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Genetics

Data On Thousands Of Twins Reveals How Genetics Influences Covid-19 Symptoms – IFLScience

Taking a deep look at data on thousands of twins has shown how some Covid-19 symptoms might be more influenced by our genetics than others.

Researchers at Kings College London analyzed data on 2,633 identical and fraternal twins who have been using their Covid-19 Symptom Tracker app, which also includes the data of 2.7 million other users.The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, can be found on the preprint server medRxiv.

Their preliminary findings suggest that genetic factors could be responsible for about 50 percent of the differences between peoples symptoms of Covid-19, the list of which seems to be ever-growing.The development of some key Covid-19 symptoms, such as fever, fatigue, shortness of breath, diarrhea, and the loss of taste and smell, appear to be strongly influenced by genes. On the other hand, environmental factors appear to explain the development of symptoms such as a hoarse voice, cough, chest pain, and abdominal pain. Thispotentially explains why the virus appears to impact some people severely while others experience relatively mild or no symptoms.

The Covid-19 Symptom Tracker app asks people in the UK on a daily basis about the presence or absence of common symptoms. You can check out the latest figures from the app on itsinteractive map.The +2,600 twins using the app were recruited from TwinsUK, one of the most detailed research projects on twins in the world. Together, this information was used to see whether typical symptoms of a likely COVID-19 infection were more or less common in identical twins (who share 100 percent of their genes) compared with non-identical twins (who share 50 percent of their genes,just like regular full siblings).

The idea was to basically look at the similarities in symptoms or non-symptoms between the identical twins, who share 100 percent of their genes, and the non-identical twins, who only share half of their genes, Professor Tim Spector, a genetic epidemiologist at Kings College London, toldThe Guardian.This disease is very weird, the way it has a very different presentation in the population in different people what we are showing is that [it] isnt random. It is not mainly due to where you live or who you have seen; a lot of it is something innate about you."

There are some drawbacks to the research, namely because all the results are based on self-reporting, which means a fair amount of subjectivity might sneak into the results. Nevertheless, the unique project offers a rare opportunity for scientists to study large amounts of data on Covid-19 from people who have not sought out medical attention.

Our twins are fantastically committed, enthusiastic health research participants who have already been studied in unprecedented detail, putting us in a unique position to provide vital answers to support the global fight against Covid-19, Professor Spector said in a statement.

The more of the public that also use the app, the better the real-time data we will have to combat the outbreak.

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Data On Thousands Of Twins Reveals How Genetics Influences Covid-19 Symptoms - IFLScience

Genetics

DNA data from genetics tests to be used on Covid-19 symptoms research – Express

Tens of thousands of patients who bought self-testing kits from 23andMe have agreed to document their experience with the disease.The experiment is being carried out in aid to have further understanding why some patients suffer more sever symptoms than others.

The kits were initially bought with the purpose of finding out more about the persons family history, or if they had a genetic propensity to conditions from baldness to diabetes, or even Alzheimer's.

Over the years, 23andMe has accumulated a information of more than 10 million genetic profiles, and claims that 80 percent of its customers have agreed to the use of that data, once anonymised, for research.

Earlier this year 23andMe disclosed that it had sold the rights to an anti-inflammatory drug that it had developed using consumer data to the Spanish pharmaceutical firm Almirall.

The comprehensive questionnaire hopes will eventually have hundreds of thousands of entries.

The survey to assist the creation of a coronavirus treatment by identifying which genes may contribute to worsening its symptoms.

Adam Auton, 23andMes Principal Scientist leading efforts on its coronavirus research, said: We need to develop therapeutics to help treat this disease,

We are trying to contribute to the basic research that will move the scientific field forward... making it available to the scientific community at large and that will include pharma, including our partners as well.

Mr Auton claims the surveys findings should be ready by the summer.

The results of the research will be freely available to access.

READ MORE:How Google 3D Animals combat coronavirus lockdown loneliness

There is no guarantee that a clear genetic link will be found, but any clues may help in treatment probes.

There really is tremendous value in being able to use genetic information to help understand why diseases take the courses that they do, and present opportunities to intervene and prevent people some getting very sick, says Mr Auton.

The study asks 23andMe customers to fill in a questionnaire that includes questions like whether they've had flu or COVID-like symptoms? Have they had a test? Was that test positive?

If it was positive, how were they, and what were their symptoms? Did they seek medical attention, were they hospitalised?

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Those who complete the survey are also given the opportunity to describe the experiences of consenting relatives.

Mr Auton said: By using this kind of survey type approach we hope we're able to collect data from quite large numbers of individuals, which is really kind of the necessary requirement for these types of genetic studies.

There is, he says, a reasonably short list of genetic suspects which the research will analyse to see if they influence the diseases progress.

Generally, a part of the genome known as the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system is considered relevant as it establishes how the immune system responds to infections.

Immune response is an important topic of research into coronavirus as an overactive reaction can complicate symptoms.

Another area of research is the gene known as ACE2, which produces a protein believed to be a principal route into human cells for coronaviruses.

That is something we will certainly be paying particular attention to, says Mr Auton.

In 2015, 23andMe introduced a therapeutics divisions in a bid to capitalise on drug research through its genetic data and in 2018 signed a $300m deal with GSK to refine the UK pharma firms drug development targets.

Earlier this year GSKs CEO Emma Walmsley said that the first such target selected using 23andMe would be recommended for clinical tests by the end of this year.

Frankly, developing novel medicines and novel therapies is very, very difficult and requires huge numbers of people working for many many years on reasonably uncertain projects, says Mr Auton.

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DNA data from genetics tests to be used on Covid-19 symptoms research - Express

Genetics

Genetic scientists map spread of Covid-19 in New Zealand – RNZ

Genetic scientists mapping the spread of Covid-19 say that as few as 35 cases may have led to the outbreak here.

A 3D model of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Photo: Supplied

ESR (Institute of Environmental Science and Research) has been analysing virus samples to try to build a comprehensive picture of how it has spread through the country - and how it has mutated along the way.

The scientists' ultimate goal is to genetically map every single case, which could provide invaluable insights in the fight against the disease.

New Zealand's first Covid-19 case was reported on 28 February - a person in their 60s who had arrived from Iran.

Just one month later, the entire country was in lockdown, with the borders shut tight and all but essential services forced to close.

ESR's head of bioinformatics, Joep de Ligt, said the genomic sequencing that has been carried out so far indicates the outbreak was generated by remarkably few cases.

"At the moment there's at least 35 unique introductions. They've come from all over the world, so we've seen them from Europe, from Iran, from North America," he said.

"This is consistent with what other countries have seen - it was these international travellers who have brought it in during that narrow window before the borders have closed."

The scientists look at Covid-19 samples and, due to tiny mutations that occur as the virus spreads, they are able to trace the chain of transmission and determine their origin.

"It's a bit like Where's Wally? Or Spot the Difference, where you have the picture from the original virus and you compare that [with the picture from new cases] and look for the difference."

Their ultimate goal is to analyse every single case here.

So far they have sequenced 125 samples from the 623 cases that have been sent to ESR.

Dr Jemma Geoghegan from the University of Otago's Department of Microbiology and Immunology has been analysing and interpreting the data.

She said the low number of infected people puts scientists in a good position to build a complete picture of the virus in this country.

"We're in a really unique position to be able to do that. It will provide us with a really amazing data set to help us understand how the virus spread here, what happened when we closed our borders, what happened when we went into level 4 lockdown, for example, and as we begin to lift those lockdown restrictions, what happens to transmission of the virus."

Infectious diseases expert Professor David Murdoch said understanding the genetics of the virus was a hugely helpful supplement to more traditional contact tracing, which could rely on assumptions and people's memories.

"Most of the information we get about identifying the source and how the transmission chain has occurred is through interviews and finding out what people have done and the contacts they've had," he said.

"That's obviously very useful but the genetic material as well gives a different and in many ways much finer detail about the specific strain that people have - where the transmission chain has come from, where the virus may have been imported from and who has had contact with who."

Scientists have obtained the DNA sequence from the first confirmed Covid-19 case and so far there is no evidence to suggest the virus was here before 28 February.

Read more about the Covid-19 coronavirus:

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Genetic scientists map spread of Covid-19 in New Zealand - RNZ

Genetics

Genetic testing helps find cancer possibilities: Waco nurse dealt with breast cancer caused by mutation – Waco Tribune-Herald

Shawnna Latino had few concerns as she awaited the results of her biopsy for breast cancer in 2015. After all, she was a registered nurse who understood the ramifications of the disease, and she had done all the right things regular self-examinations and never-missed yearly mammograms.

So when a mammogram detected calcifications in one of her breasts, she thought they were simple benign calcium deposits.

When the results came back from the biopsy, I was shocked, she said. She had tested positive for breast cancer.

The diagnosis was particularly troubling because of Shawnnas family medical history, which is fraught with cancer. Her mother at age 70 had been diagnosed with breast cancer just eight months before her daughters test results.

At the same time, Shawnnas brother was battling aggressive prostate cancer, which eventually took his life. Their maternal grandmother had died of cancer, as had the grandmothers five sisters. A maternal aunt had died of pancreatic cancer, and her daughter, Shawnnas cousin, was diagnosed with the same disease soon afterward.

Shawnna Latino with her mom, Dietra Dede Lucas (left), and her daughter, Bailee Norris, during Shawnnas chemo and radiation treatment.

When Shawnna consulted with her oncologist, Dr. Thomas J. Harris at Texas Oncology in Waco, he wanted to conduct genetic testing, something that is done as needed at the oncology clinic.

She thought it unlikely that she might have a gene mutation, which can indicate a high risk of breast and ovarian cancer as well as other cancers. The mutation affects only a small percentage of the population.

However, once more, Shawnna found herself with a positive test result, this time for mutation of the BRCA-2 gene.

I never imagined it would be positive, she said.

They then tested her mother and discovered the same genetic problem. The women found out later that Shawnnas maternal cousin was in the same boat. She has the exact mutation that my mom and I have, she said.

Mutation

BRCA 1 & 2 are tumor suppressor genes that prevent uncontrolled cell growth and help keep normal cells from becoming cancerous. If either is mutated, a woman will have a 40-70% risk of having breast cancer and 27-44% chance of ovarian cancer during her lifetime.

In men, such mutations can result in male breast cancer (6% risk) or prostate cancer (20%). Both genders are also at risk for melanoma and pancreatic cancer.

Just as troubling, if not more so, is the fact that people of either gender with the mutation have a 50% chance of passing it to their children, which keeps the cancer cycle going throughout generations.

The last thing you want to do is pass it on to your child, Shawnna said. Her biggest fear was that her daughter, Bailee Norris, may have inherited the mutation. However, genetic testing showed that Bailee had not, a great relief to her mother.

Dr. Carlos Encarnacin, breast cancer and genetics specialist at Texas Oncology, said, Cancer is a genetic disease, but it is not always inherited.

Most cancers are sporadic, he said, caused by lifestyle choices like smoking or other unknown factors, but some develop through a mutated gene (like BRCA) inherited from either parent.

Dr. Carlos Encarnacin, a breast cancer and genetics specialist at Texas Oncology, says genetic testing has become an integral part of oncology.

The doctors at Texas Oncology treat all types of cancer using radiation and drugs, but they also work to identify cancer risks in a timely manner.

Our focus is early detection and prevention, Encarnacin said.

A person considered at high probability because of family history or other factors should have a risk assessment, starting with an interview and an estimation of risk. If testing is deemed necessary, a blood or saliva test can be done to see if theres a mutation. The price of testing has gone down dramatically, and insurance often covers the cost or at least part of it.

Importance

Is genetic counseling important for much of the population?

Absolutely, Encarnacin said. If a patient had cancer or has family history of cancer, he or she should have a risk evaluation and maybe genetic testing.

He suggests that people discuss this with their family doctor and be referred to a specialist if necessary. Its important that the counseling and testing be administered by those who are specifically trained for it.

Genetics has become an integral part of oncology, and it will keep changing over time, he said. Researchers found the first cancer-related gene, BRCA-1, in the mid-1990s, but new genes related to various types of cancer are being identified regularly.

Reduction of cancer risk in BRCA carriers can be achieved in a couple of ways, including hormone blocker pills or preventative mastectomies.

However, he said of the mastectomy, Not everyone with a BRCA mutation has to choose that. They may prefer an enhanced cancer surveillance program.

Women with BRCA mutations who do not intend to have more children should strongly consider having their ovaries removed to lessen their chance of a deadly ovarian cancer, Encarnacin said.

Decisions

For Shawnna, when she learned of her breast cancer and gene mutation, the choice was clear. Though the cancer was only in one breast, she said, I decided to have both removed and be done with it.

After surgery for the removal and reconstruction, she went through chemo and radiation treatments, continuing to work as a nurse every day except for Wednesdays, her treatment days.

I think that had a lot to do with my well-being, she said.

Genetic testing showed that Shawnna Latinos mom Dietra Dede Lucas also has a gene mutation, but her daughter Bailee Norris does not.

Later that year, she had a complete hysterectomy to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.

Because she has the BRCA mutation, she is screened each year for pancreatic cancer and also must be seen by a dermatologist once a year to check for melanoma.

In the meantime, Shawnna and her husband, dentist Chad Latino, and children Bailee, Aidan and Tristan are moving on with life by enjoying every day to the fullest. And, along with friends and business partners Scott and Michelle Irwin, they have begun a new enterprise.

The four of them will be keeping their current jobs but are planning to open a hatchet-throwing business whenever the current pandemic subsides. Stumpys Hatchet House, which is in a Waco historic building at 924 Austin Ave., was due to open before the coronavirus hit.

With a laugh, she says of the venture, It was kind of a coincidental thing. Sure, we said. We all have full-time jobs. Lets start a business!

Shawnna has a joyful attitude that is apparent. Of her cancer experiences, she said, There were so many blessings in that journey. I never asked why me? It was always why not me?

She considers genetic testing essential.

Its so important to know your health history and your family history, she said. It can save your life. Knowledge is power, and its very empowering to know about yourself.

As Shawnna found out, sharing your medical history with family is also highly important to alert others to possible inherited genetic mutations.

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Genetic testing helps find cancer possibilities: Waco nurse dealt with breast cancer caused by mutation - Waco Tribune-Herald

Genetics

Syphilis Alters Its Genetics to Evade the Immune System – SciTechDaily

A watercolor-like illustration of Treponema pallidum, the bacterium that causes syphilis. Credit: Alice C. Gray

By shuffling DNA in and out of one gene, syphilis stays a step ahead of the immune system to resist eradication.

The bacterium that causes syphilis, Treponema pallidum, likely uses a single gene to escape the immune system, research from UW Medicine in Seattle suggests.

The finding may help explain how syphilis can hide in the body for decades, thereby frustrating the immune systems attempts to eradicate it. It might also account for the bacteriums ability to re-infect people who had been previously been infected and should have acquired some immunity to it.

Although syphilis remains easily treated with penicillin, infection rates in the United States have increased steadily over the past two decades. The count rose to more than 115,000 new U.S. cases of the infection in 2018.

Worldwide there are an estimated 6 million new cases of syphilis among adults. The infection is responsible for an estimated 300,000 fetal and neonatal deaths annually.

However, despite its importance as a cause of disease, relatively little is known about the biology of Treponema pallidum.

One reason for this is that until recently it was impossible to grow it in a laboratory dish. As a consequence, many of the laboratory tools used to study other bacteria had not been developed for syphilis specifically.

In a new study, researchers compared the genomes of syphilis bacteria collected from a man who had been infected four times. He was enrolled in a UW Medicine study of spinal fluid abnormalities in individuals with syphilis conducted by Dr. Christina Marra, professor of neurolgy.

The samples were derived from his blood during two infections that occurred six years apart. Between those infections he had been infected and treated two additional times.

The researchers wanted to see if there were differences between the genomes of bacteria from the first and last infection. These differences might reveal how the genes of the bacteria had changed and how those changes might have enabled the bacteria to infect a person whose immune system had already seen and mounted an immune response to several different strains of syphilis.

Surprisingly, the researchers found that there were very few changes between the genomes from the two different samples except for one gene.

Across the about 1.1 million bases that make up the bacterias genome there were about 20 changes total. Thats very low, said Dr. Alex Greninger, assistant professor of laboratory medicine at the UW School of Medicine, who led the research project. But on this one gene, we saw hundreds of changes.

That gene, called Treponema pallidum repeat gene K (tprK), provides the instructions for the synthesis of a protein found on the surface of the bacterium. Proteins on the surface of a bacterium are typically more easily seen by immune cells and so are often prime targets for immune attack.

The study builds on decades of work from Drs. Sheila Lukehart and Arturo Centurion-Lara in the Department of Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

They first showed that TprK generated considerable diversity across seven discrete regions in which DNA sequences from elsewhere in the bacteriums genome could be swapped in and out. This process is called gene conversion.

Work in their lab demonstrated that bacterial cells with new tprK variants can evade the immune response to cause a persistent infection that can lead to the later stages of syphilis.

Amin Addetia, a research scientist in Greningers lab and lead author on the study, said it was as though the bacterium has a deck of cards in its genome from which it can draw and deal to these variable regions, essentially changing the proteins hand. These substitutions change the proteins appearance on the surface to allow it to elude the immune system.

Ive looked at a lot of bacterial genomes, Addetia said, and theyre a lot more interesting than the Treponemas, except for this one gene.It can generate an astounding number of diverse sequences within these variable regions without impairing the proteins ability to function.

Although bacteria, viruses and parasites may have many proteins on their surfaces that the immune system could detect and attack, in many cases only one protein seems to attract most of the attention. Such proteins are called immunodominant.

They may protect the bacterium by catching the immune systems attention, Greninger said. The protein acts like a distraction that draws the immune system away from proteins that might be the bacteriums Achilles heel. More work will be required to determine if this is the case in TprK.

Greninger said he hoped the findings might help researchers develop vaccines that allow the immune system either to attack TprK more effectively or to ignore TprK and target other, less variable syphilis proteins.

###

Reference: Comparative Genomics and Full-Length TprK Profiling of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum Reinfection by Amin Addetia, Lauren C. Tantalo, Michelle J. Lin, Hong Xie, Meei-Li Huang, Christina M. Marra, Alexander L. Greninger, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007921

Originally posted here:
Syphilis Alters Its Genetics to Evade the Immune System - SciTechDaily

Genetics

How to find Genetic Heritage Instagram filter? Here is how to use the fun filter – Republic World – Republic World

People are spending their time in the coronavirus quarantine either by doing something at their homes or by sitting and exploring social media. There are many Instagram filters that are available on the app that people use in order to have fun and pass their time. These effects notonly entertain but also help in uplifting the moods of people.

(Source: Instagram Explore Page)

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One of the most recently trending Instagram filters that people are keenly enjoying is the one that tells you about your Genetic Heritage. The name of the filter is 'Genetics Scanner'. It is made by Instagram user @iamcraiglewis2.

The Genetic Heritage filter is a funny Instagram filter. When one applies the filter, their face is shown to be getting scanned from top to bottom. And then at the end, the person is said to be any kind of a funny reptile or animal as the animation stretches out and also makes one's face in the shape of that animal.

A post shared by Craig Lewis (@iamcraiglewis2) on Apr 28, 2020 at 1:48am PDT

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One can go on Instagram's story camera and select the 'Browse Effects' section. The next step is to search for the filter 'Genetics Scanner' on the Effects gallery. The filter option comes up and one can select it and use it.

A post shared by (Molly) (@iheartmills_) on Apr 28, 2020 at 12:06pm PDT

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How to find Genetic Heritage Instagram filter? Here is how to use the fun filter - Republic World - Republic World

Physiology

Virus-Infected Bees More Likely to Access Healthy Hives – Lab Manager Magazine

Entomology professor Adam Dolezal and his colleagues found that infection with the Israeli acute paralysis virus increases the likelihood that infected bees are accepted by foreign colonies.

Fred Zwicky

CHAMPAIGN, IL Honey bees that guard hive entrances are twice as likely to allow in trespassers from other hives if the intruders are infected with the Israeli acute paralysis virus, a deadly pathogen of bees, researchers report.

Their new study, reported in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, strongly suggests that IAPV infection alters honey bees' behavior and physiology in ways that boost the virus's ability to spread, the researchers say.

"The most important finding of our study is that IAPV infection increases the likelihood that infected bees are accepted by foreign colonies," said Adam Dolezal, a professor of entomology at the University of Illinois (U of I) at Urbana-Champaign who led the new research. "Somehow, the infected bees are able to circumvent the guards of foreign colonies, which they shouldn't be able to do."

Previous studies have shown that IAPV-infected honey bees are more likely than healthy bees to lose their way when returning home from foraging trips. In commercial beekeeping operations where hives are stacked much closer together than in the wild, the virus is even more likely to spread from one infected colony to nearby healthy ones.

To capture the behavior of individual bees, researchers tagged each one with the equivalent of a QR code and continuously monitored their interactions. The scientists were able to simultaneously track the behaviors of as many as 900 bees.

Researchers tagged each honey bee with the equivalent of a QR code and used an automated system to study trophallaxis, a process by which the bees exchange regurgitated food and other liquids. The system allowed them to track how infection with IAPV affected the bees' trophallaxis social network.

Tim Gernat

In previous work, study co-author U of I entomologist Gene Robinson and his colleagues developed this automated system to study bees engaged in trophallaxis, a process by which honey bees exchange regurgitated food and other liquids. They used this system to study how IAPV infection might affect the bees' trophallaxis social network.

"Honey bees use trophallaxis to share food with each other as well as hormones and other signaling molecules that can affect their physiology and behavior. They do it in pairs by touching their mouthparts and antennae, and each bee does this with hundreds of partners a day," said Robinson, who directs the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at Illinois. "Trophallaxis is essential to the spread of information and nutrition throughout the hive, but unfortunately, a behavior performed with such close social contact also allows viral infections to be transmitted through a hive."

In the new study, the scientists saw that honey bees altered their behavior in response to infection in their own hives. IAPV-infected beesand bees that had had their immune systems stimulated to mimic infectionengaged in less trophallaxis than their healthy counterparts did.

The infected bees were just as mobile as the other bees, so their lower rates of trophallaxis were not the result of sluggishness from being sick, Dolezal said. The researchers believe this change in behavior is a general response to a health threat and not specific to IAPV infection, which is in line with previous research.

Honey bees touch their mouthparts and antennae together to share food and information, but the practice also can transmit viruses.

Fred Zwicky

When the scientists placed honey bee workers at the entrance of a foreign hive, however, the infected bees engaged in more trophallaxis with the guards, the researchers found. The guards were more likely to admit them than to let in healthy bees or bees whose immune systems had been stimulated. This response was specific to IAPV infection.

"Something about them must be different," Dolezal said.

To test whether the IAPV-infected bees were giving off a different chemical odor than their healthy nest mates, the researchers analyzed the chemistry of the hydrocarbons that coat the bees' exoskeletons. They discovered distinct hydrocarbon profiles for healthy bees, IAPV-infected bees and immunostimulated bees.

"It seems that the virus is changing how the bees smell, and perhaps the infected bees also are behaving in a way that is meant to appease the guards by engaging more in trophallaxus," Dolezal said.

The new findings suggest that IAPV is evolving in ways that enhance its ability to infect as many hosts as possible, Dolezal said.

"If you're a virus, it's much more valuable to get transmitted to a new family group, like traveling from one city to a new city," he said. "And so how do you get there? You increase the chances that the sick bees leaving colony A are more likely to get into colony B."

- This press release was originally published on theIllinois News Bureau website

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Virus-Infected Bees More Likely to Access Healthy Hives - Lab Manager Magazine

Physiology

Study: Protein known to expand blood vessels works differently in males and females – News-Medical.Net

A protein known to expand blood vessels -- key to controlling conditions like high blood pressure -- actually has different functions in males and females, new UC Davis Health research shows.

Conducted using arterial cells from mice, the study is the first to identify sex-based distinctions in how the protein --Kv2.1 -- works.

Kv2.1 is generally known to form calcium channels that dilate blood vessels. In arterial cells from female mice, however, it contracted blood vessels.

The research was led by Luis Fernando Santana, professor and chair of physiology and membrane biology, and graduate student Samantha O'Dwyer. It is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"We were shocked at the difference and the strength of that difference," Santana said. "We think we've found the physiological explanation for what some of our clinical colleagues are seeing in patients ? some high blood pressure medications tend to work better for men, while others work better for women."

Santana and his team study calcium channels, their effects on heart muscle cells and how to alter that process to improve treatments for cardiovascular disease. They are especially interested in finding new treatments for hypertension, because it affects 45% of adults in the U.S. and is linked with serious conditions such as stroke, heart failure and aneurysm.

The current study focused on how Kv2.1 changes calcium channel organization and function. The investigators found that Kv2.1 promotes tight clustering of calcium channels. Kv2.1 expression is higher in cells from female mice, leading to larger clusters. This caused higher calcium levels in arterial cells and vasoconstriction. In arterial cells from male mice, Kv2.1 expression was not as high and calcium channel clusters were much smaller, causing vasodilation.

"This difference can only be attributed to the sex of the research mice," Santana said.

The next step, Santana said, is to determine what causes the different roles of Kv2.1. He plans to investigate the potential that sex hormones regulate the protein in arterial cells. His ultimate goal is tailored treatment strategies for hypertension for men and women.

"Until recently, the research community only used male mice to investigate heart disease," Santana said. "Our study proves what a major oversight that has been."

Other researchers on the study were Stephanie Palacio, Collin Matsumoto, Laura Guarina, Nicholas Klug, Sendoa Tajada, Barbara Rosati, David McKinnon and James Trimmer, all of UC Davis. Rosati also is affiliated with the State University of New York.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (grant numbers 5R01HL085686, 1R01HL144071, 1OT2OD026580 and T32HL086350) and the American Heart Association.

"Kv2.1 Channels Play Opposing Roles in Regulating Membrane Potential, Ca2+ Channel Function, and Myogenic Tone in Arterial Smooth Muscle" is available online.

Source:

Journal reference:

ODwyer, S. C., et al. (2020) Kv2.1 channels play opposing roles in regulating membrane potential, Ca2+ channel function, and myogenic tone in arterial smooth muscle. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1917879117.

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Study: Protein known to expand blood vessels works differently in males and females - News-Medical.Net

Embryology

Letter: Response to the Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson – Rockford Register Star

TuesdayApr28,2020at7:15PM

The Register Star ran an interesting editorial by The Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson. His article is titled "Everyone is worthy of care and inclusion." Johnson is "pro-choice" when it comes to the brutal and vicious dismembering of children in the womb. What he fails to realize, as most abortion supporters fail to realize, is that when they say it should be a legal "choice" to kill a beautiful living little girl or boy in the womb, they are also saying not all people are worthy of care even though science, embryology, 3D and 4D ultrasound technology, theology, human reason and basic decency prove abortion is the killing of a member of our human family.

Johnson says government decisions in regards to reopening the economy should be "guided by justice, compassion, and concern for human dignity." Every abortion is the murder of a child who is a full member of our human family. Abortion destroys justice, compassion and the human dignity of all involved in the act of killing a baby.

Johnson wrote "we cannot and should not have second-class citizenship for anyone." The crushing of the skull and stopping of the beating heart of a person in the womb is a crime against life and the basic human rights of a person in the womb.

He closes his article with, "Everyone is worthy of care and inclusion. No exceptions." He is right, we should have no exceptions to love and respect for all people. We must end the unjust and barbaric legal killing of our preborn sisters and brothers in the womb.

Kevin Rilott, Rockford

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Letter: Response to the Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson - Rockford Register Star

Embryology

Coronavirus-hit mum gives birth to magic IVF baby six weeks premature in a hospital bereavement room – The Sun

A MUM battling coronavirus has given birth to a "magic" IVF baby six weeks premature in a hospital bereavement room.

Claire Trusson, 37, fell pregnant after having IVF treatment following two years of struggling to start a family with husband Murray Mitchell, 33.

Just weeks before Claire was due, she started to experience cold-like symptoms which soon developed into a persistent cough.

She went into isolation, until she started experiencing contractions and was rushed to St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, near Sutton in South-West London.

While in hospital, medics had to put her in the most isolated room on the ward to keep her away from all others - which turned out to be the bereavement delivery room.

Claire went home and a day later tested positive for the virus - but found herself back in the bereavement suite just a week later on March 30 to safely give birth to baby Jake.

In the scheme of things, I am super lucky - I'm well, he's well and really it's amazing

The first-time mum said giving birth six weeks early while suffering from the virus was stressful, and she didn't expect to give birth in the bereavement room.

Claire said: "I found out this week that that's the bereavement room - that's where they put families with their stillborn babies so they can have some time with them.

"They have a memorial clock on the wall, and because I was timing my contractions when I was first in there, I spent a lot of time staring at that clock."

But she added that she was "really grateful" to have given birth to baby Jake and avoid "another six weeks of anxiety of what giving birth would look like".

She added: "In the scheme of things, I am super lucky - I'm well, he's well and really it's amazing."

What is IVF Treatment?

After struggling to conceive for two years, Claire and her husband received IVF on the NHS and a single egg was implanted in August 2019.

IVF is one of the most successful fertility treatments, and has given birth to 8 million babies worldwide.

The success rate is dependent on multiple factors, and range from 7 per cent to 29 per cent, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

But despite her joy at having baby Jake, Claire is still concerned about passing the virus onto him due to a lack of face masks.

On the way home from hospital, Jake met his grandmother Angela and uncle David through the car window.

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She added: "Every little sneeze and every little cough and every little cry, I jump on him like, 'oh god, you've got coronavirus.'

"It sounds really reckless, but it's really hard to look after a baby and them not see your face - and I didn't really have any face masks."

"I'm just trying not to breathe on him."

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Coronavirus-hit mum gives birth to magic IVF baby six weeks premature in a hospital bereavement room - The Sun