Absence of an association between the polymorphisms in the genes encoding adiponectin receptors and type 2 diabetes

Aims/hypothesis Secreted by adipocytes, adiponectin is a hormone that acts as an antidiabetic and anti-atherogenic adipokine. We recently cloned the genes encoding two adiponectin receptors (ADIPOR1 and ADIPOR2). The aim of this study was to examine whether ADIPOR1 and/or ADIPOR2 play a major role in genetic susceptibility to insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes in the Japanese population.Methods By direct sequencing and a search of public databases, we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ADIPOR1 and ADIPOR2, and investigated whether these SNPs are associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in the Japanese population.Results The linkage disequilibrium (LD) in the chromosomal region of ADIPOR1 was almost completely preserved, whereas the LD in ADIPOR2 was less well preserved. None of the SNPs in ADIPOR1 or ADIPOR2 were significantly associated with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes. No differences in ADIPOR1 or ADIPOR2 haplotype frequencies were observed between type 2 diabetic and non-diabetic subjects.Conclusions/interpretation Genetic variations in ADIPOR1 or ADIPOR2 are unlikely to lead to a common genetic predisposition to insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes in the Japanese population.Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available for this article at .  

HSF1 and constitutively active HSF1 improve vascular endothelial function (heat shock proteins improve vascular endothelial function)

We have been examining the role of heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) in the pleiotropic effects of statins. In parallel studies, we found that statin induces the nuclear translocation of HSF1 and that a decoy oligonucleotide encoding the heat shock element inhibits the statin-induced expression of heat shock protein 70, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and thrombomodulin. Also, in vascular endothelial cells, increases in the expression of human HSF1 corresponded with elevated steady-state levels of eNOS and thrombomodulin and reduced levels of endothelin-1 and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. We also found that heat shock proteins induced eNOS and thrombomodulin expression and reduced PAI-1 and ET-1 expression. In particular, a combination of HSP70 and HSP90 strongly induced eNOS expression and reduced PAI-1 expression. In the current studies, we generated a constitutively active form of HSF1 and found that it is more effective than the wild-type HSF at inducing thrombomodulin and eNOS expression and decreasing endothelin-1 and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 expression. These results show that the wild-type and constitutively active forms of HSF1 induce anticoagulation and relaxation factors in vascular endothelial cells and could therefore be used to treat cardiovascular disease.  

Association between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and hyperuricemia

The aim of the study was to examine the cross-sectional association between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and hyperuricemia (HU). The hsCRP was measured by latex turbidity method. Uric acid was detected on Beckman Coulter AU 5800. HU was defined as uric acid ≥416 μmol/L for the male population and ≥360 μmol/L for the female population. A multivariable logistic analysis model was applied to test the association after adjusting for a number of potential confounding factors. A total of 1935 subjects were included in this study. According to the multivariable regression model, the relative odds of the prevalence of HU were increased by 0.56 times in the third quintile (OR 1.56, 95 % CI 1.03–2.38, P = 0.04), 0.55 times in the fourth quintile (OR 1.55, 95 % CI 1.01–2.36, P = 0.04) and 0.96 times in the fifth quintile (OR 1.96, 95 % CI 1.29–2.98, P < 0.01) of hsCRP comparing with the lowest quintile, and P for trend was smaller than 0.01. In the male population, a positive association existed in the highest quintile of hsCRP (OR 1.66, 95 % CI 1.04–2.66, P = 0.04), and P for trend was 0.07. In the female population, the multivariable-adjusted ORs (95 % CI) of HU in the fourth and fifth quintile of hsCRP were 3.02 (95 % CI 1.09–8.35, P = 0.03) and 3.66 (95 % CI 1.36–9.89, P = 0.01), respectively, and P for trend was smaller than 0.01. The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that the hsCRP level is positively associated with the prevalence of HU. Level of evidence Cross-sectional study, Level III.  

Association between sleep condition and arterial stiffness in Chinese adult with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) usually has worse cardiovascular risk factors. Given the potential association between deterioration of sleep and arterial stiffness, we aim to investigate the association between deterioration of sleep and arterial stiffness in a middle-aged Chinese population with NAFLD. In this cross-sectional study, 15,372 Chinese aged 40–60 years who participated in periodic health checkups in central south China, were included. Self-reported sleep duration and sleep quality, anthropometric, biochemical, and liver ultrasound scan were analyzed and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was used as the indicator of arterial stiffness. Poor sleep quality was found to be associated with increased arterial stiffness, with odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) of 2.28 (95 % CI, 1.53–3.38) compared with good sleep quality. Using sleep duration ≥ 8 h as the reference, there was no significant association between sleep duration of ≤ 6 or 6–8 h and arterial stiffness after multivariable-adjusted. In additional analyses, further investigation of the association of different combinations of sleep duration and quality in relation to arterial stiffness indicated participants with poor sleep quality and sleep duration ≤ 6 h were more likely to have arterial stiffness than those with good quality sleep who sleep for ≥ 8 h (OR 2.59, 95 % CI 1.58–4.24). The present study indicates that short sleep duration, poor sleep quality in individuals with NAFLD correlate with increased arterial stiffness.  

High risk of failing eradication of Helicobacter pylori in patients with diabetes: A meta-analysis

Aims

Eradication of Helicobacter pylori (HP) is an effective approach to improve intestinal symptoms and prevent gastric cancer. However, there has been concern that the presence of diabetes reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics. We performed this meta-analysis to investigate the effect of diabetes on the risk of failing eradication in patients with diabetes.

Methods

An electronic literature search was conducted using Biosis, MEDLINE, Embase, PASCAL, and SciSearch through November 30, 2012. Selected studies had to provide data on the number of individuals who received treatment for HP infection and on the failure of HP eradication in groups with and without diabetes. Two authors independently extracted relevant data.

Results

Data were obtained from 8 eligible studies (693 total participants including 273 participants with diabetes). Overall, the pooled risk ratio (RR) of failing HP eradication for diabetic patients compared with non-diabetic participants was 2.19 [95%CI, 1.65–2.90] (P < 0.001). Excluding the 2 studies that used a non-standard protocol for HP eradication, individuals with diabetes had a higher risk of failure of eradication compared to those without diabetes (RR = 2.31 [95%CI, 1.72–3.11]).

Conclusions

Current meta-analysis confirmed the higher risk of HP eradication failure in individuals with diabetes compared with those without diabetes, suggesting the necessity of prolonging treatment or developing a new regimen for HP eradication in patients with diabetes.  

New prognostic model for extranodal natural killer/T cell lymphoma,nasal type

Extranodal natural killer/T cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTL) is an aggressive disease with a poor prognosis, requiring risk stratification in affected patients. We designed a new prognostic model specifically for ENKTL to identify high-risk patients who need more aggressive therapy. We retrospectively reviewed 158 patients who were newly diagnosed with ENKTL. The estimated 5-year overall survival rate was 39.4 %. Independent prognostic factors included total protein (TP) <60 g/L, fasting blood glucose (FBG) >100 mg/dL, and Korean Prognostic Index (KPI) score ≥2. We constructed a new prognostic model by combining these prognostic factors: group 1 (64 cases (41.0 %)), no adverse factors; group 2 (58 cases (37.2 %)), one adverse factor; and group 3 (34 cases (21.8 %)), two or three adverse factors. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rates of these groups were 66.7, 23.0, and 5.9 %, respectively (p?<?0.001). Our new prognostic model had a better prognostic value than did the KPI model alone (p?<?0.001). Our proposed prognostic model for ENKTL, including the newly identified prognostic indicators, TP and FBG, demonstrated a balanced distribution of patients into different risk groups with better prognostic discrimination compared with the KPI model alone.