Determinants of Self-Stigma in People with Parkinson's Disease: A Mixed Methods Scoping Review

in Journal of Parkinson's Disease (2021)

Background: Self-stigma in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) can substantially impact quality of life and possibilities for social participation. An integrative analysis of determinants of self-stigma ... [more ▼]

Background: Self-stigma in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) can substantially impact quality of life and possibilities for social participation. An integrative analysis of determinants of self-stigma has been lacking. Objective: We sought to explore which complementary insights from qualitative and quantitative studies, as well as from expert consultation, could be gained. Methods: An established mixed methods study design was employed to first conduct a mixed methods scoping review of published qualitative and quantitative literature, and then consult with experts to arrive at an exhaustive list of determinants of self-stigma after a thematic synthesis. Results: A total of 87 unique determinants of self-stigma were identified. Quantitative studies and expert consultations mainly identified personal determinants of people with self-stigma (e.g., age, anxiety, or apathy). In contrast, qualitative studies identified social situations associated with self-stigma (e.g., joint meals of people with typical PD with others). Notably, self-stigma of people with PD was found to be particularly salient in unfamiliar places, at the working place or in contact with people without PD. Across methods, cognitive impairment, tremor, and abnormal walk and unsteady gait, respectively, were associated with self-stigma. Conclusion: The mixed method study design yielded complementary insights, but also factors commonly associated with self-stigma across methods. Future prioritization exercises may gain further insights into self-stigma of people with PD. Facilitating social encounters by both addressing needs of affected people and raising knowledge and public awareness may improve quality of life in people with PD [less ▲]

Persistence of birth mode-dependent effects on gut microbiome composition, immune system stimulation and antimicrobial resistance during the first year of life

in ISME Communications (2021)

Caesarean section delivery (CSD) disrupts mother-to-neonate transmission of specific microbial strains and functional repertoires as well as linked immune system priming. Here we investigate whether ... [more ▼]

Caesarean section delivery (CSD) disrupts mother-to-neonate transmission of specific microbial strains and functional repertoires as well as linked immune system priming. Here we investigate whether differences in microbiome composition and impacts on host physiology persist at 1 year of age. We perform high-resolution, quantitative metagenomic analyses of the gut microbiomes of infants born by vaginal delivery (VD) or by CSD, from immediately after birth through to 1 year of life. Several microbial populations show distinct enrichments in CSD-born infants at 1 year of age including strains of Bacteroides caccae, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Ruminococcus gnavus, whereas others are present at higher levels in the VD group including Faecalibacterium prausnitizii, Bifidobacterium breve and Bifidobacterium kashiwanohense. The stimulation of healthy donor-derived primary human immune cells with LPS isolated from neonatal stool samples results in higher levels of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in the case of CSD extracts over time, compared to extracts from VD infants for which no such changes were observed during the first year of life. Functional analyses of the VD metagenomes at 1 year of age demonstrate a significant increase in the biosynthesis of the natural antibiotics, carbapenem and phenazine. Concurrently, we find antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes against several classes of antibiotics in both VD and CSD. The abundance of AMR genes against synthetic (including semi-synthetic) agents such as phenicol, pleuromutilin and diaminopyrimidine are increased in CSD children at day 5 after birth. In addition, we find that mobile genetic elements, including phages, encode AMR genes such as glycopeptide, diaminopyrimidine and multidrug resistance genes. Our results demonstrate persistent effects at 1 year of life resulting from birth mode-dependent differences in earliest gut microbiome colonisation. [less ▲]

Programme Démence Prévention (pdp ): A Nation-Wide Programme for Dementia Prevention in Luxembourg

Poster (2020, April)

Objectives: To implement a multi-year nation-wide programme, by the means of a personalised lifestyle intervention, to prevent or to delay cognitive decline that can contribute to development of dementia ... [more ▼]

Objectives: To implement a multi-year nation-wide programme, by the means of a personalised lifestyle intervention, to prevent or to delay cognitive decline that can contribute to development of dementia in Luxembourg. Methods: Participants with mild cognitive impairment, referred to the programme by their treating physician, undergo an extensive cognitive evaluation by a neuropsychologist on relevant neuropsychological domains as well as a structured dementia risk factor assessment. Based on these assessments, individualised lifestyle interventions are offered by diverse national partners involved in the programme, thus filling a gap of not yet reimbursed services in the Luxemburgish healthcare system. After the personalised lifestyle interventions, each participant will undergo a neuropsychological follow-up in order to re-evaluate his/her health status in terms of cognition. Results: We established a participant-centred national network by presenting the programme on many outreach events and efficient stakeholder communication. The network raises the awareness of dementia prevention in the Luxembourgish population, fosters interdisciplinary communication between individual medical and non-medical healthcare professionals and allows for a successful recruitment of the target population. Moreover, we collect information about adherence to the suggested lifestyle changes, as well as the effectiveness of our interventions in reducing risk factors contributing to the onset of dementia. Conclusions: We provide evidence for the feasibility of the implementation of a nation-wide dementia prevention programme including diverse partners offering personalised lifestyle interventions, which are easily transferrable to other countries. Future results from this programme may also help to integrate prevention interventions into the regular healthcare system. [less ▲]

The RNA Complement of Outer Membrane Vesicles From Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Under Distinct Culture Conditions

in Frontiers in Microbiology (2018), 9

Bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), as well as OMV-associated small RNAs, have been demonstrated to play a role in host–pathogen interactions. The presence of larger RNA transcripts in OMVs has been ... [more ▼]

Bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), as well as OMV-associated small RNAs, have been demonstrated to play a role in host–pathogen interactions. The presence of larger RNA transcripts in OMVs has been less studied and their potential role in host–pathogen interactions remains largely unknown. Here we analyze RNA from OMVs secreted by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) cultured under different conditions, which mimic host–pathogen interactions. S. Typhimurium was grown to exponential and stationary growth phases in minimal growth control medium (phosphate-carbon-nitrogen, PCN), as well as in acidic and phosphate-depleted PCN, comparable to the macrophage environment and inducing therefore the expression of Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 (SPI-2) genes. Moreover, Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1), which is required for virulence during the intestinal phase of infection, was induced by culturing S. Typhimurium to the stationary phase in Lysogeny Broth (LB). For each condition, we identified OMV-associated RNAs that are enriched in the extracellular environment relative to the intracellular space. All RNA classes could be observed, but a vast majority of rRNA was exported in all conditions in variable proportions with a notable decrease in LB SPI-1 inducing media. Several mRNAs and ncRNAs were specifically enriched in/on OMVs dependent on the growth conditions. Important to note is that some RNAs showed identical read coverage profiles intracellularly and extracellularly, whereas distinct coverage patterns were observed for other transcripts, suggesting a specific processing or degradation. Moreover, PCR experiments confirmed that distinct RNAs were present in or on OMVs as full-length transcripts (IsrB-1/2; IsrA; ffs; SsrS; CsrC; pSLT035; 10Sa; rnpB; STM0277; sseB; STM0972; STM2606), whereas others seemed to be rather present in a processed or degraded form. Finally, we show by a digestion protection assay that OMVs are able to prevent enzymatic degradation of given full-length transcripts (SsrS, CsrC, 10Sa, and rnpB). In summary, we show that OMV-associated RNA is clearly different in distinct culture conditions and that at least a fraction of the extracellular RNA is associated as a full-length transcripts with OMVs, indicating that some RNAs are protected by OMVs and thereby leaving open the possibility that those might be functionally active. [less ▲]

Extraction and Analysis of RNA Isolated from Pure Bacteria-Derived Outer Membrane Vesicles

in Arluison, Véronique; Valverde, Claudio Valverde (Eds.) Bacterial Regulatory RNA (2018)

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are released by commensal as well as pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria. These vesicles contain numerous bacterial components, such as proteins, peptidoglycans ... [more ▼]

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are released by commensal as well as pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria. These vesicles contain numerous bacterial components, such as proteins, peptidoglycans, lipopolysaccharides, DNA, and RNA. To examine if OMV-associated RNA molecules are bacterial degradation products and/or are functionally active, it is necessary to extract RNA from pure OMVs for subsequent analysis. Therefore, we describe here an isolation method of ultrapure OMVs and the subsequent extraction of RNA and basic steps of RNA-Seq analysis. Bacterial culture, extracellular supernatant concentration, OMV purification, and the subsequent RNA extraction out of OMVs are described. Specific pitfalls within the protocol and RNA contamination sources are highlighted. [less ▲]

Isolation of nucleic acids from low biomass samples: detection and removal of sRNA contaminants

E-print/Working paper (2017)

Sequencing-based analyses of low-biomass samples are known to be prone to misinterpretation due to the potential presence of contaminating molecules derived from laboratory reagents and environments. Due ... [more ▼]

Sequencing-based analyses of low-biomass samples are known to be prone to misinterpretation due to the potential presence of contaminating molecules derived from laboratory reagents and environments. Due to its inherent instability, contamination with RNA is usually considered to be unlikely. Here we report the presence of small RNA (sRNA) contaminants in widely used microRNA extraction kits and means for their depletion. Sequencing of sRNAs extracted from human plasma samples was performed and significant levels of non-human (exogenous) sequences were detected. The source of the most abundant of these sequences could be traced to the microRNA extraction columns by qPCR-based analysis of laboratory reagents. The presence of artefactual sequences originating from the confirmed contaminants were furthermore replicated in a range of published datasets. To avoid artefacts in future experiments, several protocols for the removal of the contaminants were elaborated, minimal amounts of starting material for artefact-free analyses were defined, and the reduction of contaminant levels for identification of bona fide sequences using 'ultra-clean' extraction kits was confirmed. In conclusion, this is the first report of the presence of RNA molecules as contaminants in laboratory reagents. The described protocols should be applied in the future to avoid confounding sRNA studies. [less ▲]

A study of the molecular mechanisms underlying teh response of human colorectal adenomacarcinoma enterocytes to prebiotics and probiotics

Poster (2017)

Gene Regulatory Network Inference of Immunoresponsive Gene 1 (IRG1) Identifies Interferon Regulatory Factor 1 (IRF1) as Its Transcriptional Regulator in Mammalian Macrophages

in PLoS ONE (2016)

Immunoresponsive gene 1 (IRG1) is one of the highest induced genes in macrophages under pro-inflammatory conditions. Its function has been recently described: it codes for immune-responsive gene 1 protein ... [more ▼]

Immunoresponsive gene 1 (IRG1) is one of the highest induced genes in macrophages under pro-inflammatory conditions. Its function has been recently described: it codes for immune-responsive gene 1 protein/cis-aconitic acid decarboxylase (IRG1/CAD), an enzyme catalysing the production of itaconic acid from cis-aconitic acid, a tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediate. Itaconic acid possesses specific antimicrobial properties inhibiting isocitrate lyase, the first enzyme of the glyoxylate shunt, an anaplerotic pathway that bypasses the TCA cycle and enables bacteria to survive on limited carbon conditions. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying itaconic acid production through IRG1 induction in macrophages, we examined the transcriptional regulation of IRG1. To this end, we studied IRG1 expression in human immune cells under different inflammatory stimuli, such as TNFα and IFNγ, in addition to lipopolysaccharides. Under these conditions, as previously shown in mouse macrophages, IRG1/CAD accumulates in mitochondria. Furthermore, using literature information and transcription factor prediction models, we re-constructed raw gene regulatory networks (GRNs) for IRG1 in mouse and human macrophages. We further implemented a contextualization algorithm that relies on genome-wide gene expression data to infer putative cell type-specific gene regulatory interactions in mouse and human macrophages, which allowed us to predict potential transcriptional regulators of IRG1. Among the computationally identified regulators, siRNA-mediated gene silencing of interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1) in macrophages significantly decreased the expression of IRG1/CAD at the gene and protein level, which correlated with a reduced production of itaconic acid. Using a synergistic approach of both computational and experimental methods, we here shed more light on the transcriptional machinery of IRG1 expression and could pave the way to therapeutic approaches targeting itaconic acid levels. [less ▲]

Sources and Functions of Extracellular Small RNAs in Human Circulation.

in Annual review of nutrition (2016)

Various biotypes of endogenous small RNAs (sRNAs) have been detected in human circulation, including microRNAs, transfer RNAs, ribosomal RNA, and yRNA fragments. These extracellular sRNAs (ex-sRNAs) are ... [more ▼]

Various biotypes of endogenous small RNAs (sRNAs) have been detected in human circulation, including microRNAs, transfer RNAs, ribosomal RNA, and yRNA fragments. These extracellular sRNAs (ex-sRNAs) are packaged and secreted by many different cell types. Ex-sRNAs exhibit differences in abundance in several disease states and have, therefore, been proposed for use as effective biomarkers. Furthermore, exosome-borne ex-sRNAs have been reported to elicit physiological responses in acceptor cells. Exogenous ex-sRNAs derived from diet (most prominently from plants) and microorganisms have also been reported in human blood. Essential issues that remain to be conclusively addressed concern the (a) presence and sources of exogenous ex-sRNAs in human bodily fluids, (b) detection and measurement of ex-sRNAs in human circulation, (c) selectivity of ex-sRNA export and import, (d) sensitivity and specificity of ex-sRNA delivery to cellular targets, and (e) cell-, tissue-, organ-, and organism-wide impacts of ex-sRNA-mediated cell-to-cell communication. We survey the present state of knowledge of most of these issues in this review. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Nutrition Volume 36 is July 17, 2016. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/catalog/pubdates.aspx for revised estimates. [less ▲]

HuMiX: A MICROFLUIDICS-BASED IN VITRO CO-CULTURE DEVICE FOR INVESTIGATING HOST-MICROBE INTERACTIONS

Scientific Conference (2014, October 30)