Genetic and epigenetic mechanisms collaborate to control SERPINA3 expression and its association with placental diseases.

SERPINA3 (Serpin peptidase inhibitor clade A member 3), also known as a1-antichymotrypsin, is a serine protease inhibitor involved in a wide range of biological processes. Recently, it has been shown to be up-regulated in human placental diseases in association with a hypomethylation of the 5' region of the gene. In the present study, we show that the promoter of SERPINA3 is transcriptionally activated by three transcription factors (TFs) (SP1, MZF1 and ZBTB7B), the level of induction being dependent on the rs1884082 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located inside the promoter, the T allele being consistently induced to a higher level than the G, with or without added TFs.

Cellulosomics, a gene-centric approach to investigating the intraspecific diversity and adaptation of Ruminococcus flavefaciens within the rumen.

Background: The bovine rumen maintains a diverse microbial community that serves to break down indigestible plant substrates. However, those bacteria specifically adapted to degrade cellulose, the major structural component of plant biomass, represent a fraction of the rumen microbiome. Previously, we proposed scaC as a candidate for phylotyping Ruminococcus flavefaciens, one of three major cellulolytic bacterial species isolated from the rumen.

A fetal variant in the GCM1 gene is associated with pregnancy induced hypertension in a predominantly hispanic population.

The aim of the study was to determine whether polymorphism in the GCM1 gene is associated with pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) in a case-control study of mother-baby dyads. Predominantly Hispanic women, ages 15-45, with (n=136) and without (n=169) PIH were recruited. We genotyped four polymorphisms in the GCM1 gene and examined the association with PIH using both logistic regression and likelihood expectation maximization (LEM) to adjust for intra-familial correlation between genotypes.

Perinatal depressive symptoms in HIV-infected versus HIV-uninfected women: a prospective study from preconception to postpartum.

Objective: Depression is common among HIV-infected women, predicts treatment nonadherence, and consequently may impact vertical transmission of HIV. We report findings from a study evaluating preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum depressive symptoms in HIV-infected vs. at-risk, HIV-uninfected women.

Bacillus cereus G9241 makes anthrax toxin and capsule like highly virulent B. anthracis Ames but behaves like attenuated toxigenic nonencapsulated B. anthracis Sterne in rabbits and mice.

Bacillus cereus G9241 was isolated from a welder with a pulmonary anthrax-like illness. The organism contains two megaplasmids, pBCXO1 and pBC218. These plasmids are analogous to the Bacillus anthracis Ames plasmids pXO1 and pXO2 that encode anthrax toxins and capsule, respectively.

A transient placental source of serotonin for the fetal forebrain.

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT) is thought to regulate neurodevelopmental processes through maternal-fetal interactions that have long-term mental health implications. It is thought that beyond fetal 5-HT neurons there are significant maternal contributions to fetal 5-HT during pregnancy but this has not been tested empirically. To examine putative central and peripheral sources of embryonic brain 5-HT, we used Pet1(-/-) (also called Fev) mice in which most dorsal raphe neurons lack 5-HT.

The proteomics of quiescent and nonquiescent cell differentiation in yeast stationary-phase cultures.

As yeast cultures enter stationary phase in rich, glucose-based medium, differentiation of two major subpopulations of cells, termed quiescent and nonquiescent, is observed. Differences in mRNA abundance between exponentially growing and stationary-phase cultures and quiescent and nonquiescent cells are known, but little was known about protein abundance in these cells. To measure protein abundance in exponential and stationary-phase cultures, the yeast GFP-fusion library (4159 strains) was examined during exponential and stationary phases, using high-throughput flow cytometry (HyperCyt).

Effects of polymer-coated urea on nitrate leaching and nitrogen uptake by potato.

Increasing groundwater nitrate concentrations in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production regions have prompted the need to identify alternative nitrogen management practices. A new type of polymer-coated urea (PCU) called Environmentally Smart Nitrogen (Agrium, Inc.

Temporal production of the two Bacillus anthracis siderophores, petrobactin and bacillibactin.

Bacillus anthracis secretes two siderophores, petrobactin (PB) and bacillibactin (BB). These siderophores were temporally produced during germination and outgrowth of spores (the usual infectious form of B. anthracis) in low-iron medium.

Analysis of the pan genome of Campylobacter jejuni isolates recovered from poultry by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and repetitive sequence polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) reveals different discriminatory capabilities.

Campylobacter jejuni is one of the leading bacterial causes of food-borne illness in the USA. Molecular typing methods are often used in food safety for identifying sources of infection and pathways of transmission. Moreover, the identification of genetically related isolates (i.

Genomic analyses of sex chromosome evolution.

Sex chromosomes have evolved multiple times in many taxa. The recent explosion in the availability of whole genome sequences from a variety of organisms makes it possible to investigate sex chromosome evolution within and across genomes. Comparative genomic studies have shown that quite distant species may share fundamental properties of sex chromosome evolution, while very similar species can evolve unique sex chromosome systems.

Maternal and fetal variants in the TGF-beta3 gene and risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension in a predominantly Latino population.

Objective: We sought to determine whether polymorphisms in the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta3 gene are associated with risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) in case-control mother-baby dyads.

Study Design: Patients (n = 136) and control subjects (n = 169) were recruited from our hospital. We genotyped 4 TGF-beta3 polymorphisms and examined association with PIH using logistic regression, adjusting for parity, maternal age, gestational age at delivery, fetal (or maternal) genotypes for the polymorphism in question, and the 3 other polymorphisms within the TGF-beta3 gene.

Evolution and survival on eutherian sex chromosomes.

Since the two eutherian sex chromosomes diverged from an ancestral autosomal pair, the X has remained relatively gene-rich, while the Y has lost most of its genes through the accumulation of deleterious mutations in nonrecombining regions. Presently, it is unclear what is distinctive about genes that remain on the Y chromosome, when the sex chromosomes acquired their unique evolutionary rates, and whether X-Y gene divergence paralleled that of paralogs located on autosomes. To tackle these questions, here we juxtaposed the evolution of X and Y homologous genes (gametologs) in eutherian mammals with their autosomal orthologs in marsupial and monotreme mammals.

Critical analysis of caregiver perceptions regarding gastrostomy tube placement.

Background: Gastrostomy tubes (GT) are often required to safely provide nutrition in children with feeding disorders and aspiration risk. The need for a GT brings with it known risks, complications, and benefits, but caregivers may have unspoken concerns and expectations. The present study was done to assess caregiver concerns, expectations, and satisfaction with GT placement in children.

Breastfeeding and contraception use among women with unplanned pregnancies less than 2 years after delivery.

Objective: To examine breastfeeding and contraceptive use after the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM) criteria were no longer met.

Methods: Two hundred and thirty-three parous Egyptian women with unplanned pregnancies less than 2 years after delivery completed a questionnaire examining breastfeeding practice and contraceptive use.

Results: The majority of women (81.

Likelihood ratio tests for maternal and fetal genetic effects on obstetric complications.

It is well recognized that both maternal and fetal genes could contribute to susceptibility for obstetric complications. Logistic regression models are usually adopted to model the separate or joint action of maternal and fetal loci with case-control data. The standard likelihood ratio tests (LRTs) can be used to test the significance of appropriate odds ratio parameters.

Testing Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium using mother-child case-control samples.

Genetic association studies of obstetric complications may genotype case and control mothers, or their respective newborns, or both case-control mothers and their children. The relatively high prevalence of many obstetric complications and the availability of both maternal and offspring's genotype data have provided motivation to study new methods for testing for deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). We propose four novel test statistics, each of which uses a different type of data as follows: (1) a test using maternal case-control genotype data, (2) a test using offspring genotype data, (3) a combination of the first and second tests, and (4) a test based on the joint classification of case-control maternal-child genotype data.

Follicular development in a 7-day versus 4-day hormone-free interval with an oral contraceptive containing 20 mcg ethinyl estradiol and 1 mg norethindrone acetate.

Background: Combined oral contraceptive (COC) formulations with 20 mcg ethinyl estradiol (EE) have a greater incidence of ovarian hormone production and follicular development, which can be managed by shortening the number of hormone-free days per COC cycle. This study evaluates differences in follicular development during a 7-day versus 4-day hormone-free interval in a COC regimen with 20 mcg EE and 1 mg norethindrone acetate.

Study Design: Forty-one healthy women were randomized in an open-label fashion to this formulation in either a 24/4 or a 21/7 day regimen for three cycles.

Gene-centric metagenomics of the fiber-adherent bovine rumen microbiome reveals forage specific glycoside hydrolases.

The complex microbiome of the rumen functions as an effective system for the conversion of plant cell wall biomass to microbial protein, short chain fatty acids, and gases. As such, it provides a unique genetic resource for plant cell wall degrading microbial enzymes that could be used in the production of biofuels. The rumen and gastrointestinal tract harbor a dense and complex microbiome.

Quantitative detection of EP3-II, III and VI messenger RNA in gravid and non-gravid human myometrium using real-time RT-PCR.

Objective: To examine mRNA expression of prostaglandin E2 receptor isoforms EP3-II, III and VI in lower uterine segment myometrium in the non-pregnant and pregnant state using quantitative real-time RT-PCR.

Methods: Myometrial samples were obtained at the time of cesarean delivery or hysterectomy. Pregnant subjects were categorised based on the presence or absence of labour.

High prevalence of severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and hyperemesis gravidarum among relatives of affected individuals.

Objective: The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy/hyperemesis gravidarum among relatives of affected individuals.

Study Design: Family history data were obtained on 1224 self-reported cases of hyperemesis gravidarum. Cases completed an online survey administered by the Hyperemesis Education and Research Foundation between 2003 and 2006.

Comparative metagenomics reveals host specific metavirulomes and horizontal gene transfer elements in the chicken cecum microbiome.

Background: The complex microbiome of the ceca of chickens plays an important role in nutrient utilization, growth and well-being of these animals. Since we have a very limited understanding of the capabilities of most species present in the cecum, we investigated the role of the microbiome by comparative analyses of both the microbial community structure and functional gene content using random sample pyrosequencing. The overall goal of this study was to characterize the chicken cecal microbiome using a pathogen-free chicken and one that had been challenged with Campylobacter jejuni.

Cellulosome gene cluster analysis for gauging the diversity of the ruminal cellulolytic bacterium Ruminococcus flavefaciens.

Ruminococcus flavefaciens is a vital cellulosome-producing fibrolytic rumen bacterium. The arrangement of the cellulosomal scaffoldin gene cluster (scaC-scaA-scaB-cttA-scaE) is conserved in two R. flavefaciens strains (17 and FD-1).

Pregnancy outcomes during an era of aggressive management for intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.

Our objective was to examine whether delivery at 37 weeks of gestation alters adverse pregnancy outcomes in Latina patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP). We conducted a retrospective chart review of Latina patients who delivered at our institution coded with ICP between 2000 and 2007. During this time period it was our practice to offer delivery to patients with ICP at 37 weeks of gestation.

Transactivation of the EGFR by AP-1 is induced by Helicobacter pylori in gastric cancer.

Background: Helicobacter pylori infection of the gastric mucosa is strongly associated with gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric cancer. However, the mechanisms by which H. pylori causes cancer are currently unknown.