymorphisms to be used as tools in association studies.

Synergistic transactivation of the differentiation-dependent lung gene Clara cell secretory protein (secretoglobin 1a1) by the basic region leucine zipper factor CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha and the homeodomain factor Nkx2.1/thyroid transcription factor-1.

The basic region-leucine zipper transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (C/EBPalpha) and the homeodomain transcription factor Nkx2.1/thyroid transcription factor-1 are essential for normal lung morphogenesis. Nkx2.

Different regulation of the LXRalpha promoter activity by isoforms of CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins.

LXRs have recently been shown to regulate key enzymes in cholesterol degradation, reverse transport of cholesterol from peripheral cells, cholesterol uptake and lipogenesis. The LXRalpha promoter was thus studied to investigate if LXRalpha gene expression is under the regulation of transcription factors involved in adipogenesis. We report that the C/EBP transcription factor interacts with the promoter of the LXRalpha gene.

Glucocorticoids regulate the CCSP and CYP2B1 promoters via C/EBPbeta and delta in lung cells.

Glucocorticoids have several important roles in the lung and play a key role in lung development and maturation. However, the specific molecular mechanisms of glucocorticoid action in lung are unclear. In this study, we have investigated two glucocorticoid-regulated genes expressed in the lung epithelium, the secretory protein CCSP, and the P450-enzyme CYP2B1.

Decreased serum and bronchoalveolar lavage levels of Clara cell secretory protein (CC16) is associated with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome and airway neutrophilia in lung transplant recipients.

Background: The major hinderance for long-term survival after lung transplantation is chronic rejection in the form of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). BOS is a fibrosing process in the small airways causing irreversible airway obstruction. BOS is associated with increased oxidative burden and activation of inflammatory and growth-stimulating mediators.