Browsing by Author "Albergaria, I."
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- Evidence for epistatic gene interactions between growth factor genes in stroke outcomePublication . Manso, H.; Krug, T.; Sobral, J.; Albergaria, I.; Gaspar, G.; Ferro, J.M.; Oliveira, S.A.; Vicente, A.M.Background and purpose: Growth factors are thought to modulate neurological function in stroke recovery through effects in angiogenesis, neurogenesis, and neuroprotection. Methods: We tested the association of variants in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) genes, and epistatic interactions between them, with functional outcome in a sample of 546 stroke patients. Results: While none of the tested genes was independently associated with stroke outcome, two significant gene-gene interaction models were identified. One model combined one BDNF and three FGF2 markers, with a global odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) of 4.15 [2.86-6.04]. The second model included one FGF2 and two VEGFA markers with a global OR [95% CI] = 2.54 [1.76-3.67]. Conclusions: The results provide evidence for gene interactions in stroke outcome, highlighting the complexity of the recovery mechanisms after a stroke event.
- A genome-wide association study using a DNA pooling strategy identifies BBS9 and GLIS3 as novel loci influencing patient’s outcome after strokePublication . Manso, H.; Paulos-Pinheiro, S.; Krug, T.; Sobral, J.; Albergaria, I.; Gaspar, G.; Ferro, J.M.; Oliveira, S.A.; Vicente, A.M.Stroke is a major cause of morbidity in developed countries and therefore finding adequate treatments to promote patient’s recovery is a priority task, requiring the elucidation of the molecular pathways influencing brain recovery. Few studies, however, have assessed the role of genes in stroke outcome. This study describes a pilot genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify genetic factors contributing to patient’s outcome, using a DNA pooling design. Methods: Patient’s outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) three months after stroke. Using the 250K Affymetrix GeneChip Mapping Assay® – Nsp I, we compared SNP allele frequencies in a pool of non-disabled stroke patients (N=87, mRS=0), with a pool of severely disabled or deceased patients (N=100, mRS>=3). The 100 most interesting SNPs were selected for validation by individual genotyping. Results: 36 SNPs were validated, showing significant differences between patients with extremely good and extremely poor outcome at three months (1.7x10-4 ).
- Influence of the APOE genotypes in some atherosclerotic risk factorsPublication . Martins, M. Carmo; Lima Faleiro, L.; Rodrigues, M.O.; Albergaria, I.; Fonseca, A.The aim of this work was to study the distribution of apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotypes and their association with some atherosclerotic risk factors, all of them modifiable: total, HDL and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, BMI, waist circumference and smoking. The sample population was constituted of 672 healthy subjects recruited in the Lisbon area. Lipids were quantified by usual automatic enzymatic methods and the APOE genotypes performed in accordance with Hixson and Vernier. Blood pressure measurement and hypertension classification followed international specifications. The frequency distribution of APOE alleles was: epsilon2 = 6.4%, epsilon3 = 83.6% and epsilon4 = 10.0% and the more prevalent genotypes were epsilon2/epsilon3, epsilon3/epsilon3 and epsilon3/epsilon4 respectively 11.0%, 70.1% and 16.1%. We could only observe associations among the most prevalent genotypes and lipids, always statistically significant, specially when the epsilon4 allele was present which was even proved by an higher prevalence of epsilon4 in dyslipidemic subjects with the only exception of those with low HDL-c values. A stronger intervention in the epsilon4 carriers is so recommended through appropriate intervention measures on the connected modifiable risk factors.
- Kalirin: a novel genetic risk factor for ischemic strokePublication . Krug, T.; Manso, H.; Gouveia, L.; Sobral, J.; Xavier, J.M.; Albergaria, I.; Gaspar, G.; Correia, M.; Viana-Baptista, M.; Simões, R.M.; Pinto, A.N.; Taipa, R.; Ferreira, C.; Fontes, J.R.; Silva, M.R.; Gabriel, J.P.; Matos, I.; Lopes, G.; Ferro, J.M.; Vicente, A.M.; Oliveira, S.A.Cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. They are complex disorders resulting from the interplay of genetic and environmental factors, and may share several susceptibility genes. Several recent studies have implicated variants of the Kalirin (KALRN) gene with susceptibility to cardiovascular and metabolic phenotypes, but no studies have yet been performed in stroke patients. KALRN is involved, among others, in the inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase, in the regulation of ischemic signal transduction, and in neuronal morphogenesis, plasticity, and stability. The goal of the present study was to determine whether SNPs in the KALRN region on 3q13, which includes the Ropporin gene (ROPN1), predispose to ischemic stroke (IS) in a cohort of Portuguese patients and controls. We genotyped 34 tagging SNPs in the KALRN and ROPN1 chromosomal region on 565 IS patients and 517 unrelated controls, and performed genotype imputation for 405 markers on chromosome 3. We tested the single-marker association of these SNPs with IS. One SNP (rs4499545) in the ROPN1-KALRN intergenic region and two SNPs in KALRN (rs17286604 and rs11712619) showed significant (P < 0.05) allelic and genotypic (unadjusted and adjusted for hypertension, diabetes, and ever smoking) association with IS risk. Thirty-two imputed SNPs also showed an association at P < 0.05, and actual genotyping of three of these polymorphisms (rs7620580, rs6438833, and rs11712039) validated their association. Furthermore, rs11712039 was associated with IS (0.001 < P < 0.01) in a recent well-powered genomewide association study (Ikram et al. 2009). These studies suggest that variants in the KALRN gene region constitute risk factors for stroke and that KALRN may represent a common risk factor for vascular diseases.
- Mitochondrial haplogroup H1 is protective for ischemic stroke in Portuguese patientsPublication . Rosa, A.; Fonseca, B.V.; Krug, T.; Manso, H.; Gouveia, L.; Albergaria, I.; Gaspar, G.; Correia, M.; Viana-Baptista, M.; Simões, R.M.; Pinto, A.N.; Taipa, R.; Ferreira, C.; Fontes, J.R.; Silva, M.R.; Gabriel, J.P.; Matos, I.; Lopes, G.; Ferro, J.M.; Vicente, A.M.; Oliveira, S.A.The genetic contribution to stroke is well established but it has proven difficult to identify the genes and the disease-associated alleles mediating this effect, possibly because only nuclear genes have been intensely investigated so far. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been implicated in several disorders having stroke as one of its clinical manifestations. The aim of this case-control study was to assess the contribution of mtDNA polymorphisms and haplogroups to ischemic stroke risk.
- The role of ADH1B in alcohol consumption and stroke susceptibilityPublication . Paulos-Pinheiro, S.; Coelho, J.I.; Albergaria, I.; Gaspar, G.; Ferro, J.M.; Vicente, A.M.While heavy episodic drinking has been shown to be harmful to the heart, moderate alcohol consumption is thought to be protective against cardiovascular disease, through the regulation of rising HDL cholesterol levels. The cardio-protective effect of alcohol is now not thought to vary by beverage type. In fact, evidence for an additional cardio-protective effect of antioxidant polyphenols in red wine is weak. The study of genetics variants of the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) genes involved in alcohol metabolism is important to understand the patterns of drinking habits and its effects in stroke susceptibility. The enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), which oxidizes alcohol to acetaldehyde, has proven to play an important role in alcohol metabolism. Seven genes encoding ADH are found in a tight cluster on chromosome 4 and some are polymorphic in white European populations. More active variants of ADH cause higher concentrations of acetaldehyde in the body following alcohol consumption and are therefore protective against drinking. Functional variants in both ADH1B and ADH1C have been associated with alcohol consumption or alcohol dependence. The ADH1B variant (rs1229984) has emerged as the most strongly associated with alcohol phenotypes and is therefore the most suitable instrument for Mendelian randomization studies in Europeans. The A allele has an allele frequency of approximately 2-5% in Europeans and plays a protective role against heavy drinking because it confers an higher alcohol metabolic rate and consequent accumulation of toxic acetaldehyde.
- TTC7B emerges as a novel risk factor for ischemic stroke through the convergence of several genome-wide approachesPublication . Krug, T.; Gabriel, J.P.; Taipa, R.; Fonseca, B.V.; Domingues-Montanari, S.; Fernandez-Cadenas, I.; Manso, H.; Gouveia, L.O.; Sobral, J.; Albergaria, I.; Gaspar, G.; Jiménez-Conde, J.; Rabionet, R.; Ferro, J.M.; Montaner, J.; Vicente, A.M.; Silva, M.R.; Matos, I.; Lopes, G.; Oliveira, S.A.We hereby propose a novel approach to the identification of ischemic stroke (IS) susceptibility genes that involves converging data from several unbiased genetic and genomic tools. We tested the association between IS and genes differentially expressed between cases and controls, then determined which data mapped to previously reported linkage peaks and were nominally associated with stroke in published genome-wide association studies. We first performed gene expression profiling in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 20 IS cases and 20 controls. Sixteen differentially expressed genes mapped to reported whole-genome linkage peaks, including the TTC7B gene, which has been associated with major cardiovascular disease. At the TTC7B locus, 46 tagging polymorphisms were tested for association in 565 Portuguese IS cases and 520 controls. Markers nominally associated in at least one test and defining associated haplotypes were then examined in 570 IS Spanish cases and 390 controls. Several polymorphisms and haplotypes in the intron 5-intron 6 region of TTC7B were also associated with IS risk in the Spanish and combined data sets. Multiple independent lines of evidence therefore support the role of TTC7B in stroke susceptibility, but further work is warranted to identify the exact risk variant and its pathogenic potential.
- Untreated sewage contamination of beach sand from a leaking underground sewage systemPublication . Brandão, J.; Albergaria, I.; Albuquerque, J.; José, S.; Grossinho, J.; Ferreira, F.C.; Raposo, A.; Rodrigues, R.; Silva, C.; Jordao, L.; Sousa, M.; Rebelo, M.H.; Veríssimo, C.; Sabino, R.; Amaro, T.; Cardoso, F.; Patrão-Costa, M.; Solo-Gabriele, H.Thirty people (mostly children) experienced an episode of skin rash days after a sand sifting beach operation at Porto Pim Beach in Faial, Azores during June 2019. An environmental and epidemiologic investigation was conducted to identify the cause of the outbreak of skin rash. The epidemiologic investigation found that some of the patients experiencing symptoms had never entered the beach water. During the pollution period and throughout the epidemiologic investigation, faecal indicator bacteria levels (94 CFU/100 ml for intestinal enterococci and 61 CFU/100 ml for Escherichia coli) in water remained under the limits used for the ninety-five percentile calculation of an Excellent coastal and transitional bathing water defined in the Portuguese Legislation (100 CFU/100 ml for intestinal enterococci and 250 CFU/100 ml for Escherichia coli). Thus sand contact was considered as a likely primary exposure route. Sand microbiological analysis for faecal indicator organisms and electron microscopy strongly suggested faecal contamination. Chemical analysis of the sand also revealed a concomitant substance compatible with sodium-hypochlorite as analysed using gas chromatography and subsequently confirmed by free chlorine analysis. Inspection of the toilet facilities and sewage disposal system revealed a leaking sewage distribution box. Collectively, results suggest that the cause of the outbreak was the leaking underground sewage distribution box that serviced the beach toilet facilities (40 m from beach), where sodium-hypochlorite was used for cleaning and disinfection. This sewage then contaminated the surficial sands to which beach goers were exposed. Chlorine being an irritant substance, was believed to have been the cause of the symptoms given the sudden presentation and dissipation of skin rashes. No gastro-intestinal illness was reported during this episode and during the following 30 days. Like water, beach sand should also be monitored for safety, especially for areas serviced by aged infrastructure.
- Variants of the Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 but not the Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 genes significantly influence functional outcome after strokePublication . Manso, H.; Krug, T.; Sobral, J.; Albergaria, I.; Gaspar, G.; Ferro, J.M.; Oliveira, S.A.; Vicente, A.M.Multiple lines of evidence suggest that genetic factors contribute to stroke recovery. The matrix metalloproteinases -2 (MMP-2) and -9 (MMP-9) are modulators of extracellular matrix components, with important regulatory functions in the Central Nervous System (CNS). Shortly after stroke, MMP-2 and MMP-9 have mainly damaging effects for brain tissue. However, MMPs also have a beneficial activity in angiogenesis and neurovascular remodelling during the delayed neuroinflammatory response phase, thus possibly contributing to stroke functional recovery.
- Variants within the nitric oxide synthase 1 gene are associated with stroke susceptibilityPublication . Manso, H.; Krug, T.; Sobral, J.; Albergaria, I.; Gaspar, G.; Ferro, J.M.; Oliveira, S.A.; Vicente, A.M.Animal studies have allowed important insights into the role of the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzymes in atherosclerosis and hypertension, as well as in stroke. In this study we tested the hypothesis that the NOS1 and NOS3 genes, respectively encoding neuronal NOS (nNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS), influence stroke susceptibility and outcome after a stroke event.