University of Copenhagen

About: University of Copenhagen is a education organization based out in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 57645 authors who have published 149740 publications receiving 5903093 citations. The organization is also known as: Copenhagen University & Københavns Universitet.

An atlas of active enhancers across human cell types and tissues

Abstract: Enhancers control the correct temporal and cell-type-specific activation of gene expression in multicellular eukaryotes. Knowing their properties, regulatory activity and targets is crucial to understand the regulation of differentiation and homeostasis. Here we use the FANTOM5 panel of samples, covering the majority of human tissues and cell types, to produce an atlas of active, in vivo-transcribed enhancers. We show that enhancers share properties with CpG-poor messenger RNA promoters but produce bidirectional, exosome-sensitive, relatively short unspliced RNAs, the generation of which is strongly related to enhancer activity. The atlas is used to compare regulatory programs between different cells at unprecedented depth, to identify disease-associated regulatory single nucleotide polymorphisms, and to classify cell-type-specific and ubiquitous enhancers. We further explore the utility of enhancer redundancy, which explains gene expression strength rather than expression patterns. The online FANTOM5 enhancer atlas represents a unique resource for studies on cell-type-specific enhancers and gene regulation.

Gut metagenome in European women with normal, impaired and diabetic glucose control

Abstract: Recent evidence has suggested that altered gut microbiota are associated with various metabolic diseases including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Fredrik Bckhed and colleagues characterized the faecal metagenome of a cohort of European women with normal, impaired or diabetic glucose control and compared these findings to a recently described Chinese cohort. Their analysis reveals differences in the discriminant metagenomic markers for type 2 diabetes between the two cohorts, suggesting that metagenomic predictive tools may have to be specific for age and geographical populations under investigation.

Defining the clinical course of multiple sclerosis: The 2013 revisions

Abstract: Accurate clinical course descriptions (phenotypes) of multiple sclerosis (MS) are important for communication, prognostication, design and recruitment of clinical trials, and treatment decision-making. Standardized descriptions published in 1996 based on a survey of international MS experts provided purely clinical phenotypes based on data and consensus at that time, but imaging and biological correlates were lacking. Increased understanding of MS and its pathology, coupled with general concern that the original descriptors may not adequately reflect more recently identified clinical aspects of the disease, prompted a re-examination of MS disease phenotypes by the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials of MS. While imaging and biological markers that might provide objective criteria for separating clinical phenotypes are lacking, we propose refined descriptors that include consideration of disease activity (based on clinical relapse rate and imaging findings) and disease progression. Strategies for future research to better define phenotypes are also outlined.