Project description:BackgroundRifapentine exposure is associated with bactericidal activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but high interindividual variation in plasma concentrations is encountered.ObjectivesTo investigate a genomic association with interindividual variation of rifapentine exposure, SNPs of six human genes involving rifamycin metabolism (AADAC, CES2), drug transport (SLCO1B1, SLCO1B3) and gene regulation (HNF4A, PXR) were evaluated.MethodsWe characterized these genes in 173 adult participants in treatment trials of the Tuberculosis Trials Consortium. Participants were stratified by self-identified race (black or non-black), and rifapentine AUC from 0 to 24 h (AUC0-24) was adjusted by analysis of covariance for SNPs, rifapentine dose, sex, food and HIV coinfection. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT01043575.ResultsThe effect on rifapentine least squares mean AUC0-24 in black participants overall decreased by -10.2% for AADAC rs1803155 G versus A allele (Wald test: P = 0.03; false discovery rate, 0.10). Black participants with one G allele in AADAC rs1803155 were three times as likely to have below target bactericidal rifapentine exposure than black participants with the A allele (OR, 2.97; 95% CI: 1.16, 7.58). With two G alleles, the OR was greater. In non-black participants, AADAC rs1803155 SNP was not associated with rifapentine exposure. In both black and non-black participants, other evaluated genes were not associated with rifapentine exposure (P > 0.05; false discovery rate > 0.10).ConclusionsRifapentine exposure in black participants varied with AADAC rs1803155 genotype and the G allele was more likely to be associated with below bactericidal target rifapentine exposure. Further pharmacogenomic study is needed to characterize the association of the AADAC rs1803155 with inadequate rifapentine exposure in different patient groups.
Project description:Asthma is a complex syndrome associated with episodic decompensations provoked by aeroaller-gen exposures. The underlying pathophysiological states driving exacerbations are latent in the resting state and do not adequately inform biomarker-driven therapy. A better understanding of the pathophysiological pathways driving allergic exacerbations is needed. We hypothesized that disease-associated pathways could be identified in humans by unbiased metabolomics of bron-choalveolar fluid (BALF) during the peak inflammatory response provoked by a bronchial aller-gen challenge. We analyzed BALF metabolites in samples from 12 volunteers who underwent segmental bronchial antigen provocation (SBP-Ag). Metabolites were quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) followed by pathway analysis and cor-relation with airway inflammation. SBP-Ag induced statistically significant changes in 549 fea-tures that mapped to 72 uniquely identified metabolites. From these features, two distinct induci-ble metabolic phenotypes were identified by the principal component analysis, partitioning around medoids (PAM) and k-means clustering. Ten index metabolites were identified that in-formed the presence of asthma-relevant pathways, including unsaturated fatty acid produc-tion/metabolism, mitochondrial beta oxidation of unsaturated fatty acid, and bile acid metabolism. Pathways were validated using proteomics in eosinophils. A segmental bronchial allergen chal-lenge induces distinct metabolic responses in humans, providing insight into pathogenic and pro-tective endotypes in allergic asthma.
Project description:A growing body of evidence supports the importance of T cell responses to protect against severe influenza, promote viral clearance and ensure long-term immunity. Plant-derived virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines bearing influenza hemagglutinin (HA) have been shown to elicit strong humoral and CD4+ T cell responses in both pre-clinical and clinical studies. To better understand the immunogenicity of theses vaccines, we tracked the intracellular fate of a model HA (A/California/07/2009 H1N1) in human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) following delivery either as VLPs (H1-VLP) or in soluble form. High-resolution tandem mass spectrometry identified 131 HA-derived peptides associated with MHC I in the H1-VLP-treated MDMs. Together with immunostaining and microscopy results, these data suggest that HA delivery to antigen-presenting cells on plant-derived VLPs facilitates antigen uptake, endosomal processing and cross-presentation. These observations may help explain the broad and cross-reactive immune responses generated by these vaccines.
Project description:Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, and a lack of understanding of basic disease pathogenesis is hampering development of new vaccines and treatments. Multiple studies have previously established a role for type I interferon (IFN) in TB disease. Type I IFNs are critical immune mediators for host responses to viral infection, yet their specific influence in bacterial infection remains unclear. As IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) can have both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on immune function, clarifying the role of type I interferon in TB remains an important question. The quantification of interferon proteins in the circulation of patients has been restricted until the recent development of digital ELISA. To test the hypothesis that patients with active TB disease have elevated circulating type I IFN we quantified plasma IFNα and β proteins with Simoa digital ELISA in patients with active disease and asymptomatic M. tuberculosis infection. Strikingly no differences were observed between these two groups, while plasma from acute influenza infection revealed significantly higher plasma levels of both IFNα and IFNβ proteins. These results suggest a discordance between ISG mRNA expression by blood leukocytes and circulating type I IFN in TB.
Project description:Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes that encode the cytochrome P450 (CYP) drug metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters have been reported to influence antiretroviral drug pharmacokinetics. Although primarily metabolized by CYP2B6 and -3A, efavirenz (EFV) and lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) are substrates of P-glycoprotein and the solute carrier organic (SLCO) anion transporter, respectively. We investigated the association between SNPs and efavirenz (EFV) or lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) concentrations in Chinese children infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Genotyping was performed on CYP2B6 516G→T, -1459C→T, and -983T→C, ABCB1 3435C→T, and SLCO1B1 521T→C in 229 HIV-infected Chinese pediatric patients (age range 4.0 to 17.5 yrs). Plasma concentrations of EFV and LPV/r were measured using validated high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with the mass spectrum method among 39 and 69 children who received EFV- and LPV/r-containing regimens, respectively. The frequencies of CYP2B6 516G→T in the study participants were 71%, 25%, and 4% for the G/G, G/T, and T/T genotypes, respectively. Among the children under therapeutic drug monitoring, 21% and 39% experienced EFV and LPV concentrations, respectively, above the upper threshold of the therapeutic window. CYP2B6 516G→T was significantly associated with EFV concentrations (p<0.001). Older children (older than 10 yrs) were more likely to have significantly higher EFV concentrations than the younger ones (p=0.0314). CYP2B6 genotyping and EFV concentration monitoring may help optimize antiretroviral therapy in pediatric patients who initiate an EFV-based regimen.
Project description:In this study, primary human monocyte-derived macrophages were exposed to plant-derived virus-like particles (VLPs) bearing influenza A hemagglutinin (HA) or soluble influenza HA, as control. Immunopurified MHC class I-associated peptides were analysed by nano-flow high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution dopant-assisted electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry. A total of 109 host-derived MHC I peptides were identified in the VLP-treated samples, two of which were also detected in controls. The peptides unique to VLP treatment were, on average, ~13 amino acid residues long, more basic and hydrophilic, and were mainly processed via proteolysis by matrix metalloproteinases and cathepsins. The proteins associated with these peptides were primarily involved in cellular, metabolic and regulatory processes and activated several pathways including inflammation stimulation and attenuation, response to stimuli, innate and adaptive immunity, clathrin-mediated endocytosis, protein synthesis and endo-lysosomal degradation. This study is the first report to describe the response of a primary human antigen-presenting cell to nanoparticulate vs. soluble antigen exposure from an immunopeptidomics point of view.
Project description:BackgroundA considerable challenge in quantification of the antimalarial piperaquine in plasma is carryover of analyte signal between assays. Current intensive pharmacokinetic studies often rely on the merging of venous and capillary sampling. Drug levels in capillary plasma may be different from those in venous plasma, Thus, correlation between capillary and venous drug levels needs to be established.MethodsLiquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to develop the method. Piperaquine was measured in 205 pairs of capillary and venous plasma samples collected simultaneously at ≥24hr post dose in children, pregnant women and non-pregnant women receiving dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine as malaria chemoprevention. Standard three-dose regimen over three days applied to all participants with three 40mg dihydroartemisinin/320mg PQ tablets per dose for adults and weight-based dose for children. Correlation analysis was performed using the program Stata® SE12.1. Linear regression models were built using concentrations or logarithm transformed concentrations and the final models were selected based on maximal coefficient of determination (R2) and visual check.ResultsAn LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated, utilizing methanol as a protein precipitation agent, a Gemini C18 column (50x2.0mm, 5μm) eluted with basic mobile phase solvents (ammonium hydroxide as the additive), and ESI+ as the ion source. This method had a calibration range of 10-1000 ng/mL and carryover was negligible. Correlation analysis revealed a linear relationship: Ccap = 1.04×Cven+4.20 (R2 = 0.832) without transformation of data, and lnCcap = 1.01×lnCven+0.0125, (R2 = 0.945) with natural logarithm transformation. The mean ratio (±SD) of Ccap/Cven was 1.13±0.42, and median (IQR) was 1.08 (0.917, 1.33).ConclusionsCapillary and venous plasma PQ measures are nearly identical overall, but not readily exchangeable due to large variation. Further correlation study accounting for disposition phases may be necessary.
Project description:Synthesis of ATP by the F1F0 ATP synthase in mitochondria and most bacteria is energized by the proton motive force (pmf) established and maintained by respiratory chain enzymes. Conversely, in the presence of ATP and in the absence of a pmf, the enzyme works as an ATP-driven proton pump. Here, we investigate how high concentrations of ATP affect the enzymatic activity of the F1F0 ATP synthase under high pmf conditions, which is the typical situation in mitochondria or growing bacteria. Using the ATP analogue adenosine 5'-O-(1-thiotriphosphate) (ATPαS), we have developed a modified luminescence-based assay to measure ATP synthesis in the presence of millimolar ATP concentrations, replacing an assay using radioactive nucleotides. In inverted membrane vesicles of E. coli, we found that under saturating pmf conditions, ATP synthesis was reduced to ~10% at 5 mM ATPαS. This reduction was reversed by ADP, but not Pi, indicating that the ATP/ADP ratio controls the ATP synthesis rate. Our data suggests that the ATP/ADP ratio ~30 in growing E. coli limits the ATP synthesis rate to ~20% of the maximal rate possible at the applied pmf and that the rate reduction occurs via product inhibition rather than an increased ATP hydrolysis rate.
Project description:Total plasma IgA glycosylation was compared between healthy volunteers and volunteers suffering fromo infections with either the influenza A virus or the severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2. Data from functional assays of the same plasma samples, such as neutrophil extracellular trap formation is also available.
Project description:Human blood plasma can be obtained relatively noninvasively and contains proteins from most, if not all, tissues of the body. Therefore, an extensive, quantitative catalog of plasma proteins is an important starting point for the discovery of disease biomarkers. In 2005, we showed that different proteomics measurements using different sample preparation and analysis techniques identify significantly different sets of proteins, and that a comprehensive plasma proteome can be compiled only by combining data from many different experiments. Applying advanced computational methods developed for the analysis and integration of very large and diverse data sets generated by tandem MS measurements of tryptic peptides, we have now compiled a high-confidence human plasma proteome reference set with well over twice the identified proteins of previous high-confidence sets. It includes a hierarchy of protein identifications at different levels of redundancy following a clearly defined scheme, which we propose as a standard that can be applied to any proteomics data set to facilitate cross-proteome analyses. Further, to aid in development of blood-based diagnostics using techniques such as selected reaction monitoring, we provide a rough estimate of protein concentrations using spectral counting. We identified 20,433 distinct peptides, from which we inferred a highly nonredundant set of 1929 protein sequences at a false discovery rate of 1%. We have made this resource available via PeptideAtlas, a large, multiorganism, publicly accessible compendium of peptides identified in tandem MS experiments conducted by laboratories around the world.