ALBERT

Description: Blood pressure is a heritable trait influenced by several biological pathways and responsive to environmental stimuli. Over one billion people worldwide have hypertension (〉/=140 mm Hg systolic blood pressure or 〉/=90 mm Hg diastolic blood pressure). Even small increments in blood pressure are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. This genome-wide association study of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which used a multi-stage design in 200,000 individuals of European descent, identified sixteen novel loci: six of these loci contain genes previously known or suspected to regulate blood pressure (GUCY1A3-GUCY1B3, NPR3-C5orf23, ADM, FURIN-FES, GOSR2, GNAS-EDN3); the other ten provide new clues to blood pressure physiology. A genetic risk score based on 29 genome-wide significant variants was associated with hypertension, left ventricular wall thickness, stroke and coronary artery disease, but not kidney disease or kidney function. We also observed associations with blood pressure in East Asian, South Asian and African ancestry individuals. Our findings provide new insights into the genetics and biology of blood pressure, and suggest potential novel therapeutic pathways for cardiovascular disease prevention.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3340926/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3340926/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉International Consortium for Blood Pressure Genome-Wide Association Studies -- Ehret, Georg B -- Munroe, Patricia B -- Rice, Kenneth M -- Bochud, Murielle -- Johnson, Andrew D -- Chasman, Daniel I -- Smith, Albert V -- Tobin, Martin D -- Verwoert, Germaine C -- Hwang, Shih-Jen -- Pihur, Vasyl -- Vollenweider, Peter -- O'Reilly, Paul F -- Amin, Najaf -- Bragg-Gresham, Jennifer L -- Teumer, Alexander -- Glazer, Nicole L -- Launer, Lenore -- Zhao, Jing Hua -- Aulchenko, Yurii -- Heath, Simon -- Sober, Siim -- Parsa, Afshin -- Luan, Jian'an -- Arora, Pankaj -- Dehghan, Abbas -- Zhang, Feng -- Lucas, Gavin -- Hicks, Andrew A -- Jackson, Anne U -- Peden, John F -- Tanaka, Toshiko -- Wild, Sarah H -- Rudan, Igor -- Igl, Wilmar -- Milaneschi, Yuri -- Parker, Alex N -- Fava, Cristiano -- Chambers, John C -- Fox, Ervin R -- Kumari, Meena -- Go, Min Jin -- van der Harst, Pim -- Kao, Wen Hong Linda -- Sjogren, Marketa -- Vinay, D G -- Alexander, Myriam -- Tabara, Yasuharu -- Shaw-Hawkins, Sue -- Whincup, Peter H -- Liu, Yongmei -- Shi, Gang -- Kuusisto, Johanna -- Tayo, Bamidele -- Seielstad, Mark -- Sim, Xueling -- Nguyen, Khanh-Dung Hoang -- Lehtimaki, Terho -- Matullo, Giuseppe -- Wu, Ying -- Gaunt, Tom R -- Onland-Moret, N Charlotte -- Cooper, Matthew N -- Platou, Carl G P -- Org, Elin -- Hardy, Rebecca -- Dahgam, Santosh -- Palmen, Jutta -- Vitart, Veronique -- Braund, Peter S -- Kuznetsova, Tatiana -- Uiterwaal, Cuno S P M -- Adeyemo, Adebowale -- Palmas, Walter -- Campbell, Harry -- Ludwig, Barbara -- Tomaszewski, Maciej -- Tzoulaki, Ioanna -- Palmer, Nicholette D -- CARDIoGRAM consortium -- CKDGen Consortium -- KidneyGen Consortium -- EchoGen consortium -- CHARGE-HF consortium -- Aspelund, Thor -- Garcia, Melissa -- Chang, Yen-Pei C -- O'Connell, Jeffrey R -- Steinle, Nanette I -- Grobbee, Diederick E -- Arking, Dan E -- Kardia, Sharon L -- Morrison, Alanna C -- Hernandez, Dena -- Najjar, Samer -- McArdle, Wendy L -- Hadley, David -- Brown, Morris J -- Connell, John M -- Hingorani, Aroon D -- Day, Ian N M -- Lawlor, Debbie A -- Beilby, John P -- Lawrence, Robert W -- Clarke, Robert -- Hopewell, Jemma C -- Ongen, Halit -- Dreisbach, Albert W -- Li, Yali -- Young, J Hunter -- Bis, Joshua C -- Kahonen, Mika -- Viikari, Jorma -- Adair, Linda S -- Lee, Nanette R -- Chen, Ming-Huei -- Olden, Matthias -- Pattaro, Cristian -- Bolton, Judith A Hoffman -- Kottgen, Anna -- Bergmann, Sven -- Mooser, Vincent -- Chaturvedi, Nish -- Frayling, Timothy M -- Islam, Muhammad -- Jafar, Tazeen H -- Erdmann, Jeanette -- Kulkarni, Smita R -- Bornstein, Stefan R -- Grassler, Jurgen -- Groop, Leif -- Voight, Benjamin F -- Kettunen, Johannes -- Howard, Philip -- Taylor, Andrew -- Guarrera, Simonetta -- Ricceri, Fulvio -- Emilsson, Valur -- Plump, Andrew -- Barroso, Ines -- Khaw, Kay-Tee -- Weder, Alan B -- Hunt, Steven C -- Sun, Yan V -- Bergman, Richard N -- Collins, Francis S -- Bonnycastle, Lori L -- Scott, Laura J -- Stringham, Heather M -- Peltonen, Leena -- Perola, Markus -- Vartiainen, Erkki -- Brand, Stefan-Martin -- Staessen, Jan A -- Wang, Thomas J -- Burton, Paul R -- Soler Artigas, Maria -- Dong, Yanbin -- Snieder, Harold -- Wang, Xiaoling -- Zhu, Haidong -- Lohman, Kurt K -- Rudock, Megan E -- Heckbert, Susan R -- Smith, Nicholas L -- Wiggins, Kerri L -- Doumatey, Ayo -- Shriner, Daniel -- Veldre, Gudrun -- Viigimaa, Margus -- Kinra, Sanjay -- Prabhakaran, Dorairaj -- Tripathy, Vikal -- Langefeld, Carl D -- Rosengren, Annika -- Thelle, Dag S -- Corsi, Anna Maria -- Singleton, Andrew -- Forrester, Terrence -- Hilton, Gina -- McKenzie, Colin A -- Salako, Tunde -- Iwai, Naoharu -- Kita, Yoshikuni -- Ogihara, Toshio -- Ohkubo, Takayoshi -- Okamura, Tomonori -- Ueshima, Hirotsugu -- Umemura, Satoshi -- Eyheramendy, Susana -- Meitinger, Thomas -- Wichmann, H-Erich -- Cho, Yoon Shin -- Kim, Hyung-Lae -- Lee, Jong-Young -- Scott, James -- Sehmi, Joban S -- Zhang, Weihua -- Hedblad, Bo -- Nilsson, Peter -- Smith, George Davey -- Wong, Andrew -- Narisu, Narisu -- Stancakova, Alena -- Raffel, Leslie J -- Yao, Jie -- Kathiresan, Sekar -- O'Donnell, Christopher J -- Schwartz, Stephen M -- Ikram, M Arfan -- Longstreth, W T Jr -- Mosley, Thomas H -- Seshadri, Sudha -- Shrine, Nick R G -- Wain, Louise V -- Morken, Mario A -- Swift, Amy J -- Laitinen, Jaana -- Prokopenko, Inga -- Zitting, Paavo -- Cooper, Jackie A -- Humphries, Steve E -- Danesh, John -- Rasheed, Asif -- Goel, Anuj -- Hamsten, Anders -- Watkins, Hugh -- Bakker, Stephan J L -- van Gilst, Wiek H -- Janipalli, Charles S -- Mani, K Radha -- Yajnik, Chittaranjan S -- Hofman, Albert -- Mattace-Raso, Francesco U S -- Oostra, Ben A -- Demirkan, Ayse -- Isaacs, Aaron -- Rivadeneira, Fernando -- Lakatta, Edward G -- Orru, Marco -- Scuteri, Angelo -- Ala-Korpela, Mika -- Kangas, Antti J -- Lyytikainen, Leo-Pekka -- Soininen, Pasi -- Tukiainen, Taru -- Wurtz, Peter -- Ong, Rick Twee-Hee -- Dorr, Marcus -- Kroemer, Heyo K -- Volker, Uwe -- Volzke, Henry -- Galan, Pilar -- Hercberg, Serge -- Lathrop, Mark -- Zelenika, Diana -- Deloukas, Panos -- Mangino, Massimo -- Spector, Tim D -- Zhai, Guangju -- Meschia, James F -- Nalls, Michael A -- Sharma, Pankaj -- Terzic, Janos -- Kumar, M V Kranthi -- Denniff, Matthew -- Zukowska-Szczechowska, Ewa -- Wagenknecht, Lynne E -- Fowkes, F Gerald R -- Charchar, Fadi J -- Schwarz, Peter E H -- Hayward, Caroline -- Guo, Xiuqing -- Rotimi, Charles -- Bots, Michiel L -- Brand, Eva -- Samani, Nilesh J -- Polasek, Ozren -- Talmud, Philippa J -- Nyberg, Fredrik -- Kuh, Diana -- Laan, Maris -- Hveem, Kristian -- Palmer, Lyle J -- van der Schouw, Yvonne T -- Casas, Juan P -- Mohlke, Karen L -- Vineis, Paolo -- Raitakari, Olli -- Ganesh, Santhi K -- Wong, Tien Y -- Tai, E Shyong -- Cooper, Richard S -- Laakso, Markku -- Rao, Dabeeru C -- Harris, Tamara B -- Morris, Richard W -- Dominiczak, Anna F -- Kivimaki, Mika -- Marmot, Michael G -- Miki, Tetsuro -- Saleheen, Danish -- Chandak, Giriraj R -- Coresh, Josef -- Navis, Gerjan -- Salomaa, Veikko -- Han, Bok-Ghee -- Zhu, Xiaofeng -- Kooner, Jaspal S -- Melander, Olle -- Ridker, Paul M -- Bandinelli, Stefania -- Gyllensten, Ulf B -- Wright, Alan F -- Wilson, James F -- Ferrucci, Luigi -- Farrall, Martin -- Tuomilehto, Jaakko -- Pramstaller, Peter P -- Elosua, Roberto -- Soranzo, Nicole -- Sijbrands, Eric J G -- Altshuler, David -- Loos, Ruth J F -- Shuldiner, Alan R -- Gieger, Christian -- Meneton, Pierre -- Uitterlinden, Andre G -- Wareham, Nicholas J -- Gudnason, Vilmundur -- Rotter, Jerome I -- Rettig, Rainer -- Uda, Manuela -- Strachan, David P -- Witteman, Jacqueline C M -- Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa -- Beckmann, Jacques S -- Boerwinkle, Eric -- Vasan, Ramachandran S -- Boehnke, Michael -- Larson, Martin G -- Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta -- Psaty, Bruce M -- Abecasis, Goncalo R -- Chakravarti, Aravinda -- Elliott, Paul -- van Duijn, Cornelia M -- Newton-Cheh, Christopher -- Levy, Daniel -- Caulfield, Mark J -- Johnson, Toby -- 068545/Z/02/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 070191/Z/03/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 077016/Z/05/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 079895/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 080747/Z/06/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 090532/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 1R01AG032098-01A/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- 1RL1MH083268-01/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ -- 263 MD 821336/MD/NIMHD NIH HHS/ -- 263 MD 9164/MD/NIMHD NIH HHS/ -- 263-MA-410953/PHS HHS/ -- 2M01RR010284/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- 33014/PHS HHS/ -- 55005617/Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- 5R01HL086694-03/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- 5R01HL087679-02/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- 5R01HL08770002/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- 5R01MH63706:02/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ -- 5U01CA086308/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- AG13196/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- CH/03/001/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- CZB/4/276/Chief Scientist Office/United Kingdom -- CZB/4/710/Chief Scientist Office/United Kingdom -- DK062370/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK063491/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK072193/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK075787/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK078150/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK56350/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- ES10126/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ -- FS05/125/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- G0000934/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0100222/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0400874/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0401527/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0500539/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0501942/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- G0501942/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0600331/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0600705/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0601966/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0700931/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0701863/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0801056/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0902037/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G0902313/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G1000143/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G19/35/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G20234/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- G8802774/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G9521010/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- G9521010D/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- HG003054/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- HG005581/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- HHSN268200625226C/PHS HHS/ -- HHSN268200782096/PHS HHS/ -- HHSN268200782096C/PHS HHS/ -- HL 54512/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HL-87660/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HL043851/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HL080025/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HL084729/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HL085144/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HL086718/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HL087647/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HL098283/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HL36310/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HL45508/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HL53353/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HL54512/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- HS06516/HS/AHRQ HHS/ -- K12RR023250/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- M01 RR16500/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- M01-RR00425/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- MC_PC_U127561128/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- MC_U106179471/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- MC_U106188470/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- MC_U123092720/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- MC_U123092723/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- MC_U127561128/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- MC_U137686857/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- MC_UP_A100_1003/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- MOP-82810/Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Canada -- MOP172605/Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Canada -- MOP77682/Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Canada -- N01 HC-15103/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01 HC-55222/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01 HC-95159/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01 HC-95169/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-AG-1-2109/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- N01-AG-12100/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-25195/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-35129/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-45133/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-55015/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-55016/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-55018/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-55019/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-55020/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-55021/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-55022/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-75150/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-85079/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-85080/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-85081/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-85082/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-85083/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-85084/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-85085/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-85086/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-95160/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-95161/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-95162/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-95163/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-95164/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-95165/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-95166/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-95167/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HC-95168/HC/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- N01-HD-1-3107/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/ -- N01AG6210/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- N01AG62101/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- N01AG62103/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- N02-HL-6-4278/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- P01CA055075/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- P01CA087969/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- P30 ES010126/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ -- P30ES007033/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ -- PG/02/128/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- PG97012/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- PG97027/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- R01 AG017644-09S1/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- R01 AG18728/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- R01 DK072193/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R01 DK078150/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL073410/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL085251/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL086694/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL086694-03/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL086694-04A1/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL086694-05/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL087647/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL087652/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL088119/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 NS39987/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- R01 NS42733/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- R01DK058845/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R01DK066574/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R01HL056931/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL060894/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL060919/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL06094/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL061019/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL071051/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL071205/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL071250/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL071251/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL071252/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL071258/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL071259/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL086694/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL087641/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL089650-02/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01HL59367/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R03 TW007165/TW/FIC NIH HHS/ -- R37HL051021/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- RG/07/005/23633/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- RG/07/008/23674/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- RG/08/008/25291/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- RG/08/013/25942/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- RG/08/014/24067/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- RG/98002/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- RG08/01/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- RR-024156/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- RR20649/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- S06GM008016-320107/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- S06GM008016-380111/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- SP/04/002/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- SP/08/005/25115/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- TW008288/TW/FIC NIH HHS/ -- TW05596/TW/FIC NIH HHS/ -- U01 DK062418/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- U01 GM074518-04/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U01 HL054466/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U01 HL054466-11/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U01 HL054471/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U01 HL054473/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U01 HL054527/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U01 HL072515-06/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U01 HL080295/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U01 HL084756/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U01 NS069208/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- U01 NS069208-01/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- U01DE018903/DE/NIDCR NIH HHS/ -- U01DE01899/DE/NIDCR NIH HHS/ -- U01HG004399/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U01HG004402/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U01HG004415/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U01HG004422/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U01HG004423/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U01HG004436/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U01HG004438/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U01HG004446/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U01HG004726/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U01HG004728/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U01HG004729/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U01HG004735/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U01HG004738/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U10 HL054512/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U10HL054512/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U54 RR020278/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- UL1RR025005/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- Intramural NIH HHS/ -- England -- Nature. 2011 Sep 11;478(7367):103-9. doi: 10.1038/nature10405.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21909115" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The nucleoprotein (NP) of the influenza virus exists as trimers, and its tail-loop binding pocket has been suggested as a potential target for antiinfluenza therapeutics. The possibility of NP as a drug target was validated by the recent reports that nucleozin and its analogs can inhibit viral replication by inducing aggregation of NP trimers. However, these inhibitors were identified by random screening, and the binding site and inhibition mechanism are unclear. We report a rational approach to target influenza virus with a new mechanism—disruption of NP–NP interaction. Consistent with recent work, E339A, R416A, and deletion mutant Δ402–428 were unable to support viral replication in the absence of WT NP. However, only E339A and R416A could form hetero complex with WT NP, but the complex was unable to bind the RNA polymerase, leading to inhibition of viral replication. These results demonstrate the importance of the E339…R416 salt bridge in viral survival and establish the salt bridge as a sensitive antiinfluenza target. To provide further support, we showed that peptides encompassing R416 can disrupt NP–NP interaction and inhibit viral replication. Finally we performed virtual screening to target E339…R416, and some small molecules identified were shown to disrupt the formation of NP trimers and inhibit replication of WT and nucleozin-resistant strains. This work provides a new approach to design antiinfluenza drugs.

Description: Once their safety is confirmed, human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), which do not entail ethical concerns, may become a preferred cell source for regenerative medicine. Here, we investigated the therapeutic potential of transplanting hiPSC-derived neurospheres (hiPSC-NSs) into nonobese diabetic (NOD)-severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice to treat spinal cord injury (SCI). For this, we used a hiPSC clone (201B7), established by transducing four reprogramming factors (Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc) into adult human fibroblasts. Grafted hiPSC-NSs survived, migrated, and differentiated into the three major neural lineages (neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes) within the injured spinal cord. They showed both cell-autonomous and noncell-autonomous (trophic) effects, including synapse formation between hiPSC-NS–derived neurons and host mouse neurons, expression of neurotrophic factors, angiogenesis, axonal regrowth, and increased amounts of myelin in the injured area. These positive effects resulted in significantly better functional recovery compared with vehicle-treated control animals, and the recovery persisted through the end of the observation period, 112 d post-SCI. No tumor formation was observed in the hiPSC-NS–grafted mice. These findings suggest that hiPSCs give rise to neural stem/progenitor cells that support improved function post-SCI and are a promising cell source for its treatment.

Description: The intracellular signaling mechanisms underlying postnatal angiogenesis are incompletely understood. Herein we show that Grb-2–associated binder 1 (Gab1) plays a critical role in ischemic and VEGF-induced angiogenesis. Endothelium-specific Gab1 KO (EGKO) mice displayed impaired angiogenesis in the ischemic hindlimb despite normal induction of VEGF expression. Matrigel plugs with VEGF implanted in EGKO mice induced fewer capillaries than those in control mice. The vessels and endothelial cells (ECs) derived from EGKO mice were defective in vascular sprouting and tube formation induced by VEGF. Biochemical analyses revealed a substantial reduction of endothelial NOS (eNOS) activation in Gab1-deficient vessels and ECs following VEGF stimulation. Interestingly, the phosphorylation of Akt, an enzyme known to promote VEGF-induced eNOS activation, was increased in Gab1-deficient vessels and ECs whereas protein kinase A (PKA) activity was significantly decreased. Introduction of an active form of PKA rescued VEGF-induced eNOS activation and tube formation in EGKO ECs. Reexpression of WT or mutant Gab1 molecules in EGKO ECs revealed requirement of Gab1/Shp2 association for the activation of PKA and eNOS. Taken together, these results identify Gab1 as a critical upstream signaling component in VEGF-induced eNOS activation and tube formation, which is dependent on PKA. Of note, this pathway is conserved in primary human ECs for VEGF-induced eNOS activation and tube formation, suggesting considerable potential in treatment of human ischemic diseases.

Description: A systematic survey of expression profiles of glycosphingolipids (GSLs) in two hESC lines and their differentiated embryoid body (EB) outgrowth with three germ layers was carried out using immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, and MALDI-MS and MS/MS analyses. In addition to the well-known hESC-specific markers stage-specific embryonic antigen 3 (SSEA-3) and SSEA-4, we identified several globosides and lacto-series GSLs, previously unrevealed in hESCs, including Gb4Cer, Lc4Cer, fucosyl Lc4Cer, Globo H, and disialyl Gb5Cer. During hESC differentiation into EBs, MS analysis revealed a clear-cut switch in the core structures of GSLs from globo- and lacto- to ganglio-series, which was not as evident by immunostaining with antibodies against SSEA-3 and SSEA-4, owing to their cross-reactivities with various glycosphingolipids. Such a switch was attributable to altered expression of key glycosyltransferases (GTs) in the biosynthetic pathways by the up-regulation of ganglio-series–related GTs with simultaneous down-regulation of globo- and lacto-series–related GTs. Thus, these results provide insights into the unique stage-specific transition and mechanism for alterations of GSL core structures during hESC differentiation. In addition, unique glycan structures uncovered by MS analyses may serve as surface markers for further delineation of hESCs and help identify of their functional roles not only in hESCs but also in cancers.