Charité

About: Charité is a healthcare organization based out in Berlin, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Transplantation. The organization has 30624 authors who have published 64507 publications receiving 2437322 citations. The organization is also known as: Charite & Charité – University Medicine Berlin.

Rolandic alpha and beta EEG rhythms' strengths are inversely related to fMRI-BOLD signal in primary somatosensory and motor cortex

Abstract: Similar to the posterior alpha rhythm, pericentral (Rolandic) EEG rhythms in the alpha and beta frequency range are referred to as "idle rhythms" indicating a "resting state" of the respective system. The precise function of these rhythms is not clear. We used simultaneous EEG-fMRI during a bimanual motor task to localize brain areas involved in Rolandic alpha and beta EEG rhythms. The identification of these rhythms in the MR environment was achieved by a blind source separation algorithm. Rhythm "strength", i.e. spectral power determined by wavelet analysis, inversely correlated most strongly with the fMRI-BOLD signal in the postcentral cortex for the Rolandic alpha (mu) rhythm and in the precentral cortex for the Rolandic beta rhythm. FMRI correlates of Rolandic alpha and beta rhythms were distinct from those associated with the posterior "classical" alpha rhythm, which correlated inversely with the BOLD signal in the occipital cortex. An inverse correlation with the BOLD signal in the respective sensory area seems to be a general feature of "idle rhythms".

RAS/MAPK activation is associated with reduced tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in triple-negative breast cancer: therapeutic cooperation between MEK and PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors

Abstract: Purpose: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in the residual disease (RD) of triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) are associated with improved survival, but insight into tumor cell-autonomous molecular pathways affecting these features are lacking. Experimental Design: We analyzed TILs in the RD of clinically and molecularly characterized TNBCs after NAC and explored therapeutic strategies targeting combinations of MEK inhibitors with PD-1/PD-L1-targeted immunotherapy in mouse models of breast cancer. Results: Presence of TILs in the RD was significantly associated with improved prognosis. Genetic or transcriptomic alterations in Ras/MAPK signaling were significantly correlated with lower TILs. MEK inhibition up-regulated cell-surface major histocompatibility complex (MHC) expression and PD-L1 in TNBC cells both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, combined MEK and PDL-1/PD-1 inhibition enhanced anti-tumor immune responses in mouse models of breast cancer. Conclusions: These data suggest the possibility that Ras/MAPK pathway activation promotes immune-evasion in TNBC, and support clinical trials combining MEK- and PD-L1-targeted therapies. Furthermore, Ras/MAPK activation and MHC expression may be predictive biomarkers of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Continuous blood pressure measurement by using the pulse transit time: comparison to a cuff-based method.

Abstract: Pulse transit time (PTT) and pulse wave velocity (PWV), respectively, were shown to have a correlation with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and have been reported to be suitable for indirect BP measurements. The aim of this study was to create a function between SBP and PWV, and to test its reliability for the determination of absolute SBP using a non-linear algorithm and a one-point calibration. 63 volunteers performed exercise to induce rises in BP. Arterial PTT was measured between the R-spike of the ECG and the plethysmographic curve of finger pulse-oximetry. The reference BP was measured using a cuff-based sphygmomanometric aneroid device. Data from 13 of the 63 volunteers served for the detection of the PWV–BP relationship. The created non-linear function was used to calculate BP values after individual correction for the BP offset in a group of 50 volunteers. Individual correlation coefficients for SBP measured by PTT (SBPPTT) and by cuff (SBPCUFF) varied between r = 0.69 and r = 0.99. Taking all data together, we found r = 0.83 (276 measurements in 50 volunteers). In the Bland–Altman plot, the limits of agreement were \( {\text{mean}}_{{{\text{SBP}}_{\text{PTT}} , {\text{SBP}}_{\text{CUFF}} }} \)± 19.8 mmHg. In conclusion, comparing SBP values using the PTT-based method and those measured by cuff resulted in a significant correlation. However, the Bland–Altman plot shows relevant differences between both methods, which are partly due to greater variability of the SBPPTT measurement during intensified exercise. Results suggest that PTT can be used for measuring absolute SBP when performing an individual correction for the offset of the BP–PWV relation.

Epigallocatechin gallate attenuates diet-induced obesity in mice by decreasing energy absorption and increasing fat oxidation

Abstract: To examine the antiobesity effect of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a green tea bioactive polyphenol in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity. Obesity was induced in male New Zealand black mice by feeding of a high-fat diet. EGCG purified from green tea (TEAVIGO™) was supplemented in the diet (0.5 and 1%). Body composition (quantitative magnetic resonance), food intake, and food digestibility were recorded over a 4-week period. Animals were killed and mRNA levels of uncoupling proteins (UCP1–3), leptin, malic enzyme (ME), stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1), glucokinase (GK), and pyruvate kinase (PK) were analysed in different tissues. Also investigated were acute effects of orally administered EGCG (500 mg/kg) on body temperature, activity (transponders), and energy expenditure (indirect calorimetry). Dietary supplementation of EGCG resulted in a dose-dependent attenuation of body fat accumulation. Food intake was not affected but faeces energy content was slightly increased by EGCG, indicating a reduced food digestibility and thus reduced long-term energy absorption. Leptin and SCD1 gene expression in white fat was reduced but SCD1 and UCP1 expression in brown fat was not changed. In liver, gene expression of SCD1, ME, and GK was reduced and that of UCP2 increased. Acute oral administration of EGCG over 3 days had no effect on body temperature, activity, and energy expenditure, whereas respiratory quotient during night (activity phase) was decreased, supportive of a decreased lipogenesis and increased fat oxidation. Dietary EGCG attenuated diet-induced body fat accretion in mice. EGCG apparently promoted fat oxidation, but its fat-reducing effect could be entirely explained by its effect in reducing diet digestibility.