1,720,978 research outputs found
Investigating the Association Between HERV-K Autoantibodies and Neurodegeneration in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Molecular and Clinical Approach
Full text linkAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that affects about 400,000 people worldwide. Despite decades of intensive research, the cause of ALS remains widely unknown. Several studies documented the connection between Human Endogenous Retrovirus K (HERV-K) and the development of ALS.
Given the recent findings and emerging scientific evidence that reinforces this correlation, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the autoantibodies (AAbs) against the HERV-K envelope and the pathogenesis and progression of ALS. Our study gave particular attention to the humoral response toward the most immunogenic epitopes of the envelope protein.
Additionally, since microRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in regulating gene expression, our study investigated their potential involvement in ALS. Although miRNAs dysregulation has been previously associated with ALS, understanding of its potential impact on HERV-K transcriptional levels is still limited. By delving deeper into these topics, our project aimed to contribute to the development of new strategies for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of ALS.
During my doctoral research, I had the opportunity to work on a project pertaining to the role of the humoral response against NL-63, HERVs, and Interferons in SARS-CoV-2 patients. The study was conducted during the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Its purpose was to better understand the reasons for the extremely diverse immune responses observed in the population through the detection of antibodies (Abs) that could cross-react with SARS-CoV-2 antigens or predict a more severe form of the disease.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that affects about 400,000 people worldwide. Despite decades of intensive research, the cause of ALS remains widely unknown. Several studies documented the connection between Human Endogenous Retrovirus K (HERV-K) and the development of ALS.
Given the recent findings and emerging scientific evidence that reinforces this correlation, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the autoantibodies (AAbs) against the HERV-K envelope and the pathogenesis and progression of ALS. Our study gave particular attention to the humoral response toward the most immunogenic epitopes of the envelope protein.
Additionally, since microRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in regulating gene expression, our study investigated their potential involvement in ALS. Although miRNAs dysregulation has been previously associated with ALS, understanding of its potential impact on HERV-K transcriptional levels is still limited. By delving deeper into these topics, our project aimed to contribute to the development of new strategies for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of ALS.
During my doctoral research, I had the opportunity to work on a project pertaining to the role of the humoral response against NL-63, HERVs, and Interferons in SARS-CoV-2 patients. The study was conducted during the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Its purpose was to better understand the reasons for the extremely diverse immune responses observed in the population through the detection of antibodies (Abs) that could cross-react with SARS-CoV-2 antigens or predict a more severe form of the disease
Unveiling the impact of simulated microgravity on HSV-1 infection, neuroinflammation, and endogenous retroviral activation in SH-SY5Y cells
No full textMicrogravity (μg) during spaceflight affects cellular and molecular functions of both human cells and microbial pathogens, influencing viral replication and the host immune system. This study aimed to investigate the effects of simulated μg on Herpes Simplex Virus-1 (HSV-1) replication, host pro-inflammatory cytokine, and human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) activation in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Our results show that μg has a negative impact on HSV-1 replication, leading to significantly reduced viral titers and lower expression levels of HSV-1 early genes (ICP0, ICP4, and ICP27) compared to 1 gravity (1 g) conditions. Interestingly, despite lower viral titers and HSV-1 gene expressions under μg condition, we observed higher levels of HERVs and pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression. In addition, there was a significant correlation between HSV-1 immediate-early genes with HERVs and pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression, with stronger correlations observed under μg conditions. Taken together, μg reduces HSV-1 replication and increases host pro-inflammatory and HERVs gene expression, which demands further investigation for human health protection in space
Upregulation of microRNAs correlates with downregulation of HERV-K expression in Parkinson’s disease
No full textHuman endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) involvement in neurological diseases has been extensively documented, although the etiology of HERV reactivation remains unclear. MicroRNAs represent one of the potential regulatory mechanisms of HERV reactivation. We identified fourteen microRNAs predicted to bind the HERV-K transcript, and subsequently analyzed for their gene expression levels alongside those of HERV-K. We documented an increased expression of four microRNAs in patients with Parkinson’s disease compared to healthy controls, which correlated with a downregulation of HERV-K transcripts. We hypothesize that specific microRNAs may bind to HERV-K transcripts, leading to its downregulation
Transcriptional Upregulation of HERV-env Genes Under Simulated Microgravity
No full textHuman endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) constitute about 8% of the human genome. The overexpression of HERVs has been detected in various inflammatory disorders like neuro-inflammation disorders and cancer. Interestingly, it has been reported that stress conditions facilitate HERV expression. Space travel exposes astronauts to microgravity environments (a stress condition), which may result in the activation of HERVs and might influence pathogenic outcomes during and after space flight. This study aimed to elucidate the transcriptional activity of three HERV families (W, K, and H) and cytokine genes (IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α) in different cell lines under microgravity (μg) conditions and compare them with the results obtained under normal gravity (ng; 1g). We evaluated the expression of HERVs (HERV-K env, HERV-K gag, HERV-W env, and HERV-H env) and cytokine gene expression (IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α) in neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y), HEp-2, and Caco-2 cell lines under simulated μg and 1g conditions. In SH-SY5Y cells, the expression level of the IL-1, IL-6, HERV-H env, HERV-K env, HERV-K gag, and HERV-W env genes was significantly increased when exposed to short-term μg (3 and 6 h). The expression of TNF-α remained unchanged throughout all time points. Additionally, in Caco-2 cells, the expression of the HERV-K env, HERV-K gag, and IL-1 genes was significantly higher after 6 h of incubation in μg conditions compared to 1g. There was no statistically significant difference in the expression levels of the HERV-W env, HERV-H env, IL6, and TNF-α genes between the μg and 1g conditions. Moreover, in HEp-2 cells, the expression of the IL-1, IL6, TNF-α, HERV-H env, HERV-K env, HERV-K gag, and HERV-W env genes significantly increased following short-term incubation in μg (3 h, 6 h) and then decreased to levels comparable to those observed in the 1g condition. Taken together, the dysregulation of cytokine and HERV gene expression was observed under the simulated μg condition. The patterns of these dysregulations varied throughout cell lines, which demands further investigation for human health protection in space
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Bisphenols induce human genomic damage and modulate HERVs/env expression
No full textBisphenol A (BPA), a recognized endocrine‐disrupting chemical, is used in the production of epoxy and polycarbonate resins. Since human exposure to BPA has been associated with increased cancer susceptibility, the market has shifted to products often labeled as “BPA free” containing BPA analogs such as bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol S (BPS). However, the European legislation on BPF and BPS is still unclear. This study analyzed the effects of BPA, BPF, and BPS exposure on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells by using in vitro micronucleus assay. Furthermore, it investigated the impact of bisphenols exposure on human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) expression, which is implicated with the pathogenesis of several human diseases. The micronucleus assay revealed a significant genotoxic effect in peripheral blood cells after exposure to BPA and BPF at concentrations of 0.1, 0.05, and 0.025 μg/ml, and to BPS at 0.1 and 0.05 μg/ml. In addition, BPA exposure seems to upregulate the expression of HERVs, while a downregulation was observed after BPF and BPS treatments. Overall, our data showed the toxic effect of BPA and its analogs on circulating cells in the blood and demonstrated that they could modulate the HERVs expression
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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