ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate resilience among adults with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 adults with OI. Transcripts were coded and subsequently abstracted, yielding themes specific to resilience and coping. Interview guides covered broad topics including pain challenges specific to OI, mental health issues related to OI, and priorities for future interventions for individuals with OI. RESULTS: Participants described resilience in the context of OI as the ability to grow from adversity, adapt to challenges resulting from OI-related injuries, and find identities apart from their condition. Psychological coping strategies included acceptance, self-efficacy, cognitive reframing, perspective-taking, and positivity. Behavioral factors that helped participants develop resilience included developing new skills, pursuing meaningful goals, practicing spirituality, and seeking external resources such as psychotherapy, education, and connection with community. CONCLUSION: Having identified how adults with OI define resilience and the strategies they use to cope, we can now develop interventions and guide healthcare providers in improving psychological wellbeing in this population.
Adults with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) employ resilience factors to combat mobility and pain-related issues.Adults with OI report developing adaptive skills to cope with their disease, including forming one's identity outside of OI, growing through adversity, overcoming challenges resulting from OI-related injury, employing psychological adaptations, and practicing behavioral coping strategies.Resiliency factors such as behavioral and psychological coping (e.g., exercise, breathing strategies, acceptance) may buffer against OI-related challenges, and treatment modalities that foster these activities may be beneficial for adults with OI.
ABSTRACT
Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a genetic disorder characterized by bone fragility and fractures, short stature, dental abnormalities, hearing loss, scoliosis, and chronic pain. Despite a growing literature on the functional outcomes of OI, limited research has explicitly examined the psychosocial outcomes of pain within OI. Adults with OI (N = 15) were interviewed to understand pain-related experiences through a thematic analysis of semi-structured interview data. Research team members, genetic research experts, and OI clinicians developed an interview guide focused on topics related to pain and mental health challenges. Participants' transcripts were coded by two independent coders; codes were then merged across coders and quotation outputs were subsequently abstracted (paraphrased then thematically classified) to identify common themes. Themes related to pain management variability regarding pain type, pain risk management and accessibility, pain outcomes (e.g., behavior, cognitive, affective), and pain exacerbating factors (e.g., individual, contextual) were identified. Participants reported chronic and acute pain, and despite the inaccessibility and stigmatization of pain medications (e.g., opioids), pharmacological treatments were the most common pain management approach. Participants reported negative pain outcomes, such as limited daily functioning and activity participation, fear, anger, anxiety, depression, and difficulty concentrating. Lastly, participants suggested that lack of physician and community knowledge on chronic pain in OI indirectly exacerbates both subjective pain intensity and outcomes. Although limited by a small, nondiverse sample, the current study provides valuable exploration of the unique pain experiences of adults with OI that may have implications for proactive management, treatment development, and clinician training.
ABSTRACT
Transcription is regulated through a dynamic interplay of DNA-associated proteins, and the composition of gene-regulatory complexes is subject to continuous adjustments. Protein alterations include post-translational modifications and elimination of individual polypeptides. Spatially and temporally controlled protein removal is, therefore, essential for gene regulation and accounts for the short half-life of many transcription factors. The ubiquitin-proteasome system is responsible for site- and target-specific ubiquitination and protein degradation. Specificity of ubiquitination is conferred by ubiquitin ligases. Cullin-RING complexes, the largest family of ligases, require multi-unit assembly around one of seven cullin proteins. To investigate the direct role of cullins in ubiquitination of DNA-bound proteins and in gene regulation, we analyzed their subcellular locations and DNA-affinities. We found CUL4A and CUL7 to be largely excluded from the nucleus, whereas CUL4B was primarily nuclear. CUL1,2,3, and 5 showed mixed cytosolic and nuclear expression. When analyzing chromatin affinity of individual cullins, we discovered that CUL1 preferentially associated with active promoter sequences and co-localized with 23% of all DNA-associated protein degradation sites. CUL1 co-distributed with c-MYC and specifically repressed nuclear-encoded mitochondrial and splicing-associated genes. These studies underscore the relevance of spatial control in chromatin-associated protein ubiquitination and define a novel role for CUL1 in gene repression.
