Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2018 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 5 Articles
Primary hypertension is widely believed to be a complex polygenic disorder with the manifestation influenced by the interactions\nof genomic and environmental factors making identification of susceptibility genes a major challenge. With major advancement\nin high-throughput genotyping technology, genome-wide association study (GWAS) has become a powerful tool for researchers\nstudying genetically complex diseases. GWASs work through revealing links between DNA sequence variation and a disease or\ntrait with biomedical importance. The human genome is a very long DNA sequence which consists of billions of nucleotides\narranged in a unique way. A single base-pair change in the DNA sequence is known as a single nucleotide polymorphism\n(SNP). With the help of modern genotyping techniques such as chip-based genotyping arrays, thousands of SNPs can be\ngenotyped easily. Large-scale GWASs, in which more than half a million of common SNPs are genotyped and analyzed for\ndisease association in hundreds of thousands of cases and controls, have been broadly successful in identifying SNPs\nassociated with heart diseases, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and psychiatric disorders. It is however still debatable whether\nGWAS is the best approach for hypertension. The following is a brief overview on the outcomes of a decade of GWASs on\nprimary hypertension....
Background. Adiponectin (APN) is an adipocyte-derived hormone that has peripheral beneficial effects. Although its receptors\nAdipoR1 and AdipoR2 are expressed in the brain, their function in neurons is poorly understood. The aims of this work were to\ndescribe the distribution of APN receptors in the olfactory bulb (OB) as well as the possible effects of APN injection on the\ninsulin receptor (InsR) content and Akt kinase. Method. We performed the double immunofluorescence technique to describe\nthe distribution of AdipoRs and the cellular type they were expressing. mRNA transcript and protein content were assessed by\nRT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. APN injection was performed to analyze its possible effect on the insulin pathway.\nResults. We found that AdipoRs were localized in all cell layers and in both neurons and astrocytes. We observed the presence\nof mRNA transcripts and immunoblot analysis confirmed the protein on the intact OB; APN injection in the OB resulted in a\nslight decrease of the total InsR and Akt phosphorylation and a reduction of phopho-InsR content. Conclusions. These data\ndemonstrated that AdipoRs are expressed in OB regions, and APN injection could act as an insulin pathway modulator in the\nOB and thus possibly contribute to olfaction physiology....
Aims. Diabetes is a proinflammatory state, evidenced by increased pattern recognition receptors and the inflammasome\n(NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain (NLRP)) complex. Recent reports have elucidated the role of the gut microbiome\nin diabetes, but there is limited data on the gut microbiome in NLRP-KO mice and its effect on diabetes-induced\ninflammation. Methods. Gut microbiome composition and biomarkers of inflammation (IL-18, serum amyloid A) were\nassessed in streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced diabetic mice on a NLRP3-knockout (KO) background versus wild-type diabetic\nmice. Results. SAA and IL-18 levels were significantly elevated in diabetic mice (STZ) compared to control (WT) mice,\nand there was a significant attenuation of inflammation in diabetic NLRP3-KO mice (NLRP3-KO STZ) compared to\ncontrol mice (p < 0 005). Principal coordinate analysis clearly separated controls, STZ, and NLRP3-KO STZ mice. Among\nthe different phyla, there was a significant increase in the Firmicutes : Bacteroidetes ratio in the diabetic group compared to\ncontrols. When compared to the WT STZ group, the NLRP3-KO STZ group showed a significant decrease in the\nFirmicutes : Bacteroidetes ratio. Together, these findings indicate that interaction of the intestinal microbes with the innate\nimmune system is a crucial factor that could modify diabetes and complications....
Objective. To investigate the relationship between abdominal adipose tissue distribution, Ã?²-cell function, and insulin sensitivity (IS)\nin a Chinese population. Methods. One hundred and eighty-eight healthy subjects (healthy group), 239 with normal glucose, and\n1~4 abnormal metabolic traits (metabolic dysfunction group, MD group) and 125 with hyperglycemia (hyperglycemia group) were\nstudied. HOMA-IR, HOMA-B, Matsuda index, early- (I0ââ?¬â??30/G0ââ?¬â??30) and late-phase (I30ââ?¬â??120/G30ââ?¬â??120) insulin responses and the\ncorresponding disposition indexes (DI) were calculated. The area of abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (ASAT) and visceral\nadipose tissue (VAT) was measured and the ratio of ASAT to VAT (SVR) was calculated. Results. SVR was correlated positively\nwith Matsuda index in healthy, MD, and hyperglycemia groups, and inversely with HOMA-IR. SVR positively related with both\nearly- and late-phase DI in the healthy group only. In the healthy group, the hyperbolas of I0ââ?¬â??30/G0ââ?¬â??30 and I30ââ?¬â??120/G30ââ?¬â??120 versus\nMatsuda index in the highest quarter of SVR were significantly right shifted compared to those in the lowest (both P < 0 05).\nConclusions. In healthy adults, higher SVR was a protective factor for Ã?²-cell function and IS, while in those with glucometabolic\nabnormality, higher SVR contributed to a relative better IS, indicating SVR is possible to be an early predicator of type 2\ndiabetes development....
Aim. To investigate the association between monocyte CD163 and insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods. One\nhundred sixty-six patients with type 2 diabetes without inflammatory or chronic kidney disease were recruited. The monocyte\nCD163 levels were measured by flow cytometry and soluble CD163 (sCD163) by ELISA. Insulin resistance was evaluated by the\nindex of the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-R). Results. The median sCD163 and monocyte CD163 expression levels\nwere 582.9 (472.4ââ?¬â??720.0) ng/ml and 6061 (4486ââ?¬â??7876) mean fluorescent intensity (MFI), respectively. In a simple regression\nanalysis, monocyte CD163 was inversely correlated with log [HOMA-R] (r = ââ?¬â??0 257, p = 0 010), and sCD163 was positively\ncorrelated with log [HOMA-R] (r = 0 198, p = 0 042). In multiple regression analyses, monocyte CD163 was an independent\ncontributor to log [HOMA-R] (Ã?² = ââ?¬â??0 220, p = 0 020) even after adjustment of various clinical factors for HOMA-R (R2 = 0 281,\np = 0 001), whereas sCD163 was not. Conclusions. Monocyte surface CD163 expression levels were more significantly associated\nwith insulin resistance than sCD163 in patients with type 2 diabetes, suggesting a novel pathophysiological role of CD163....
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