Too Much Protein? Let Me Get Rid of That

Imagine if we could change the levels of proteins in our body the same way we make changes on our iPhones, that is, quickly, efficiently, reliably, and reversibly (“reset button”). This may seem highly unlikely. However, Wu Yang Jin and his lab succeeded in developing a new approach to alter the levels of specific proteins in rats. Proteins are crucial for humans as they perform a wide variety of functions such as building, maintaining and replacing tissues in our bodies.

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by too much proteins in the brain called amyloid-beta plaques. Source: Flickr Commons. Credit to: alle banane.

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by too much proteins in the brain called amyloid-beta plaques. Source: Flickr Commons. Credit to: alle banane

Proteins are indeed critical for our survival. However, inappropriate levels of proteins can also be harmful to humans, as is the case in Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. The method by Jin and his colleagues could be of importance when considering new research avenues to overcome shortcomings of protein manipulations in current clinical research. His research may lead to promising treatment options for treating human diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. Below is a video description of the plaque formation that causes Alzheimer’s disease.

Credit: Danton O’Day

As opposed to current techniques that regulate levels of proteins, Jin’s proposed method allows to remove proteins quickly and reversibly, such that proteins can regain their initial states, if need be. Specifically, his method consists of injecting a small protein, known as a peptide, into an organism. The peptide has the ability to track down specific proteins and eliminate them in order to bring the levels of proteins back to normal. An additional feature of this new method is that the peptide can remove targeted proteins in the brain. Due to its small size, the peptide can cross the blood brain barrier (BBB) and can enter the brain from the circulatory system. The BBB is a barrier that protects the brain from harmful compounds that could present in the circulatory system.

Credit: Daniel Hsiao, Harrimal Cheema, Sara Lariviere, and Amirhossein Tashakor

Jin has demonstrated the efficiency of the method by reducing the levels of various proteins. One such example targeted a protein called death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1), which plays an important role in triggering cell death after a stroke. The implication of this protein is that it kills cells in the brain after a stroke, thereby increasing irreversible damage in the brain. When Jin and his colleagues injected the peptides into the circulatory system of stroke induced experimental rats, they found that the peptides successfully targeted and eliminated DAPK1 in areas of the brain affected by the stroke. As a result, damage done by the stroke were immensely reduced.

 

Parkinson’s disease is associated with symptoms such as resting tremor, postural instability, and slow walking. Source and Credit to: Wikipedia Commons.

In the podcast, we explained the paper in more detail.

Credit to: Daniel Hsiao, Harrimal Cheema, Sara Lariviere, and Amirhossein Tashakor

Daniel Hsiao, Harrimal Cheema, Sara Lariviere, and Amirhossein Tashakor

Caught in the Act: Partners in Crime behind Brain Diseases

The first step to treating a disease is to catch the culprit behind it. Researcher Jingfei and her team set out to do just that and discovered that hypoxia (a lack of oxygen) and inflammation act as partners in crime to cause damage to the brain.

hypoxia plus inflammation

The main result of Jingfei’s research. (Image: credits to Sean)

 

Jingfei’s recent publication from the University of British Columbia (UBC), highlighted the key role that hypoxia plays in brain damaging diseases such as Alzheimer’s, something that has been overlooked in past studies. They found that hypoxia and inflammation combined is what causes long term damage to the brain.

“This is a never-before-seen mechanism among three key players in the brain that interact together in neurodegenerative disorders,” says Jingfei’s supervisor, Brian MacVicar, from the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health at UBC. The three key players that he is referring to are hypoxia, inflammation, and microglia (the immune cells of the brain).

By manipulating the brain slices of rodents using various techniques, the researchers tracked the movement of microglia and found that the two factors, hypoxia and inflammation, work together to permanently weaken the connections between brain cells. Furthermore, the damaging effects of the two factors may worsen people’s memory, which is one of the early symptoms of brain diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Pictures (or rather videos) are worth a thousand words so watch below to see exactly how they went about conducting this exciting research and what they found.

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 (Video: Credits to Ian, Siana, Shikha, and Sean)

So, who will benefit from this research? Jingfei said, “Well I think right now it still will be researchers, because this paper is more like a new finding of something people didn’t know before, so hopefully […] they can build more realistic model on top of it.”

Moreover, some researchers have already built upon her research in the short  time that has passed since her paper was published. Researchers at Cambridge University have broadened our understanding of microglia in a recent study. They found that microglia are not just important after injury to the brain, but also for daily functioning.

In another study, researchers looked at human brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to see if they’re related to inflammatory conditions in multiple sclerosis (MS). They found that the type of inflammation found in brain diseases is completely different from the inflammatory conditions in MS.

At the rate that research around the world is being conducted, we can only hope to see clinical applications in the near future that hopefully bring us a step closer to finding a cure for brain diseases.

We can do our part in helping researchers gain more support in their studies by raising awareness of brain diseases. It’s important for people to be aware of these diseases and realize how devastating they can be to the patient, and their  loved ones.

Participants of Walk to End Alzheimer’s 2014

Participants of Walk to End Alzheimer’s 2014. (Flickr Image: Yooperann)

Below is our “Myth or Fact” podcast that aims to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s, which affects over 15% of Canadians over the age of 65. Listen to find out just how much some of the brightest students at UBC know about Alzheimer’s.

 

(Podcast: Credits to Ian, Siana, Shikha, and Sean.
Music: Credits to House Theme Song from YouTube User: Damaster00777)
No copyright infringement intended

– Written by Ian, Siana, Shikha and Sean

Think you know your spit? Think again.

How would you feel if you couldn’t taste or swallow your food? How about if speaking was uncomfortable? Having a dry mouth, or not having enough saliva, can cause these unpleasant symptoms.

Most people don’t know all the uses of saliva or the importance of it. Take a listen to our podcast below to see for yourself.

Audio source: Own project group

As was mentioned in the podcast, saliva is necessary not only for digestion of food, but also for tasting, oral health, prevention of bad breath, chewing, fighting germs, preventing tooth decay and communication. Researcher Hal Clark and his team looked into saliva loss resulting in a condition called xerostomia, more commonly known  as dry mouth.

Xerostomia is known to cause a decrease in patient’s quality of life, such as discomfort in speaking and swallowing, pain and possibly anxiety and sleep disturbance. So what causes xerostomia? One of the main causes of xerostomia is linked to radiation therapy for patients with head-and-neck cancers. Radiation therapy consists of targeting X-rays to the area of the tumor (external) or inserting a device near the tumor that emits radiation. Hal Clark and his team investigate loss of saliva due to dose of radiation therapy, or amount of X-rays, for head-and-neck cancer patients.

Source: Own project interview

Source: Own project interview

In this recent study, patients underwent radiotherapy treatment for head-and-neck cancers at the BC Cancer Agency. The researchers collected saliva output from the patients 3 months and one year after radiation therapy. Hal then compared this output with that of baseline, or the saliva output before radiation therapy. Clark found that the average loss of saliva after 3 months was 72% of baseline and the average loss after 1 year was 56% of baseline. To conclude his study, Hal suggested a minimum radiation dose to the main salivary gland to greatly reduce the chances of xerostomia.

In the following video, Hal and his supervisor, Dr. Steven Thomas explain saliva output measurements and radiation therapy treatment.

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Video source: Own project interview

The machine seen in the following video of the patient’s point of view when receiving radiation treatment is the same technology that Hal Clark and his team used for radiation treatment in their study.

Video source: from Vimeo

The level of saliva output affects the patients’ quality of life. Therefore, to reduce the side effect of radiation treatment, researchers are working hard to find the right balance between killing the tumor and maintaining the saliva output of patients. Tasting, swallowing and even speaking would be uncomfortable and painful if you had xerostomia. To put it simply, the fact that efforts are being made to reduce dry mouth shows that our saliva is important. So…don’t forget about your spit!

Surekha Gangar, Seungwon (David) Lee, Jay Wong, Uttara Kumar

Do you have control over your weight loss?

 

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There’s always a new dieting trend around the corner. Photo Source: Flickr Commons By: Alan Cleaver

Dieting pills, the latest workout trend, juice and tea cleanses, there’s a lot of advertising claiming a certain method is a surefire way for you to lose weight. Countless people fall for these claims, joining the latest bandwagon in the hopes of achieving their dream beach body.

Then there are those who feel like they are losing the never-ending battle against their genes. Yes, their genes – and not their jeans. They don’t even bother trying the latest weight loss trend because they feel like their weight is at the mercy of their genes.

Benjamin Cheung and the members of his research team sought to answer the question “Can merely learning about obesity genes affect eating behaviour”, which is the title of their upcoming research paper. Our video highlights the main points of his research.

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Video Source: UBC SCIE 300 212 Scientific Outreach Project Group 4

Although they mainly studied the implications of beliefs about obesity, Cheung also connects his research to weight loss. Take a look at what he has to say:

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Video Source: UBC SCIE 300 212 Scientific Outreach Project Group 4

The weight loss industry and the media are hugely influential when it comes to physical activity, weight loss, and the genetic vs. environmental debate regarding obesity. Since the media is part of why people have been led to believe their weight is controlled by their genes, our podcast covers the media’s influence.

Podcast Source: UBC SCIE 300 212 Scientific Outreach Project Group 4    Podcast Photo Source: Flickr Commons By: Yutaka Tsutano

Some have indicated there is a strong evidence for specific genes causing obesity. Knowing that certain mutations can be responsible for a lack of fulness after eating a meal and craving of fatty foods, there is good support for a genetic source of weight loss struggles.

Burger

Craving fatty foods can come along with those who have the so called ‘fat gene’. Photo Source: Flickr Commons By: reynermedia

However, there is a huge environmental impact on your ability to lose weight. In fact, it has been proposed that very little of our weight can be blamed on our genes. The main question is: do we really believe we can lose weight?

While there are influences on both sides suggesting weight loss is genetic or environmental, from Cheung’s work we realize it isn’t that simple. We simply don’t know how much genes and the environment  control your weight loss. So for those out there seeking to shed some pounds, don’t loose hope!

– SCIE 300 212 Group 4                                                                                                 Selamawit Joseph, Samantha Mee, Manpreet Takhi, Kevin Nand

SNAPSHOT: A Clearer Picture of the Brain

Cutting, staining and imaging brain slices has been a vital technique to study the brain and its intricate structures. Lasse Dissing-Olesen, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, has produced a simple and effective approach that will allow researchers to view brain slices like never before. SNAPSHOT, as he termed it, literally gives you a picture of a brain slice at that moment in time, preserving its structure.

During an interview, Lasse described his unwavering interest of the brain’s immune system. Lasse talked about the immune cells of the brain called microglial cells and their multiple functions.  Not only are these microglial cells responsible for defending the brain against virus, bacteria and injury, they play an important role in the maintenance of the brain’s neural connections. For Lasse, the prospect of studying the most complex immune system in the human body was just motivation in itself. And for this, he needed a way to image the brain such that he could preserve its morphology.

Here is an image of a microglial cell made possible with the SNAPSHOT method

Here is an image of a microglial cell made possible with the SNAPSHOT method Source: Lasse Dissing-Olesen

Previous preserving methods forced researchers to freeze the brain slices which produced several problems. Firstly, as Lasse alluded to in the interview, freezing brain slices kills the tissue and so live tissue cannot be observed. In addition, freezing the brain slice distorts the structure of the brain because as you freeze it, the water molecules expand. SNAPSHOT provides a solution to this problem. In fact, Lasse does not freeze the brain slice at any point, allowing live, undistorted tissue to be observed.

 Lasse uses this two-photon microscope in the lab to view the brain slices he has prepared with SNAPSHOT

Lasse uses this two-photon microscope in the lab to view the brain slices he has prepared with SNAPSHOT Source: Lasse Dissing-Olesen

The reason why Lasse’s method provides a clearer image is because of better antibody penetration. These antibodies are special proteins that attach to certain cells in the brain slice, for example microglial cells. Given that they have fluorescent markers attached to them, researchers can see these structures underneath a microscope. Since SNAPSHOT provide researchers with better antibody penetration, they will have a clearer picture of the microglial cells as well as other structures in the brain slice. Finally, as compared to other techniques, SNAPSHOT’s simplicity allows it to be completed in an afternoon at a very cheap price.

Since microglial cells are implicated in diseases such as Alzheimer’s, SNAPSHOT may allow researchers to further study how the microglial cells respond to the progression of this mysterious disease. In addition, Lasse talked about how he can mimic injuries such as strokes and then observe how the brain responds; this type of live imaging can help researchers learn much more about what goes on at a microscopic level during such injuries. To conclude, it’s important to note that SNAPSHOT is just one tool that will undoubtedly further the research in the field of neuroscience.

Here is a video illustrating how the SNAPSHOT method can be used to study different types of strokes:

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Below is a podcast talking more about SNAPSHOT’s ability to study neurodegenerative disease:

 

– Gagandeep, Elice, Anne and Gurtaj

Putting a Stop to Antibiotic Misuse: A New Blood Test

Antibiotics such as Amoxicillin are becoming more and more ineffective as bacteria become resistant due to misuse.

Antibiotics such as Amoxicillin are becoming more and more ineffective as bacteria become resistant due to misuse. Source: Flickr Commons Image by: Sheep Purple

If you’ve ever felt under the weather and you need it to go away, you might visit your family doctor. When you get there, you probably tell him you just need some antibiotics and you’ll be on on your way. Unfortunately, scenarios such as this happen too often in today’s society.

Contrary to popular belief, antibiotics are only effective at treating bacterial infections, not viral infections. The issue is that the symptoms between the two infections are indistinguishable to doctors. For this reason, antibiotics are usually prescribed.  According to this article, many family doctors are trained to delay antibiotic prescriptions because  bacterial infections are likely resolve on their own, with time. However, this doesn’t  happen as doctor’s usually succumb to pressure from patients for antibiotics.

So what’s the problem with this medicine? Why can’t doctors just keep prescribing them, anyway? In two words, antibiotic resistance. The BBC explains that bacteria, which are living organisms, have the natural ability to evolve and eventually become immune to the antibiotic. In other words, the bacteria will keep on changing in order to survive the effects of antibiotics. The surprising aspect of this is not the fact that the bacteria is mutating and becoming resistant to antibiotics, it’s how fast it’s happening. The BBC says that this is due to antibiotic misuse, which also includes doctors over-perscribing and patients not finishing the full dosage.

Below is a youtube video by TED-Ed explaining how bacteria becomes resistant to antibiotics

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Antibiotic resistance is particularly frightening if you take into account that the World Health Organization is calling it a global threat.  It is suggested that two key antibiotics no longer work in more than half the people treated. In addition, the WHO warns of  a ‘post-antibiotic era’ where previously treatable infections will begin killing people, as the antibiotics are no longer effective in clearing the infection.

Here is a antibiotic-resistant bacteria which is named MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staph. Aureus)

Here is an antibiotic-resistant bacteria which is called MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staph. Aureus) Source:Flickr Commons Image by: NIAID

To slow down this inevitable problem, researchers out of Israel have developed a new type of blood test that can distinguish between bacterial and viral infections within two hours, allowing doctors to quickly determine whether or not antibiotics are even necessary.  The usefulness of this new method is apparent if you realize that current ‘bug’ identification tests can take a few days, according to this article.  As previously mentioned, it is hoped that this will allow doctors to limit antibiotics to patients with bacterial infections while refusing to prescribe to patients with viral infection.

As the research paper outlines, the blood test is quite accurate in distinguishing between the two bugs. It relies on identifying activated protein pathways that are specific to either a virus or a bacterium. For example, the TRAIL pathway is highly activated in viruses but suppressed in bacteria. Although pending randomized clinical trials, this could prevent further misuse of antibiotics by doctors and patients alike; possibly even put a temporary halt to the inevitable ‘post-antiobiotic era’.

A novel blood test has been developed which can distinguish between virus and bacteria, allowing for more accurate treatment

A novel blood test has been developed which can distinguish between virus and bacteria, allowing for more accurate treatment. Source: Flickr Commons Image by: Phillip Jeffrey

Clearing Up The Smoke Around E-Cigarettes in Vancouver

Late last year, Vancouver made the controversial move to ban the use of  electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in public places where smoking is prohibited as well as their sale to minors. The controversy behind the ban was evident by the results of a poll by Metro News, where out of over 2500 of its readers, 65% of people opposed the ban.

This may be because many people think of e-cigarettes as a less harmful alternative to smoking cigarettes, similar to that of products such as nicotine patches or nicotine gum. However, it is worth noting that in Canada, only e-cigarettes that do not contain nicotine can be legally sold which means that e-cigarettes may not curb cravings as well as the aforementioned nicotine containing products. Regardless, when it comes to their safety in comparison to cigarettes, opponents may be on the right track. When the Canadian Cancer Society was asked whether e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes, they said, “Yes, because the products contain no tobacco, nor tobacco smoke.”

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E-cigarette and Cigarettes Side By Side Source: Flickr Commons                             Credit to: TBEC Review

So if e-cigarettes appear to be less harmful than cigarettes, why the big fuss? An article in the Vancouver Sun about the topic made it clear that one of main causes of concern is the effect of e-cigarettes on youth. In the article, Dr. Meena Dawar, a medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health, says that although e-cigarettes aren’t proven to be linked to any cancers, they are quite new and the vapour they produce may still contain certain carcinogens, cytotoxic chemicals and heavy metals present in tobacco smoke. Moreover, a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that high levels of formaldehyde, a cancer causing agent found in cigarettes, was present in some varieties of e-cigarettes which is a concern as it would eventually be inhaled by the user.

Lastly, an article in the Metro adresses the concern that e-cigarettes are normalizing the concept of smoking  and are diminishing the work that has gone into making smoking ‘taboo’ in our society. Additionally, proponents for the ban argue that advertising for e-cigarettes often seems to be targeted to youth in terms of the different flavours available and the ‘fun’ packaging.

The YouTube video shown below is a great summary of the potential health risks of e-cigarettes.

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Credit:  CNN on Youtube

In summary, although there is not much conclusive evidence out there on the dangers of using e-cigarettes compared to what is out there for cigarettes, I personally support Vancouver’s decision to go ahead with the ban because e-cigarettes are relatively new and it is hard to evaluate their long term effects. Additionally, when it comes to the health of our society, I don’t think it’s ever a bad idea to err on the side of caution.

The Quest for Weight Loss- Does Macronutrients Composition Matter?

Intermittent fasting, IIFYM, ketogenic diet, Atkins diet, carbohydrate cycling, Paleo diet, the Zone diet, and the list goes on and on. If you are a fitness enthusiast, you might have heard all these names of diets; if you are not interested, you might have heard none. However, I’m willing to bet that most of us have experience struggling, or will struggle when older, with diets in order to lose weight. So how would you design your own weight loss diet? Would you count your macro-nutrients?

Weight loss is a stressful process. Image: "las vegas weight loss" by Dave WilliamsWeight loss is frustrating.
(Image: “las vegas weight loss” by Dave Williams)

Let me back up a little bit to talk about diets in the media. In the perspective of a newbie dieter, researching about diets can be extremely difficult. This is because weight loss represents perhaps the epitome of misinformation (false information spread unintentionally) and disinformation (false information spread intentionally) in the media. Not surprisingly, weight loss is a multi-billion dollar industry in the US. Thus, inevitably, there are countless scams revolving around this industry, which get in the way of our research. Hopefully, this short video will help you avoid some of those horrible diets.

Now let’s get to the meat of this discussion- macronutrients composition. There are three macronutrients in food: carbohydrates , fat , and protein . Each have different priorities, functions, reactions, and modes of storage in the body, which makes analyzing different diets quite challenging… or does it?

Apparently not, according to research, when it comes to weight loss alone. Researchers at Harvard Medical School have found that weight loss can be achieved no matter what composition of macronutrients you decide to implement in your diet, as long as there is a caloric deficit. These researchers assigned 811 overweight individuals to 4 diets which emphasize different macronutrients. After 2 years, they found out that all groups had clinically meaningful weight loss results. Therefore, it would be a waste of time to calculate macronutrients composition if our goal is to simply lose weight.

However, I cannot stress enough that macronutrients composition plays a crucial role if our goal is anything more specific than losing weight. For example, if we are trying to lose fat and gain muscles, we would need lots of protein. To gain a better understanding of how to diet to gain muscles, watch this video on how much protein you require in your diet.

Weight loss is often a stressful process, but now with macronutrients calculations out of the way, all you need to be concerned about is reducing caloric intake and/or increasing caloric output. This means that you can eat less of whatever you normally eat and/or exercise more frequently to lose weight. It’s that simple!

– Sean Nam