Publications by authors named "Wenz C"

Background: Discoveries of new species often depend on one or a few specimens, leading to delays as researchers wait for additional context, sometimes for decades. There is currently little professional incentive for a single expert to publish a stand-alone species description. Additionally, while many journals accept taxonomic descriptions, even specialist journals expect insights beyond the descriptive work itself.

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Tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BuOOH) is an organic hydroperoxide widely used as a model compound to induce oxidative stress. It leads to a plethora of cellular damage, including lipid peroxidation, DNA double-strand breaks (DNA DSBs), and breakdown of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). We could show in several cell lines that t-BuOOH induces ferroptosis, triggered by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation.

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Malaria-causing parasites achieve rapid proliferation in human blood through multiple rounds of asynchronous nuclear division followed by daughter cell formation. Nuclear divisions critically depend on the centriolar plaque, which organizes intranuclear spindle microtubules. The centriolar plaque consists of an extranuclear compartment, which is connected via a nuclear pore-like structure to a chromatin-free intranuclear compartment.

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Despite increasing sequencing efforts, numerous fish families still lack a reference genome, which complicates genetic research. One such understudied family is the sand lances (Ammodytidae, literally: "sand burrower"), a globally distributed clade of over 30 fish species that tend to avoid tidal currents by burrowing into the sand. Here, we present the first annotated chromosome-level genome assembly of the great sand eel (Hyperoplus lanceolatus).

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Perineal trauma is a significant complication of childbirth that can drastically influence an individual's quality of life. Pain, infection, fecal incontinence, and many other adverse outcomes can impact and endanger a woman's life following perineal injury. Early identification, referral and multi-disciplinary care are vital in the correct management of these injuries.

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Uterine malformations occur early in embryogenesis due to abnormalities in development of paramesonephric (Mullerian) ducts. Mullerian duct anomalies can range from complete agenesis of the uterus to nonpathological variants (e.g.

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Currently, feature annotation remains one of the main challenges in untargeted metabolomics. In this context, the information provided by high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) in addition to accurate mass can improve the quality of metabolite annotation, and MS/MS fragmentation patterns are widely used. Accurate mass and a separation index, such as retention time or effective mobility (μ ), in chromatographic and electrophoretic approaches, respectively, must be used for unequivocal metabolite identification.

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Ferroptosis is a recently discovered pathway of regulated necrosis dependent on iron and lipid peroxidation. It has gained broad attention since it is a promising approach to overcome resistance to apoptosis in cancer chemotherapy. We have recently identified tertiary-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BuOOH) as a novel inducer of ferroptosis.

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Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced apoptosis has been extensively studied. Increasing evidence suggests that ROS, for instance, induced by hydrogen peroxide (HO), might also trigger regulated necrotic cell death pathways. Almost nothing is known about the cell death pathways triggered by tertiary-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BuOOH), a widely used inducer of oxidative stress.

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Due to the constant search for reliable methods to investigate glycoproteins in complex biological samples, an alternative approach combining affinity enrichment with rapid and sensitive analysis on-a-chip is presented. Glycoproteins were specifically captured by lectin-coated magnetic beads, eluted by competitive sugars, and investigated with microchip capillary gel electrophoresis (MCGE), i.e.

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The antiepileptic drug phenobarbital (PB) exerts hepatic effect based on indirect activation of the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) via inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the kinase Src. It has furthermore been observed that in mice PB suppresses the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma with overactive signaling through the oncogenic Wnt/β-catenin pathway, thus suggesting an interference of PB with β-catenin signaling. The present work was aimed to characterize effects of PB on β-catenin signaling at different cellular levels and to elucidate molecular details of the interaction of PB and β-catenin in an in vitro system of mouse hepatoma cells.

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Activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling is important for human and rodent hepatocarcinogenesis. In mice, the tumor promoter phenobarbital (PB) selects for hepatocellular tumors with activating β-catenin mutations via constitutive androstane receptor activation. PB-dependent tumor promotion was studied in mice with genetic inactivation of Apc, a negative regulator of β-catenin, to circumvent the problem of randomly induced mutations by chemical initiators and to allow monitoring of PB- and Wnt/β-catenin-dependent tumorigenesis in the absence of unknown genomic alterations.

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A collaborative study on the robustness and portability of a capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry method for peptide mapping was performed by an international team, consisting of 13 independent laboratories from academia and industry. All participants used the same batch of samples, reagents and coated capillaries to run their assays, whereas they utilized the capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry equipment available in their laboratories. The equipment used varied in model, type and instrument manufacturer.

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Glycosylations severely influence a protein's biological and physicochemical properties. Five exemplary proteins with varying glycan moieties were chosen to establish molecular weight (MW) determination (sizing), quantitation, and sensitivity of detection for microchip capillary gel electrophoresis (MCGE). Although sizing showed increasing deviations from literature values (SDS-PAGE or MALDI-MS) with a concomitant higher degree of analyte glycosylation, the reproducibility of MW determination and accuracy of quantitation with high sensitivity and reliability were demonstrated.

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Introduction: Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS) is a relatively new but controversial diagnosis affecting hundreds of children and their families. It is generally thought to be an autoimmune disorder resulting from a streptococcal infection that causes significant and bizarre behavioral changes in children. Currently no definitive diagnostic or treatment modalities exist, which has led to misdiagnoses, ineffective treatments, and delayed care.

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Sepsis represents a significant cause of mortality in intensive care units. Early diagnosis of sepsis is essential to increase the survival rate of patients. Among others, C-reactive protein (CRP) is commonly used as a sepsis marker.

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Purpose: The purpose was to understand how African American children with asthma and their families living in underserved urban areas experience and perceive asthma.

Design And Methods: A narrative inquiry design with metaphorical analysis was used in this study with 20 African American children and their 10 families.

Results: Participants metaphorically viewed the family system as a functioning healthcare facility.

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A sensitive and selective analytical method for the determination and quantification of endogenous β-galactosidase in crude E. coli cell lysates by immunoprecipitation combined with automated microchip capillary gel electrophoresis (IP-MCGE) with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection was developed. Total cell lysates were derivatized minimally with a fluorescence dye, incubated with anti-β-galactosidase antibodies, and the antigen/antibody complex was precipitated with protein G-coated magnetic beads.

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We developed a 3 h procedure for preparing serum N-glycans and labeling them with 8-aminopyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid (APTS) by sequential addition of reagents to the serum and incubation in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) thermocycler. Moreover, we succeeded in analyzing these samples by capillary electrophoresis on three commercial microfluidics-based platforms: the MCE-202 MultiNA, the 2100 Bioanalyzer, and a modified prototype of the eGene system which were originally designed for nucleic acid separation and detection. Although these instruments use short separation channels, our technical improvements made it possible to reliably measure the N-glycans constituting GlycoHepatoTest.

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A novel pre-chip fluorescent derivatization method is presented for protein sizing and quantification by microchip CGE. The derivatization reaction employed a water-soluble and stable fluorescent dye and was performed under conditions that favored the formation of homogeneous reaction products. The method delivered in terms of protein sizing similar results as microchip CGE with on-chip staining but showed an extended linear dynamic range for protein quantification encompassing four orders of magnitude.

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A novel approach for protein identification is presented, which combines the specificity of an immunoprecipitation approach with the sensitivity of protein detection in microchip CGE. This method involves derivatization of the sample proteins with a fluorescent dye, target protein isolation with specific antibodies and Protein A coated magnetic beads, and automated sizing and quantification of the eluted samples on microchips. The performance of the new technique was demonstrated with glutathion-S-transferase- and polyHistidine-tagged target proteins in an Escherichia coli background.

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Introduction: Data comparing efficacy and safety of drug eluting stents (DES), particularly paclitaxel stent with bare metal stents (BMS) in the setting of acute ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is limited and inconclusive. The aim of our study is to compare the efficacy and safety of paclitaxel stent with bare metal stent in acute STEMI.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed on patients from our single community hospital who participated in the C-PORT trial from January 2003 to May 2005.

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Reliable study results are necessary for the assessment of discoveries, including those from proteomics. Reliable study results are also crucial to increase the likelihood of making a successful choice of biomarker candidates for verification and subsequent validation studies, a current bottleneck for the transition to in vitro diagnostic (IVD). In this respect, a major need for improvement in proteomics appears to be accuracy of measurements, including both trueness and precision of measurement.

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The sample fractionation steps conducted prior to mass detection are critically important for the comprehensive analysis of complex protein mixtures. This paper illustrates the effectiveness of OFFGEL electrophoresis with the Agilent 3100 OFFGEL Fractionator for the fractionation of peptides. An Escherichia coli tryptic digest was separated in 24 fractions, and peptides were identified by reversed-phase liquid chromatography on a microfluidic device with mass spectrometric detection.

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