Browsing by Author "Eken, A."
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Item Open Access Association of fine motor loss and allodynia in fibromyalgia: an fNIRS study(Routledge, 2018) Eken, A.; Gökçay D.; Yılmaz, Cemre; Baskak, B.; Baltacı, A.; Kara, M.Recent studies showed that fine motor control dysfunction was observed in fibromyalgia (FM) syndrome as well as allodynia. However, brain signatures of this association still remain unclear. In this study, finger tapping task (FTT) and median nerve stimulation (MNS) were applied to both hands of 15 FM patients and healthy controls (HC) to understand this relationship. Hemodynamic activity was measured simultaneously using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Experiments were analyzed separately by using 2x2 repeated measures ANOVA. Results for the FTT experiment revealed that HC showed higher activity than FM patients in bilateral superior parietal gyrus (SPG), left supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and right somatosensory cortex (SI). Furthermore, right-hand FTT resulted in higher activity than left-hand FTT in left SPG, left SI and right motor cortex (MI). In the MNS experiment, FM patients showed higher activity than HC in bilateral SPG, right SMG, right SI and right middle frontal gyrus (MFG). Negative correlation was observed in left SPG between FTT and MNS activities. Besides, MNS activity in left SPG was negatively correlated with left-hand pain threshold.This study revealed that left SPG might be an important indicator to associate fine motor loss and allodynia in FM.Item Open Access Immunodeficiency associated with a novel functionally defective variant of SLC19A1 benefits from folinic acid treatment(Springer Nature, 2022-12-15) Gök, V.; Erdem, Ş.; Haliloğlu, Y.; Bişgin, A.; Belkaya, Serkan; Başaran, K. E.; Canatan, M. F.; Özcan, A.; Yılmaz, E.; Acıpayam, C.; Karakükcü, M.; Canatan, H.; Per, H.; Patıroğlu, T.; Eken, A.; Ünal, E.Insufficient dietary folate intake, hereditary malabsorption, or defects in folate transport may lead to combined immunodeficiency (CID). Although loss of function mutations in the major intestinal folate transporter PCFT/SLC46A1 was shown to be associated with CID, the evidence for pathogenic variants of RFC/SLC19A1 resulting in immunodeficiency was lacking. We report two cousins carrying a homozygous pathogenic variant c.1042 G > A, resulting in p.G348R substitution who showed symptoms of immunodeficiency associated with defects of folate transport. SLC19A1 expression by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was quantified by real-time qPCR and immunostaining. T cell proliferation, methotrexate resistance, NK cell cytotoxicity, Treg cells and cytokine production by T cells were examined by flow cytometric assays. Patients were treated with and benefited from folinic acid. Studies revealed normal NK cell cytotoxicity, Treg cell counts, and naive-memory T cell percentages. Although SLC19A1 mRNA and protein expression were unaltered, remarkably, mitogen induced-T cell proliferation was significantly reduced at suboptimal folic acid and supraoptimal folinic acid concentrations. In addition, patients’ PBMCs were resistant to methotrexate-induced apoptosis supporting a functionally defective SLC19A1. This study presents the second pathogenic SLC19A1 variant in the literature, providing the first experimental evidence that functionally defective variants of SLC19A1 may present with symptoms of immunodeficiency.Item Open Access The "Other of the Other" and "unregulated territories" in the urban periphery: gecekondu violence in the 2000s with a focus on the Esenler case, Istanbul(Elsevier, 2004-02) Erman, T.; Eken, A.This article investigates the broader question of collective urban violence in "peripheral" (squatter) neighborhoods in the capitalist semi-periphery. Based upon a specific case, namely, the Karabayr neighborhood in Esenler, Istanbul, it aims to identify the potential sources of conflict and the conditions under which they turn into violence. To achieve this goal, first a review of the changing relationship of peripheral neighborhoods with the state is offered in a historical perspective. Then, the Karabayr neighborhood and the recent violence it experienced are briefly described, based on the information that appeared in the press and the Internet. And this is followed by a discussion of the possible causes of conflict and violence in the context of the changing conditions in the urban periphery in the 2000s. The transformation of peripheral land into commodity, the increasing physical proximity of residential groups due to land scarcity and building density, the asymmetric position of different residential groups with the state, and the unguarded socialization of the youth explain the increasing tendency towards violence in the urban periphery. In this process, the urban periphery emerges as "unregulated territories" that inhabit the "Other of the Other". © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Item Open Access Synthesis and comprehensive in vivo activity profiling of Olean-12-en-28-ol, 3β-Pentacosanoate in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis: A natural remyelinating and anti-inflammatory agent(American Chemical Society, 2023-01-27) Şenol, H.; Ozgun Acar, O.; Dağ, A.; Eken, A.; Guner, H.; Aykut, Zeliha Gamze; Topcu, G.; Sen, A.Multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment has received much attention, yet there is still no certain cure. We herein investigate the therapeutic effect of olean-12-en-28-ol, 3β-pentacosanoate (OPCA) on a preclinical model of MS. First, OPCA was synthesized semisynthetically and characterized. Then, the mice with MOG35-55-induced experimental autoimmune/allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) were given OPCA along with a reference drug (FTY720). Biochemical, cellular, and molecular analyses were performed in serum and brain tissues to measure anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective responses. OPCA treatment protected EAE-induced changes in mouse brains maintaining blood-brain barrier integrity and preventing inflammation. Moreover, the protein and mRNA levels of MS-related genes such as HLD-DR1, CCL5, TNF-α, IL6, and TGFB1 were significantly reduced in OPCA-treated mouse brains. Notably, the expression of genes, including PLP, MBP, and MAG, involved in the development and structure of myelin was significantly elevated in OPCA-treated EAE. Furthermore, therapeutic OPCA effects included a substantial reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines in the serum of treated EAE animals. Lastly, following OPCA treatment, the promoter regions for most inflammatory regulators were hypermethylated. These data support that OPCA is a valuable and appealing candidate for human MS treatment since OPCA not only normalizes the pro- and anti-inflammatory immunological bias but also stimulates remyelination in EAE.