Improving laboratory animal genetic reporting: LAG-R guidelines.

The biomedical research community addresses reproducibility challenges in animal studies through standardized nomenclature, improved experimental design, transparent reporting, data sharing, and centralized repositories. The ARRIVE guidelines outline documentation standards for laboratory animals in experiments, but genetic information is often incomplete. To remedy this, we propose the Laboratory Animal Genetic Reporting (LAG-R) framework. LAG-R aims to document animals' genetic makeup in scientific publications, providing essential details for replication and appropriate model use. While verifying complete genetic compositions may be impractical, better reporting and validation efforts enhance reliability of research. LAG-R standardization will bolster reproducibility, peer review, and overall scientific rigor.

Sarbecovirus disease susceptibility is conserved across viral and host models.

Coronaviruses have caused three severe epidemics since the start of the 21st century: SARS, MERS and COVID-19. The severity of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and increasing likelihood of future coronavirus outbreaks motivates greater understanding of factors leading to severe coronavirus disease. We screened ten strains from the Collaborative Cross mouse genetic reference panel and identified strains CC006/TauUnc (CC006) and CC044/Unc (CC044) as coronavirus-susceptible and resistant, respectively, as indicated by variable weight loss and lung congestion scores four days post-infection. We generated a genetic mapping population of 755 CC006xCC044 F2 mice and exposed the mice to one of three genetically distinct mouse-adapted coronaviruses: clade 1a SARS-CoV MA15 (n=391), clade 1b SARS-CoV-2 MA10 (n=274), and clade 2 HKU3-CoV MA (n=90). Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping in SARS-CoV MA15- and SARS-CoV-2 MA10-infected F2 mice identified genetic loci associated with disease severity. Specifically, we identified seven loci associated with variation in outcome following infection with either virus, including one, HrS43, that is present in both groups. Three of these QTL, including HrS43, were also associated with HKU3-CoV MA outcome. HrS43 overlaps with a QTL previously reported by our lab that is associated with SARS-CoV MA15 outcome in CC011xCC074 F2 mice and is also syntenic with a human chromosomal region associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes in humans GWAS. The results reported here provide: (a) additional support for the involvement of this locus in SARS-CoV MA15 infection, (b) the first conclusive evidence that this locus is associated with susceptibility across the Sarbecovirus subgenus, and (c) demonstration of the relevance of mouse models in the study of coronavirus disease susceptibility in humans.

Mapping of susceptibility loci for Ebola virus pathogenesis in mice.

Ebola virus (EBOV), a major global health concern, causes severe, often fatal EBOV disease (EVD) in humans. Host genetic variation plays a critical role, yet the identity of host susceptibility loci in mammals remains unknown. Using genetic reference populations, we generate an F2 mapping cohort to identify host susceptibility loci that regulate EVD. While disease-resistant mice display minimal pathogenesis, susceptible mice display severe liver pathology consistent with EVD-like disease and transcriptional signatures associated with inflammatory and liver metabolic processes. A significant quantitative trait locus (QTL) for virus RNA load in blood is identified in chromosome (chr)8, and a severe clinical disease and mortality QTL is mapped to chr7, which includes the Trim5 locus. Using knockout mice, we validate the Trim5 locus as one potential driver of liver failure and mortality after infection. The identification of susceptibility loci provides insight into molecular genetic mechanisms regulating EVD progression and severity, potentially informing therapeutics and vaccination strategies.

A mutation in Themis contributes to anaphylaxis severity following oral peanut challenge in CC027 mice.

BACKGROUND: The development of peanut allergy is due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors, although specific genes have proven difficult to identify. Previously, we reported that peanut-sensitized Collaborative Cross strain CC027/GeniUnc (CC027) mice develop anaphylaxis upon oral challenge to peanut, in contrast to C3H/HeJ (C3H) mice. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the genetic basis of orally induced anaphylaxis to peanut in CC027 mice. METHODS: A genetic mapping population between CC027 and C3H mice was designed to identify the genetic factors that drive oral anaphylaxis. A total of 356 CC027xC3H backcrossed mice were generated, sensitized to peanut, then challenged to peanut by oral gavage. Anaphylaxis and peanut-specific IgE were quantified for all mice. T-cell phenotyping was conducted on CC027 mice and 5 additional Collaborative Cross strains. RESULTS: Anaphylaxis to peanut was absent in 77% of backcrossed mice, with 19% showing moderate anaphylaxis and 4% having severe anaphylaxis. There were 8 genetic loci associated with variation in response to peanut challenge-6 associated with anaphylaxis (temperature decrease) and 2 associated with peanut-specific IgE levels. There were 2 major loci that impacted multiple aspects of the severity of acute anaphylaxis, at which the CC027 allele was associated with worse outcome. At one of these loci, CC027 has a private genetic variant in the Themis gene. Consistent with described functions of Themis, we found that CC027 mice have more immature T cells with fewer CD8+, CD4+, and CD4+CD25+CD127- regulatory T cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate a key role for Themis in the orally reactive CC027 mouse model of peanut allergy.

Early hippocampal high-amplitude rhythmic spikes predict post-traumatic epilepsy in mice.

Oscillations, a highly conserved brain function across mammalian species, are pivotal in brain physiology and pathology. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often leads to subacute and chronic brain oscillatory alterations associated with complications like post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) in patients and animal models. Our recent work longitudinally recorded local field potential from the contralateral hippocampus of 12 strains of recombinant inbred Collaborative Cross (CC) mice alongside classical laboratory inbred C57BL/6J mice after lateral fluid percussion injury. In this study, we profiled the acute (<12 hr post-injury) and subacute (12-48 hr post-injury) hippocampal oscillatory responses to TBI and evaluated their predictive value for PTE. We found dynamic high-amplitude rhythmic spikes with elevated power density and reduced entropy that prevailed during the acute phase in CC031 mice who later developed PTE. This characteristic early brain oscillatory alteration is absent in CC031 sham controls or other CC and reference C57BL/6J strains that did not develop PTE after TBI. Our work provides quantitative measures linking early brain oscillation to PTE at a population level in mice under controlled experimental conditions. These findings will offer insights into circuit mechanisms and potential targets for neuromodulatory intervention.

The Updated Mouse Universal Genotyping Array Bioinformatic Pipeline Improves Genetic QC in Laboratory Mice.

The MiniMUGA genotyping array is a popular tool for genetic QC of laboratory mice and genotyping of samples from most types of experimental crosses involving laboratory strains, particularly for reduced complexity crosses. The content of the production version of the MiniMUGA array is fixed; however, there is the opportunity to improve array's performance and the associated report's usefulness by leveraging thousands of samples genotyped since the initial description of MiniMUGA in 2020. Here we report our efforts to update and improve marker annotation, increase the number and the reliability of the consensus genotypes for inbred strains and increase the number of constructs that can reliably be detected with MiniMUGA. In addition, we have implemented key changes in the informatics pipeline to identify and quantify the contribution of specific genetic backgrounds to the makeup of a given sample, remove arbitrary thresholds, include the Y Chromosome and mitochondrial genome in the ideogram, and improve robust detection of the presence of commercially available substrains based on diagnostic alleles. Finally, we have made changes to the layout of the report, to simplify the interpretation and completeness of the analysis and added a table summarizing the ideogram. We believe that these changes will be of general interest to the mouse research community and will be instrumental in our goal of improving the rigor and reproducibility of mouse-based biomedical research.

Genetic loci regulate Sarbecovirus pathogenesis: A comparison across mice and humans.

Coronavirus (CoV) cause considerable morbidity and mortality in humans and other mammals, as evidenced by the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory CoV (SARS-CoV) in 2003, Middle East Respiratory CoV (MERS-CoV) in 2012, and SARS-CoV-2 in 2019. Although poorly characterized, natural genetic variation in human and other mammals modulate virus pathogenesis, as reflected by the spectrum of clinical outcomes ranging from asymptomatic infections to lethal disease. Using multiple human epidemic and zoonotic Sarbecoviruses, coupled with murine Collaborative Cross genetic reference populations, we identify several dozen quantitative trait loci that regulate SARS-like group-2B CoV pathogenesis and replication. Under a Chr4 QTL, we deleted a candidate interferon stimulated gene, Trim14 which resulted in enhanced SARS-CoV titers and clinical disease, suggesting an antiviral role during infection. Importantly, about 60 % of the murine QTL encode susceptibility genes identified as priority candidates from human genome-wide association studies (GWAS) studies after SARS-CoV-2 infection, suggesting that similar selective forces have targeted analogous genes and pathways to regulate Sarbecovirus disease across diverse mammalian hosts. These studies provide an experimental platform in rodents to investigate the molecular-genetic mechanisms by which potential cross mammalian susceptibility loci and genes regulate type-specific and cross-SARS-like group 2B CoV replication, immunity, and pathogenesis in rodent models. Our study also provides a paradigm for identifying susceptibility loci for other highly heterogeneous and virulent viruses that sporadically emerge from zoonotic reservoirs to plague human and animal populations.

Unique immune profiles in collaborative cross mice linked to survival and viral clearance upon infection.

The response to infection is generally heterogeneous and diverse, with some individuals remaining asymptomatic while others present with severe disease or a diverse range of symptoms. Here, we address the role of host genetics on immune phenotypes and clinical outcomes following viral infection by studying genetically diverse mice from the Collaborative Cross (CC), allowing for use of a small animal model with controlled genetic diversity while maintaining genetic replicates. We demonstrate variation by deeply profiling a broad range of innate and adaptive immune cell phenotypes at steady-state in 63 genetically distinct CC mouse strains and link baseline immune signatures with virologic and clinical disease outcomes following infection of mice with herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This work serves as a resource for CC strain selection based on steady-state immune phenotypes or disease presentation upon viral infection, and further, points to possible pre-infection immune correlates of survival and early viral clearance upon infection.

Group-Related Variables in Intervention Programs for Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators: A Systematic Review.

Intervention programs for male intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators mostly use the group intervention modality. Notwithstanding, the literature has neglected the study of group-related variables and their possible association with these interventions' functioning and outcomes. This systematic review aimed to analyze group-related variables, their predictors, and their relation to the functioning and outcomes of intervention programs for IPV perpetrators. The systematic review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The following databases were searched from inception to November 2022: Web of Science, Scopus, PUBMED, and PsycINFO. Of the 5,941 identified studies, 13 were included in the review. The main predictors of group-related variables were: intervention stage, motivational strategies, and leadership (counseling approach). The group-related variables as predictors of intervention outcomes were: group management behaviors and support (facilitator behavior within the group); positive confrontation, protherapeutic behavior, active involvement, positive interaction with peers, and positive interaction with the facilitator (participant behavior within the group); and group cohesion and group climate (group dynamics). Group cohesion and participants' protherapeutic behavior stood out for their association with positive treatment outcomes (i.e., greater participation and working alliance, lower rates of violent behavior during follow-up). The findings from this review suggest that group processes are key factors in intervention programs for IPV perpetrators, and a better understanding of how these group processes are shaped, and how they can contribute to positive program outcomes, provides a new approach and insights to improve their effectiveness.

Host Genetic Variation Impacts SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Response in the Diversity Outbred Mouse Population.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the rapid and worldwide development of highly effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. However, there is significant individual-to-individual variation in vaccine efficacy due to factors including viral variants, host age, immune status, environmental and host genetic factors. Understanding those determinants driving this variation may inform the development of more broadly protective vaccine strategies. While host genetic factors are known to impact vaccine efficacy for respiratory pathogens such as influenza and tuberculosis, the impact of host genetic variation on vaccine efficacy against COVID-19 is not well understood. To model the impact of host genetic variation on SARS-CoV-2 vaccine efficacy, while controlling for the impact of non-genetic factors, we used the Diversity Outbred (DO) mouse model. We found that DO mice immunized against SARS-CoV-2 exhibited high levels of variation in vaccine-induced neutralizing antibody responses. While the majority of the vaccinated mice were protected from virus-induced disease, similar to human populations, we observed vaccine breakthrough in a subset of mice. Importantly, we found that this variation in neutralizing antibody, virus-induced disease, and viral titer is heritable, indicating that the DO serves as a useful model system for studying the contribution of genetic variation of both vaccines and disease outcomes.

Genetic diversity drives extreme responses to traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic epilepsy.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a complex and heterogeneous condition that can cause wide-spectral neurological sequelae such as behavioral deficits, sleep abnormalities, and post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE). However, understanding the interaction of TBI phenome is challenging because few animal models can recapitulate the heterogeneity of TBI outcomes. We leveraged the genetically diverse recombinant inbred Collaborative Cross (CC) mice panel and systematically characterized TBI-related outcomes in males from 12 strains of CC and the reference C57BL/6J mice. We identified unprecedented extreme responses in multiple clinically relevant traits across CC strains, including weight change, mortality, locomotor activity, cognition, and sleep. Notably, we identified CC031 mouse strain as the first rodent model of PTE that exhibit frequent and progressive post-traumatic seizures after moderate TBI induced by lateral fluid percussion. Multivariate analysis pinpointed novel biological interactions and three principal components across TBI-related modalities. Estimate of the proportion of TBI phenotypic variability attributable to strain revealed large range of heritability, including >70% heritability of open arm entry time of elevated plus maze. Our work provides novel resources and models that can facilitate genetic mapping and the understanding of the pathobiology of TBI and PTE.

Cardiac output and the pharmacology of general anesthetics: a narrative review

The relationship between cardiac output and anesthetic drugs is important to anesthesiologists, since cardiac output determines the speed with which a drug infused into the bloodstream reaches its target and the intensity of the drug's effect. But rather than focus on how anesthetic drugs affect cardiac output, this narrative review focuses on how changes in cardiac output affect the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of general anesthetics during the three phases of anesthesia. At induction, an increase in cardiac output shortens both the onset time of propofol for hypnosis and the neuromuscular blocking effect of rapid-acting neuromuscular blockers, favoring the conditions for rapid sequence intubation. During maintenance, changes in cardiac output are followed by opposite changes in the drug plasma concentration of anesthetic drugs. Thus, an increase in cardiac output followed by a decrease in the plasma concentration of the anesthetic could expose the patient to a real risk of intraoperative awakening, which can be avoided by increasing the dose of hypnotic drugs. At emergence, an increase in cardiac output secondary to an increase in pC02 allows for a more rapid recovery from anesthesia. The pC02 can be increased by adding CO2 to the respiratory circuit, lowering the ventilatory rate, or placing the patient on partial rebreathing. Finally, the reversal action of sugammadex for rocuronium-induced neuromuscular block can be shortened by increasing the cardiac output.

La relación entre el gasto cardíaco y los fármacos anestésicos es importante para los anestesiólogos puesto que el gasto cardíaco determina la velocidad con la cual un medicamento que se infunde al torrente sanguíneo llega a su diana y la intensidad del efecto del agente. Pero en lugar de concentrarnos en cómo los fármacos anestésicos afectan el gasto cardíaco, esta revisión narrativa se enfoca en cómo los cambios en el gasto cardíaco afectan la farmacocinética y la farmacodinámica de los agentes anestésicos generales durante las tres fases de la anestesia. En el momento de la inducción, un incremento en el gasto cardíaco acorta tanto el tiempo de inicio del efecto del propofol para la hipnosis como el efecto del bloqueo neuromuscular causado por los bloqueadores neuromusculares de acción rápida, favoreciendo las condiciones para la intubación de secuencia rápida. Durante la fase de mantenimiento, los cambios en el gasto cardíaco vienen seguidos de cambios opuestos en la concentración plasmática del medicamento de los agentes anestésicos. Por lo tanto, un aumento del gasto cardíaco, seguido de una reducción en la concentración plasmática del anestésico, podría exponer al paciente a un riesgo real de despertar intraoperatorio, lo cual puede evitarse aumentando la dosis de los fármacos hipnóticos. En la educción, un aumento en el gasto cardíaco secundario al incremento en el pCO2 permite una recuperación más rápida de la anestesia. El pCO2 puede aumentar agregando CO2 al circuito de la respiración, reduciendo la tasa ventilatoria, o colocando al paciente en re-inhalación parcial. Finalmente, la acción de reversión de sugammadex en caso de bloqueo neuromuscular inducido por rocuronio, puede acortarse aumentando el gasto cardíaco.

Angiotensin II in liver transplantation (AngLT-1): protocol of a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Catecholamine vasopressors such as norepinephrine are the standard drugs used to maintain mean arterial pressure during liver transplantation. At high doses, catecholamines may impair organ perfusion. Angiotensin II is a peptide vasoconstrictor that may improve renal perfusion pressure and glomerular filtration rate, a haemodynamic profile that could reduce acute kidney injury. Angiotensin II is approved for vasodilatory shock but has not been rigorously evaluated for treatment of hypotension during liver transplantation. The objective is to assess the efficacy of angiotensin II as a second-line vasopressor infusion during liver transplantation. This trial will establish the efficacy of angiotensin II in decreasing the dose of norepinephrine to maintain adequate blood pressure. Completion of this study will allow design of a follow-up, multicentre trial powered to detect a reduction of organ injury in liver transplantation. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a double-blind, randomised clinical trial. Eligible subjects are adults with a Model for End-Stage Liver Disease Sodium Score ≥25 undergoing deceased donor liver transplantation. Subjects are randomised 1:1 to receive angiotensin II or saline placebo as the second-line vasopressor infusion. The study drug infusion is initiated on reaching a norepinephrine dose of 0.05 µg kg-1 min-1 and titrated per protocol. The primary outcome is the dose of norepinephrine required to maintain a mean arterial pressure ≥65 mm Hg. Secondary outcomes include vasopressin or epinephrine requirement and duration of hypotension. Safety outcomes include incidence of thromboembolism within 48 hours of the end of surgery and severe hypertension. An intention-to-treat analysis will be performed for all randomised subjects receiving the study drug. The total dose of norepinephrine will be compared between the two arms by a one-tailed Mann-Whitney U test. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The trial protocol was approved by the local Institutional Review Board (#20-30948). Results will be posted on ClinicalTrials.gov and published in a peer-reviewed journal. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.govNCT04901169.

A mutation in Themis contributes to peanut-induced oral anaphylaxis in CC027 mice.

Background: The development of peanut allergy is due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors, although specific genes have proven difficult to identify. Previously, we reported that peanut-sensitized CC027/GeniUnc (CC027) mice develop anaphylaxis upon oral challenge to peanut, unlike C3H/HeJ (C3H) mice. Objective: To determine the genetic basis of orally-induced anaphylaxis to peanut in CC027 mice. Methods: A genetic mapping population between CC027 and C3H mice was designed to identify the genetic factors that drive oral anaphylaxis. A total of 356 CC027xC3H backcrossed mice were generated, sensitized to peanut, then challenged to peanut by oral gavage. Anaphylaxis and peanut-specific IgE were quantified for all mice. T-cell phenotyping was conducted on CC027 and five additional CC strains. Results: Anaphylaxis to peanut was absent in 77% of backcrossed mice, with 19% showing moderate anaphylaxis, and 4% having severe anaphylaxis. A total of eight genetic loci were associated with variation in response to peanut challenge, six associated with anaphylaxis (temperature decrease) and two associated with peanut-specific IgE levels. There were two major loci that impacted multiple aspects of the severity of acute anaphylaxis, at which the CC027 allele was associated with worse outcome. At one of these loci, CC027 has a private genetic variant in the Themis (thymocyte-expressed molecule involved in selection) gene. Consistent with Themis' described functions, we found that CC027 have more immature T cells with fewer CD8+, CD4+, and CD4+CD25+CD127- regulatory T cells. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate a key role for Themis in the orally-reactive CC027 mouse model of peanut allergy.

Large differences in collateral blood vessel abundance among individuals arise from multiple genetic variants.

Collateral blood flow varies greatly among humans for reasons that remain unclear, resulting in significant differences in ischemic tissue damage. A similarly large variation has also been found in mice that is caused by genetic background-dependent differences in the extent of collateral formation, termed collaterogenesis-a unique angiogenic process that occurs during development and determines collateral number and diameter in the adult. Previous studies have identified several quantitative trait loci (QTL) linked to this variation. However, understanding has been hampered by the use of closely related inbred strains that do not model the wide genetic variation present in the "outbred" human population. The Collaborative Cross (CC) multiparent mouse genetic reference panel was developed to address this limitation. Herein we measured the number and average diameter of cerebral collaterals in 60 CC strains, their 8 founder strains, 8 F1 crosses of CC strains selected for abundant versus sparse collaterals, and 2 intercross populations created from the latter. Collateral number evidenced 47-fold variation among the 60 CC strains, with 14% having poor, 25% poor-to-intermediate, 47% intermediate-to-good, and 13% good collateral abundance, that was associated with large differences in post-stroke infarct volume. Collateral number in skeletal muscle and intestine of selected high- and low-collateral strains evidenced the same relative abundance as in brain. Genome-wide mapping demonstrated that collateral abundance is a highly polymorphic trait. Subsequent analysis identified: 6 novel QTL circumscribing 28 high-priority candidate genes harboring putative loss-of-function polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with low collateral number; 335 predicted-deleterious SNPs present in their human orthologs; and 32 genes associated with vascular development but lacking protein coding variants. Six additional suggestive QTL (LOD > 4.5) were also identified in CC-wide QTL mapping. This study provides a comprehensive set of candidate genes for future investigations aimed at identifying signaling proteins within the collaterogenesis pathway whose variants potentially underlie genetic-dependent collateral insufficiency in brain and other tissues.

Large differences in collateral blood vessel abundance among individuals arise from multiple genetic variants.

Collateral blood flow varies greatly among humans for reasons that remain unclear, resulting in significant differences in ischemic tissue damage. A similarly large variation has also been found in mice that is caused by genetic background-dependent differences in the extent of collateral formation, termed collaterogenesis-a unique angiogenic process that occurs during development and determines collateral number and diameter in the adult. Previous studies have identified several quantitative trait loci (QTL) linked to this variation. However, understanding has been hampered by the use of closely related inbred strains that do not model the wide genetic variation present in the "outbred" human population. The Collaborative Cross (CC) multiparent mouse genetic reference panel was developed to address this limitation. Herein we measured the number and average diameter of cerebral collaterals in 60 CC strains, their 8 founder strains, 8 F1 crosses of CC strains selected for abundant versus sparse collaterals, and 2 intercross populations created from the latter. Collateral number evidenced 47-fold variation among the 60 CC strains, with 14% having poor, 25% poor-to-intermediate, 47% intermediate-to-good, and 13% good collateral abundance, that was associated with large differences in post-stroke infarct volume. Genome-wide mapping demonstrated that collateral abundance is a highly polymorphic trait. Subsequent analysis identified: 6 novel QTL circumscribing 28 high-priority candidate genes harboring putative loss-of-function polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with low collateral number; 335 predicted-deleterious SNPs present in their human orthologs; and 32 genes associated with vascular development but lacking protein coding variants. This study provides a comprehensive set of candidate genes for future investigations aimed at identifying signaling proteins within the collaterogenesis pathway whose variants potentially underlie genetic-dependent collateral insufficiency in brain and other tissues.

Defining entrustable professional activities for first year anesthesiology residents: A Delphi study.

INTRODUCTION: The use of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) as a basis for assessment may bridge the gap between the theory of competency-based education and clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate EPAs for United States (US) first-year clinical anesthesia (CA-1) residents for anesthesiology residency programs to use as the basis for curriculum development and workplace assessment. METHODS: From a list of EPAs abstracted from the literature, an expert panel through a modified Delphi consensus process established EPAs for the CA1 curriculum. RESULTS: The final list of EPAs after group consensus had 28 EPAs, with 14 (50%) considered to be applicable to the CA-1 year. An 80% consensus rate was used to accept or reject the final list. CONCLUSION: This study applied a construct validity lens to EPA development providing assurance that the EPAs adopted are appropriate for use in workplace-based assessment and entrustment decision-making.

Identification of genomic loci regulating platelet plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in mice.

BACKGROUND: Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1, Serpine1) is an important circulating fibrinolysis inhibitor. PAI-1 exists in 2 pools, packaged within platelet α-granules and freely circulating in plasma. Elevated plasma PAI-1 levels are associated with cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about the regulation of platelet PAI-1 (pPAI-1). OBJECTIVES: We investigated the genetic control of pPAI-1 levels in mice and humans. METHODS: We measured pPAI-1 antigen levels via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in platelets isolated from 10 inbred mouse strains, including LEWES/EiJ (LEWES) and C57BL/6J (B6). LEWES and B6 were crossed to produce the F1 generation, B6LEWESF1. B6LEWESF1 mice were intercrossed to produce B6LEWESF2 mice. These mice were subjected to genome-wide genetic marker genotyping followed by quantitative trait locus analysis to identify pPAI-1 regulatory loci. RESULTS: We identified differences in pPAI-1 between several laboratory strains, with LEWES having pPAI-1 levels more than 10-fold higher than those in B6. Quantitative trait locus analysis of B6LEWESF2 offspring identified a major pPAI-1 regulatory locus on chromosome 5 from 136.1 to 137.6 Mb (logarithm of the odds score, 16.2). Significant pPAI-1 modifier loci on chromosomes 6 and 13 were also identified. CONCLUSION: Identification of pPAI-1 genomic regulatory elements provides insights into platelet/megakaryocyte-specific and cell type-specific gene expression. This information can be used to design more precise therapeutic targets for diseases where PAI-1 plays a role.

Self-Determined Goals of Male Participants Attending an Intervention Program for Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators: A Thematic Analysis.

Treatment adherence and motivation to change are among the main challenges in intervention programs for Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) perpetrators. Motivational strategies have shown promising results in increasing the effectiveness of intervention programs for IPV perpetrators. One of these motivational strategies is goal setting. The aim of this study was to analyze and categorize the self-determined goals (n = 204) of 227 male participants attending an intervention program for IPV perpetrators. Findings of the thematic analysis suggested three levels of analysis: 4 core categories, 12 categories, and 35 codes. The four core categories were "interpersonal relationships" (39.7%), "personal resources for daily life" (29.3%), "coping strategies" (27.8%), and "motivation to change" (3.2%). Identifying the main categories of self-determined goals of IPV perpetrators could guide professionals to tailor the intervention to participants' specific needs and implement evidence-based strategies to strengthen goal attainment and improve treatment outcomes.

Multi-omics analysis identifies drivers of protein phosphorylation.

BACKGROUND: Phosphorylation of proteins is a key step in the regulation of many cellular processes including activation of enzymes and signaling cascades. The abundance of a phosphorylated peptide (phosphopeptide) is determined by the abundance of its parent protein and the proportion of target sites that are phosphorylated. RESULTS: We quantified phosphopeptides, proteins, and transcripts in heart, liver, and kidney tissue samples of mice from 58 strains of the Collaborative Cross strain panel. We mapped ~700 phosphorylation quantitative trait loci (phQTL) across the three tissues and applied genetic mediation analysis to identify causal drivers of phosphorylation. We identified kinases, phosphatases, cytokines, and other factors, including both known and potentially novel interactions between target proteins and genes that regulate site-specific phosphorylation. Our analysis highlights multiple targets of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 (PDK1), a regulator of mitochondrial function that shows reduced activity in the NZO/HILtJ mouse, a polygenic model of obesity and type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Together, this integrative multi-omics analysis in genetically diverse CC strains provides a powerful tool to identify regulators of protein phosphorylation. The data generated in this study provides a resource for further exploration.