Multiomics analysis of umbilical cord hematopoietic stem cells from a multiethnic cohort of Hawaii reveals the intergenerational effect of maternal prepregnancy obesity and risks for cancers.

Background: Maternal obesity is a health concern that may predispose newborns to a high risk of medical problems later in life. To understand the intergenerational effect of maternal obesity, we hypothesized that the maternal obesity effect is mediated by epigenetic changes in the CD34+/CD38-/Lin- hematopoietic stem cells (uHSCs) in the offspring. To investigate this, we conducted a DNA methylation centric multiomics study.

Multi-omics Analysis of Umbilical Cord Hematopoietic Stem Cells from a Multi-ethnic Cohort of Hawaii Reveals the Intergenerational Effect of Maternal Pre-Pregnancy Obesity and Risk Prediction for Cancers.

Background: Maternal obesity is a health concern that may predispose newborns to a high risk of medical problems later in life. To understand the intergenerational effect of maternal obesity, we hypothesized that the maternal obesity effect is mediated by epigenetic changes in the CD34+/CD38-/Lin- hematopoietic stem cells (uHSCs) in the offspring. Towards this, we conducted a DNA methylation centric multi-omics study.

Prepregnant Obesity of Mothers in a Multiethnic Cohort Is Associated with Cord Blood Metabolomic Changes in Offspring.

Maternal obesity has become a growing global health concern that may predispose the offspring to medical conditions later in life. However, the metabolic link between maternal prepregnant obesity and healthy offspring has not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, we conducted a case-control study using a coupled untargeted and targeted metabolomic approach from the newborn cord blood metabolomes associated with a matched maternal prepregnant obesity cohort of 28 cases and 29 controls.

Selenoprotein M Promotes Hypothalamic Leptin Signaling and Thioredoxin Antioxidant Activity.

Selenoproteins are an essential class of proteins involved in redox signaling and energy metabolism. However, the functions of many selenoproteins are not clearly established. Selenoprotein M (SELENOM), an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident oxidoreductase bearing structural similarity to thioredoxin (TXN), is among those yet to be fully characterized.

Evaluation of a new commercially available immunoglobulin M capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for diagnosis of dengue virus infection.

We evaluated the FDA-cleared InBios dengue virus (DENV) IgM capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for qualitative detection of anti-DENV IgM antibodies from 79 serum samples obtained from dengue virus-infected patients or suspected dengue cases. The agreement, sensitivity, and specificity of the InBios assay compared to the gold standard in-house DENV IgM capture ELISA were 94, 92, and 94%, respectively. We conclude that the InBios DENV IgM capture ELISA can be effectively used for rapid diagnosis of acute or recent DENV infection.

Antibody to dengue 1 detected more than 60 years after infection.

We investigated the duration of humoral responses to dengue virus infection in individuals who recalled experiencing dengue fever-like illnesses at the time of the Second World War, when dengue fever epidemics occurred throughout the Pacific and Southeast Asia. In July 1943 dengue fever reappeared in Hawaii following an interval of 31 years. Over the next 12 months a total of 1498 locally transmitted cases were reported, and at least 46 imported cases were identified, most of which were among members of the military returning from the Pacific Theatre of the war.

A new approach for analyzing cellular infiltration during allergic airway inflammation.

A mouse model for allergic airway inflammation involving ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization and challenge has been developed that reproduces hallmark features of human asthma and has provided valuable insight into the mechanisms by which this disease occurs. Cellular infiltrate in lungs of mice used in this model have conventionally been evaluated using histological examination of tissue sections and light microscopic analysis of lung lavage samples. As an alternative or complementary approach for characterizing cellular infiltrate, we developed a multicolor fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) method involving the simultaneous detection of seven different markers on lung cell suspensions: CD4, CD8, B220, CD11b, Gr-1, CD49b, and FcepsilonRI.

Differential functional avidity of dengue virus-specific T-cell clones for variant peptides representing heterologous and previously encountered serotypes.

Proinflammatory cytokines secreted by memory CD8+ and CD4+ T cells are thought to play a direct role in the pathogenesis of dengue virus infection by increasing vascular permeability and thereby inducing the pathophysiologic events associated with dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. Severe disease is frequently observed in the setting of secondary infection with heterologous dengue virus serotypes, suggesting a role for cross-reactive memory T cells in the immunopathogenesis of severe disease. We used a large panel of well-characterized dengue virus-specific CD8+ T-cell clones isolated from Pacific Islanders previously infected with dengue virus 1 to examine effector memory function, focusing on a novel dominant HLA-B*5502-restricted NS5(329-337) epitope, and assessed T-cell responses to stimulation with variant peptides representing heterologous serotypes.