scholarly journals Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence, Genetic Factors

PRILOZI ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Kostovski ◽  
Velibor Tasic ◽  
Nevena Laban ◽  
Momir Polenakovic ◽  
Dragan Danilovski ◽  
...  

AbstractObesity and excess weight are a pandemic phenomenon in the modern world. Childhood and adolescent obesity often ends up in obesity in adults. The costs of obesity and its consequences are staggering for any society, crippling for countries in development. Childhood obesity is also widespread in Macedonia. Metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia and carbohydrate intolerance are found in significant numbers. Parents and grandparents are often obese. Some of the children are either dysmorphic, or slightly retarded. We have already described patients with Prader-Willi syndrome, Bardet-Biedl syndrome or WAGR syndrome. A genetic screening for mutations in monogenic obesity in children with early, rapid-onset or severe obesity, severe hyperphagia, hypogonadism, intestinal dysfunction, hypopigmentation of hair and skin, postprandial hypoglycaemia, diabetes insipidus, abnormal leptin level and coexistence of lean and obese siblings in the family discovers many genetic forms of obesity. There are about 30 monogenic forms of obesity. In addition, obesity is different in ethnic groups, and the types of monogenic obesity differ. In brief, an increasing number of genes and genetic mechanisms in children continue to be discovered. This sheds new light on the molecular mechanisms of obesity and potentially gives a target for new forms of treatment.

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  

The process by which young talents develop to become top-class players once they reach the age of maximum performance is influenced by numerous factors. Among the exogenous factors, the family plays a central role. In the context of a research project carried out in cooperation with the Swiss Football Association SFV, 159 former members of the national youth football team were interviewed retrospectively, among other things concerning their family circumstances. The study is interested in understanding two issues: 1) It examines which family conditions – compared with average Swiss families – lead to success in adolescence (nomination for a national youth team). 2) Since success in adolescence by no means guarantees top-level performance at the age of maximum performance, the heterogeneity of the sample’s adult level of performance is used to compare players who later achieve greater success to the less successful players. It is found that these players come from families with many chil-dren and a strong affinity to sports. Those players who are particularly successful at the age of maximum performance also felt they received more support from their parents and siblings during childhood and adolescence than the players who went on to be less successful.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruijuan Du ◽  
Chuntian Huang ◽  
Kangdong Liu ◽  
Xiang Li ◽  
Zigang Dong

AbstractAurora kinase A (AURKA) belongs to the family of serine/threonine kinases, whose activation is necessary for cell division processes via regulation of mitosis. AURKA shows significantly higher expression in cancer tissues than in normal control tissues for multiple tumor types according to the TCGA database. Activation of AURKA has been demonstrated to play an important role in a wide range of cancers, and numerous AURKA substrates have been identified. AURKA-mediated phosphorylation can regulate the functions of AURKA substrates, some of which are mitosis regulators, tumor suppressors or oncogenes. In addition, enrichment of AURKA-interacting proteins with KEGG pathway and GO analysis have demonstrated that these proteins are involved in classic oncogenic pathways. All of this evidence favors the idea of AURKA as a target for cancer therapy, and some small molecules targeting AURKA have been discovered. These AURKA inhibitors (AKIs) have been tested in preclinical studies, and some of them have been subjected to clinical trials as monotherapies or in combination with classic chemotherapy or other targeted therapies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 7129
Author(s):  
Desalegn D. Serba ◽  
Xiaoxi Meng ◽  
James Schnable ◽  
Elfadil Bashir ◽  
J. P. Michaud ◽  
...  

The sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari (Zehntner) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) (SCA), has become a major pest of grain sorghum since its appearance in the USA. Several grain sorghum parental lines are moderately resistant to the SCA. However, the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying this resistance are poorly understood, which has constrained breeding for improved resistance. RNA-Seq was used to conduct transcriptomics analysis on a moderately resistant genotype (TAM428) and a susceptible genotype (Tx2737) to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying resistance. Differential expression analysis revealed differences in transcriptomic profile between the two genotypes at multiple time points after infestation by SCA. Six gene clusters had differential expression during SCA infestation. Gene ontology enrichment and cluster analysis of genes differentially expressed after SCA infestation revealed consistent upregulation of genes controlling protein and lipid binding, cellular catabolic processes, transcription initiation, and autophagy in the resistant genotype. Genes regulating responses to external stimuli and stress, cell communication, and transferase activities, were all upregulated in later stages of infestation. On the other hand, expression of genes controlling cell cycle and nuclear division were reduced after SCA infestation in the resistant genotype. These results indicate that different classes of genes, including stress response genes and transcription factors, are responsible for countering the physiological effects of SCA infestation in resistant sorghum plants.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia I Wucherpfennig ◽  
Timothy R Howes ◽  
Jessica N Au ◽  
Eric H Au ◽  
Garrett A Roberts Kingman ◽  
...  

Understanding the genetic mechanisms leading to new traits is a fundamental goal of evolutionary biology. We show that HOXDB regulatory changes have been used repeatedly in different stickleback fish species to alter the length and number of bony dorsal spines. In Gasterosteus aculeatus, a variant HOXDB allele is genetically linked to shortening an existing spine and adding a spine. In Apeltes quadracus, a variant allele is associated with lengthening an existing spine and adding a spine. The alleles alter the same conserved non-coding HOXDB enhancer by diverse molecular mechanisms, including SNPs, deletions, and transposable element insertions. The independent cis-acting regulatory changes are linked to anterior expansion or contraction of HOXDB expression. Our findings support the long-standing hypothesis that natural Hox gene variation underlies key morphological patterning changes in wild populations and illustrate how different mutational mechanisms affecting the same region may produce opposite gene expression changes with similar phenotypic outcomes.


BMC Genomics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenxu Ye ◽  
Humaira Rasheed ◽  
Yuehua Ran ◽  
Xiaojuan Yang ◽  
Lianxi Xing ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The reproductive plasticity of termite workers provides colonies with tremendous flexibility to respond to environmental changes, which is the basis for evolutionary and ecological success. Although it is known that all colony members share the same genetic background and that differences in castes are caused by differences in gene expression, the pattern of the specific expression of genes involved in the differentiation of workers into reproductives remains unclear. In this study, the isolated workers of Reticulitermes labralis developed into reproductives, and then comparative transcriptomes were used for the first time to reveal the molecular mechanisms underlying the reproductive plasticity of workers. Results We identified 38,070 differentially expressed genes and found a pattern of gene expression involved in the differentiation of the workers into reproductives. 12, 543 genes were specifically upregulated in the isolated workers. Twenty-five signal transduction pathways classified into environmental information processing were related to the differentiation of workers into reproductives. Ras functions as a signalling switch regulates the reproductive plasticity of workers. The catalase gene which is related to longevity was up-regulated in reproductives. Conclusion We demonstrate that workers leaving the natal colony can induce the expression of stage-specific genes in the workers, which leads to the differentiation of workers into reproductives and suggests that the signal transduction along the Ras-MAPK pathway crucially controls the reproductive plasticity of the workers. This study also provides an important model for revealing the molecular mechanism of longevity changes.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e018729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Solmi ◽  
Mariya Melnychuk ◽  
Stephen Morris

ObjectiveIn the UK, families of disabled children are entitled to receive disability benefits to help meet costs associated with caring for their child. Evidence of actual costs incurred is scant, especially for mental health disability. In this study, we aimed to quantify the cost of mental and physical health disability in childhood and adolescence to families in the UK using the concept of compensating variation (CV).DesignRepeated cross-sectional survey.SettingThe UK general populationParticipants85 212 children drawn from 8 waves of the Family Resources Survey.OutcomesUsing propensity score matching we matched families with a disabled child to similar families without a disabled child and calculated the extra income the former require to achieve the same living standards as the latter, that is, their CV. We calculated the additional costs specifically associated with several definitions of mental health and physical health disability.ResultsFamilies of a child with any mental health disability, regardless of the presence of physical health comorbidity, needed an additional £49.31 (95% CI: 21.95 to 76.67) and, for more severe disabilities, an additional £57.56 (95% CI: 17.69 to 97.44) per week to achieve the same living standards of families without a disabled child. This difference was greater for more deprived families, who needed between £59.28 (95% CI: 41.38 to 77.18) and £81.26 (95% CI: 53.35 to 109.38) more per week depending on the extent of mental health disability. Families of children with physical health disabilities, with or without mental health disabilities, required an additional £35.86 (95% CI: 13.77 to 57.96) per week, with economically deprived families requiring an extra £42.18 (95% CI: 26.38 to 57.97) per week.ConclusionsMental and physical health disabilities among children and adolescents were associated with high additional costs for the family, especially for those from deprived economic backgrounds. Means testing could help achieve a more equitable redistribution of disability benefit.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaoli Huang ◽  
Yuanyuan Wang ◽  
Zifeng Wu ◽  
Jiali Xu ◽  
Ling Zhou ◽  
...  

AbstractKetamine has been demonstrated to be a rapid-onset and long-lasting antidepressant, but its underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Recent studies have emerged microRNAs as important modulators for depression treatment. In this study, we report that miR-98-5p is downregulated in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of mice subjected to chronic social stress, while overexpressing it by its agonist alleviates depression-like behaviors. More importantly, we demonstrate that miR-98-5p is upregulated by ketamine administration, while inhibition of it by its antagonist blocks the antidepressant effect of ketamine. Our data implicate a novel molecular mechanism underlying the antidepressant effect of ketamine, and that therapeutic strategies targeting miR-98-5p could exert beneficial effects for depression treatment.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 214-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. Irkitova ◽  
A. V. Matsyura

<p>Lactobacillus acidophilus - homofermentative lactobacillus, specializing in living in the gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts of mammals and birds. It accompanies a person from birth and throughout his life, providing a whole range of useful services, the main one of which is active participation in the body's defense system against the harmful action of undesirable microorganisms (preventing the growth of pathogenic bacteria and restraining populations of opportunistic microbes at a safe level) . It is this property of the acidophilus rod that explains its wide practical use in various probiotic products and preparations of dietary, medical and agricultural purposes.<br />Although the acidophilus rod is known and purposefully used for a long time, it still ha the great potential for the research. The use of gene-molecular approaches has made it possible to clarify the systematic position of L. acidophilus in the family of lactobacilli and to identify a group of closely related species, often indistinguishable by traditional physiological and biochemical identification methods. Today, the efforts of researchers are focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which antagonistically active strains of L. acidophilus carry out a bactericidal and bacteriolytic effect on harmful microbes. Disclosure of these mechanisms will not only allow more efficient selection and use of strains of L. acidophilus, but also create a new class of antibiotics that are more effective and have less side effects than existing ones.<br />This review is devoted to the description of the probiotic microorganism Lactobacillus acidophilus. In the article the biological and ecological properties of the acidophilus rod are described in detail, examples of practical use of this microorganism in various branches of the national economy are given.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-25
Author(s):  
Mirosław Sobecki

The article contains selected results of research from spring 2020 among students of universities in Białystok. The author distinguished 9 types of socio-cultural identity in the religious dimension. He also made an attempt to establish a relationship between these types and selected features of the family environment. The following were used as independent variables: the level of parents’ education, opinions of the surveyed students on the level of parents’ religiosity and the relationship between the respondents and their parents in childhood and adolescence. The relationship between the number of children in the respondent’s family and the type of social and cultural identity in the religious dimension were also analyzed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Costantini ◽  
Mari H Muurinen ◽  
Outi Mäkitie

In the last decade, the widespread use of massively-parallel sequencing has considerably boosted the number of novel gene discoveries in monogenic skeletal diseases with short stature. Defects in genes playing a role in the maintenance and function of the growth plate, the site of longitudinal bone growth, are a well-known cause of skeletal diseases with short stature. However, several genes involved in extracellular matrix composition or maintenance as well as genes partaking in various biological processes have also been characterized. This review aims to describe the latest genetic findings in spondyloepiphyseal and spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasias and in some monogenic forms of isolated short stature. Strategies on how to successfully characterize novel skeletal phenotypes with short stature and genetic approaches to detect and validate novel gene-disease correlations will be discussed in detail. Finally, novel genetic mechanisms in the field of skeletal diseases, including variants affecting miRNAs and disrupting the chromatin structure, will be described. In summary, we discuss the latest gene discoveries underlying skeletal diseases with short stature and emphasize the importance of characterizing novel molecular mechanisms for genetic counseling, optimal management of the disease and for therapeutic innovations.


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