We have taken the first steps towards a complete reconstruction of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis regulatory network based on ChIP-Seq and combined this reconstruction with system-wide profiling of messenger RNAs, proteins, metabolites and lipids during hypoxia and re-aeration. Adaptations to hypoxia are thought to have a prominent role in M. tuberculosis pathogenesis. Using ChIP-Seq combined with expression data from the induction of the same factors, we have reconstructed a draft regulatory network based on 50 transcription factors. This network model revealed a direct interconnection between the hypoxic response, lipid catabolism, lipid anabolism and the production of cell wall lipids. As a validation of this model, in response to oxygen availability we observe substantial alterations in lipid content and changes in gene expression and metabolites in corresponding metabolic pathways. The regulatory network reveals transcription factors underlying these changes, allows us to computationally predict expression changes, and indicates that Rv0081 is a regulatory hub.

Purpose:To investigate the integrity of the default-mode network (DMN) by using independent component analysis (ICA) methods in patients shortly after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and healthy control subjects, and to correlate DMN connectivity changes with neurocognitive tests and clinical symptoms. Materials and Methods:This study was approved by the institutional review board and complied with HIPAA regulations. Twenty-three patients with MTBI who had posttraumatic symptoms shortly after injury (,2 months) and 18 age-matched healthy control subjects were included in this study.Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed at 3 T to characterize the DMN by using ICA methods, including a single-participant ICA on the basis of a comprehensive template from core seeds in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) nodes. ICA z images of DMN components were compared between the two groups and correlated with neurocognitive tests and clinical performance in patients by using Pearson and Spearman rank correlation. Results:When compared with the control subjects, there was significantly reduced connectivity in the PCC and parietal regions and increased frontal connectivity around the MPFC in patients with MTBI (P , .01). These frontoposterior opposing changes within the DMN were significantly correlated (r = 20.44, P = .03). The reduced posterior connectivity correlated positively with neurocognitive dysfunction (eg, cognitive flexibility), while the increased frontal connectivity correlated negatively with posttraumatic symptoms (ie, depression, anxiety, fatigue, and postconcussion syndrome). Conclusion:These results showed abnormal DMN connectivity patterns in patients with MTBI, which may provide insight into how neuronal communication and information integration are disrupted among DMN key structures after mild head injury. Note: This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues or clients, contact us at www.rsna.org/rsnarights. (25) showed decreased connectivity within DMN nodes and increased headache, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, insomnia, poor concentration, memory difficulty, or an intolerance of stress, emotion, or alcohol) that have lasted at least 3 months (6), as well as evidence of deficits in attention and memory (7). PCS is frequently overlooked at the time of initial injury and can develop and persist for variable periods of time. However, the underlying pathophysiology of PCS is still poorly understood.In recent years, resting-state functional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has enabled evaluation of critical brain networks on the basis of baseline energy expenditure in awake and resting states of the brain. Resting-state networks are composed of brain regions with highly correlated time courses of robust low-frequency (,0.1 Hz) blood oxygen level-dependent signal fluctuations (8), which are believed to represent the maintenance of baseline human cognition and metab...

The fMRI and DTI results confirmed decreased connectivity from both the PCC and hippocampus to the whole brain in MCI and AD and reduction in connectivity between these two regions, which plausibly represents an early imaging biomarker for AD.

Purpose:To investigate longitudinal changes in global and regional brain volume in patients 1 year after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and to correlate such changes with clinical and neurocognitive metrics. Materials and Methods:This institutional review board-approved study was HIPAA compliant. Twenty-eight patients with MTBI (with 19 followed up at 1 year) with posttraumatic symptoms after injury and 22 matched control subjects (with 12 followed up at 1 year) were enrolled. Automated segmentation of brain regions to compute regional gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes was performed by using three-dimensional T1-weighted 3.0-T magnetic resonance imaging, and results were correlated with clinical metrics. Pearson and Spearman rank correlation coefficients were computed between longitudinal brain volume and neurocognitive scores, as well as clinical metrics, over the course of the follow-up period. Results:One year after MTBI, there was measurable global brain atrophy, larger than that in control subjects. The anterior cingulate WM bilaterally and the left cingulate gyrus isthmus WM, as well as the right precuneal GM, showed significant decreases in regional volume in patients with MTBI over the 1st year after injury (corrected P , .05); this was confirmed by means of cross-sectional comparison with data in control subjects (corrected P , .05). Left and right rostral anterior cingulum WM volume loss correlated with changes in neurocognitive measures of memory (r = 0.65, P = .005) and attention (r = 0.60, P = .01). At 1-year follow-up, WM volume in the left cingulate gyrus isthmus correlated with clinical scores of anxiety (Spearman rank correlation r = 20.68, P = .007) and postconcussive symptoms (Spearman rank correlation r = 20.65, P = .01). Conclusion:These observations demonstrate structural changes to the brain 1 year after injury after a single concussive episode. Regional brain atrophy is not exclusive to moderate and severe traumatic brain injury but may be seen after mild injury. In particular, the anterior part of the cingulum and the cingulate gyrus isthmus, as well as the precuneal GM, may be distinctively vulnerable 1 year after MTBI.q RSNA, 2013

Purpose:To explore the neural correlates of the thalamus by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and to investigate whether thalamic resting-state networks (RSNs) are disrupted in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). Materials and Methods:This HIPAA-compliant study was approved by the institutional review board, and written informed consent was obtained from 24 patients with MTBI and 17 healthy control subjects. The patients had varying degrees of symptoms, with a mean disease duration of 22 days. The restingstate functional MR imaging data were analyzed by using a standard seed-based whole-brain correlation method to characterize thalamic RSNs. Student t tests were used to perform comparisons. The association between thalamic RSNs and performance on neuropsychologic and neurobehavioral measures was also investigated in patients with MTBI by using Spearman rank correlation. Results:A normal pattern of thalamic RSNs was demonstrated in healthy subjects. This pattern was characterized as representing relatively symmetric and restrictive functional thalamocortical connectivity, suggesting an inhibitory property of the thalamic neurons during the resting state. This pattern was disrupted, with signifi cantly increased thalamic RSNs ( P Յ .005) and decreased symmetry ( P = .03) in patients with MTBI compared with healthy control subjects. Increased functional thalamocortical redistributive connectivity was correlated with diminished neurocognitive functions and clinical symptoms in patients with MTBI.

The role of insulin signaling in pancreatic ␤ cells has become increasingly apparent. Stably transformed insulinoma cell lines (MIN6) were created with small interfering RNA resulting in the reduction of insulin receptor (IR) expression up to 80% (insulin receptor knockdown, IRKD⌬80). Functionally perturbed IR signaling was confirmed with the absence of insulin-stimulated insulin receptor substrate 1 tyrosine phosphorylation. Additionally, Akt phosphorylation was reduced and responded poorly to glucose stimulation. Gene expression profiling revealed that reduced IR expression was associated with alterations in expression of >1,500 genes with diverse functions. IRKD cells exhibited low rate of proliferation due to delay in transition from G 0 /G 1 to S phase, whereas susceptibility to apoptosis did not differ from that of control cells. Insulin content was reduced in proportion to the reduction of IR. IRKD cells maintained glucose responsiveness as measured by NAD(P)H generation, whereas Ca 2؉ responses and insulin secretion were enhanced. IRKD⌬80 and control cells were treated with glucose (25 mM) or insulin (100 nM) for 45 min, and gene expression profiles were assessed. Transcriptional activation of several hundred early response genes common to both glucose and insulin stimulation was observed in control cells. In IRKD⌬80 cells, insulin failed to activate any genes as anticipated. Importantly, glucose stimulation of gene expression in IRKD⌬80 cells showed that most genes previously activated by glucose were no longer activated, suggesting a major autocrine/paracrine effect of insulin on glucoseregulated gene expression. On the other hand, there were a number of glucose-regulated genes in the IRKD⌬80 cells that were not previously observed in control cells, suggesting a feedback regulation of insulin signaling on glucose-regulated gene expression. These results demonstrate important roles of the insulin receptor in islet ␤ cell gene expression and function and may serve to elucidate molecular defects in animal models with diminished ␤ cell insulin signaling.Pancreatic ␤ cells dynamically adapt to their environment (1, 2). Changes in plasma glucose concentration along with various hormones and growth factors have been shown to be major determinants of insulin secretion, biosynthesis, and islet mass (3, 4). The islet ␤ cell responds to these changes in its environment by altering its transcriptional responses, and these changes in gene expression ultimately result in altered mass and function. However, the signaling pathways activated by these environmental changes and the ensuing transcriptional events that mediate these biological responses are only beginning to be elucidated. Specifically, the relationships between the signaling pathways activated by glucose and those activated by growth factors such as insulin remain unclear.The roles of insulin as a growth factor in the modulation of ␤ cell mass and function have been implied by the results of recent experiments. Glucose stimulation of ␤ cells in culture ha...

Biomarkers for active tuberculosis (TB) are urgently needed to improve rapid TB diagnosis. The objective of this study was to identify serum protein expression changes associated with TB but not latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI), uninfected states, or respiratory diseases other than TB (ORD). Serum samples from 209 HIV uninfected (HIV−) and co-infected (HIV+) individuals were studied. In the discovery phase samples were analyzed via liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, and in the verification phase biologically independent samples were analyzed via a multiplex multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (MRM-MS) assay. Compared to LTBI and ORD, host proteins were significantly differentially expressed in TB, and involved in the immune response, tissue repair, and lipid metabolism. Biomarker panels whose composition differed according to HIV status, and consisted of 8 host proteins in HIV− individuals (CD14, SEPP1, SELL, TNXB, LUM, PEPD, QSOX1, COMP, APOC1), or 10 host proteins in HIV+ individuals (CD14, SEPP1, PGLYRP2, PFN1, VASN, CPN2, TAGLN2, IGFBP6), respectively, distinguished TB from ORD with excellent accuracy (AUC = 0.96 for HIV− TB, 0.95 for HIV+ TB). These results warrant validation in larger studies but provide promise that host protein biomarkers could be the basis for a rapid, blood-based test for TB.

Background. Brain lesions are common in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOsd) and may resemble lesions of multiple sclerosis (MS). Objectives. To describe the imaging characteristics of supratentorial lesions in NMOsd on ultrahigh-field (7 T) MRI with special attention to vessel-lesion relationship. Methods. Ten NMOsd patients, all women and all seropositive for NMO IgG, with mean age of 51.3 ± 15.4 years and disease duration of 9.2 ± 6.4 years, were scanned at a 7 T whole-body human MR system with high-resolution 2D gradient echo sequence optimized to best visualize lesions and venous structures, T2- and T1-weighted imaging. Results. In 10 patients with NMOsd, a total of 92 lesions were observed (mean: 9.2 ± 8.8; range: 2–30), but only 8 lesions (9%) were traversed by a central venule. All lesions were <5 mm in diameter, and 83% were located in subcortical white matter. There were no lesions in the cortex or basal ganglia. Two patients exhibited diffuse periependymal abnormalities on FLAIR. Conclusions. Small, subcortical lesions without a central venule are the most consistent finding of NMOsd on 7 T MRI of the brain. Ultrahigh-field imaging may be useful for differentiating between NMOsd and MS.