MyMedR

Displaying all 4 publications

Abstract:

Sort:

Fulltext Epigenome-wide association study of adiposity and future risk of obesity-related diseases

Campanella G, Gunter MJ, Polidoro S, Krogh V, Palli D, Panico S, et al.

Int J Obes (Lond), 2018 Dec;42(12):2022-2035.
PMID: 29713043 DOI: 10.1038/s41366-018-0064-7

BACKGROUND: Obesity is an established risk factor for several common chronic diseases such as breast and colorectal cancer, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases; however, the biological basis for these relationships is not fully understood. To explore the association of obesity with these conditions, we investigated peripheral blood leucocyte (PBL) DNA methylation markers for adiposity and their contribution to risk of incident breast and colorectal cancer and myocardial infarction.
METHODS: DNA methylation profiles (Illumina Infinium® HumanMethylation450 BeadChip) from 1941 individuals from four population-based European cohorts were analysed in relation to body mass index, waist circumference, waist-hip and waist-height ratio within a meta-analytical framework. In a subset of these individuals, data on genome-wide gene expression level, biomarkers of glucose and lipid metabolism were also available. Validation of methylation markers associated with all adiposity measures was performed in 358 individuals. Finally, we investigated the association of obesity-related methylation marks with breast, colorectal cancer and myocardial infarction within relevant subsets of the discovery population.
RESULTS: We identified 40 CpG loci with methylation levels associated with at least one adiposity measure. Of these, one CpG locus (cg06500161) in ABCG1 was associated with all four adiposity measures (P = 9.07×10-8 to 3.27×10-18) and lower transcriptional activity of the full-length isoform of ABCG1 (P = 6.00×10-7), higher triglyceride levels (P = 5.37×10-9) and higher triglycerides-to-HDL cholesterol ratio (P = 1.03×10-10). Of the 40 informative and obesity-related CpG loci, two (in IL2RB and FGF18) were significantly associated with colorectal cancer (inversely, P
Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks

MacNeil MA, Chapman DD, Heupel M, Simpfendorfer CA, Heithaus M, Meekan M, et al.

Nature, 2020 07;583(7818):801-806.
PMID: 32699418 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2519-y

Decades of overexploitation have devastated shark populations, leaving considerable doubt as to their ecological status1,2. Yet much of what is known about sharks has been inferred from catch records in industrial fisheries, whereas far less information is available about sharks that live in coastal habitats3. Here we address this knowledge gap using data from more than 15,000 standardized baited remote underwater video stations that were deployed on 371 reefs in 58 nations to estimate the conservation status of reef sharks globally. Our results reveal the profound impact that fishing has had on reef shark populations: we observed no sharks on almost 20% of the surveyed reefs. Reef sharks were almost completely absent from reefs in several nations, and shark depletion was strongly related to socio-economic conditions such as the size and proximity of the nearest market, poor governance and the density of the human population. However, opportunities for the conservation of reef sharks remain: shark sanctuaries, closed areas, catch limits and an absence of gillnets and longlines were associated with a substantially higher relative abundance of reef sharks. These results reveal several policy pathways for the restoration and management of reef shark populations, from direct top-down management of fishing to indirect improvement of governance conditions. Reef shark populations will only have a high chance of recovery by engaging key socio-economic aspects of tropical fisheries.
Author Correction: Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks

MacNeil MA, Chapman DD, Heupel M, Simpfendorfer CA, Heithaus M, Meekan M, et al.

Nature, 2020 09;585(7825):E11.
PMID: 32848253 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2692-z

An Amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Widespread diversity deficits of coral reef sharks and rays

Simpfendorfer CA, Heithaus MR, Heupel MR, MacNeil MA, Meekan M, Harvey E, et al.

Science, 2023 Jun 16;380(6650):1155-1160.
PMID: 37319199 DOI: 10.1126/science.ade4884

A global survey of coral reefs reveals that overfishing is driving resident shark species toward extinction, causing diversity deficits in reef elasmobranch (shark and ray) assemblages. Our species-level analysis revealed global declines of 60 to 73% for five common resident reef shark species and that individual shark species were not detected at 34 to 47% of surveyed reefs. As reefs become more shark-depleted, rays begin to dominate assemblages. Shark-dominated assemblages persist in wealthy nations with strong governance and in highly protected areas, whereas poverty, weak governance, and a lack of shark management are associated with depauperate assemblages mainly composed of rays. Without action to address these diversity deficits, loss of ecological function and ecosystem services will increasingly affect human communities.