Increased oxytocinergic system activity in the cardiac muscle in spontaneously hypertensive SHR rats

IntroductionThe present study aimed to determine whether the presence of cardiac hypertrophy due to arterial hypertension is associated with a change in the activity of the oxytocinergic system in cardiomyocytes.Material and methodsThe experiments were performed on male, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR, n = 10) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY, n = 12). Blood samples were collected from both SHR and WKY animals to asses plasma oxytocin (OT) concentration; the rats were sacrificed by decapitation. Samples of the left and right ventricles were harvested for the analysis of the OT and oxytocin receptor (OTR) protein by ELISA, and OT and OTR mRNA expression by RT-PCR. Immunohistopathological studies were performed to confirm the presence of OTR receptors in the cardiac muscle of the ventricles.ResultsPlasma OT concentration did not differ between SHR and WKY rats. In the SHR rats, the expression of OT mRNA and the OT protein level was higher in the left and the right ventricle, while OTR mRNA expression was significantly lower in both the left and the right ventricle. However, the level of OTR protein was higher only in the left ventricle of the SHR rats. The presence of OTR receptors was confirmed by immunohistochemical analysis in the muscle of the right and left ventricle.ConclusionsThe presence of arterial hypertension is associated with increased activity of the oxytocinergic system in the heart, especially in the area of the left ventricle. These findings support the important role of this system in the maintenance of cardiovascular homeostasis.     

Dietary Therapy in Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)—Tradition or Modernity? A Review of the Latest Approaches to Nutrition in CVD

The development of cardiovascular diseases is undoubtedly influenced by improper dietary behavior. The most common mistakes include irregularity of meal consumption, high dietary atherogenicity: snacking on sweets between meals, low supply of dietary fiber, unsaturated fatty acids, legume seeds, and high supply of meat and meat products. Among many food components, some are characterized by a specific cardioprotective effect, which means that their supply of food may prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular disease or improve the health of the sick. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is one of the ingredients showing cardioprotective effects on the heart and blood vessels. Antioxidant and lipid profile-enhancing effects are also attributed to sitosterol which is one of the plant-derived sterols. A very important argument indicating the necessity of a varied diet rich in a variety of plant products is the beneficial effect of polyphenols, which are most abundant in multicolored vegetables and fruits. Numerous studies show their effectiveness in lowering blood pressure, improving lipid profile, and regeneration of vascular endothelium. The collected publications from the field of lifestyle medicine can be a source of knowledge for dieticians, physicians, and people associated with physical culture and human mental health to prevent the development of cardiovascular diseases and reduce the risk of death from this cause.     

Analysis of Dietary Habits and Nutritional Status of Children with Down Syndrome in the Context of Lipid and Oxidative Stress Parameters

Introduction: The risk of obesity in children with Down syndrome is high. Undoubtedly, proper nutrition plays an important role in the prevention of excess body weight and is associated with a reduction of metabolic complications. The aim of the study was to assess the problem of disturbances in the nutritional status and eating habits of children with DS. Methods: A total of 39 patients were included in the study. The nutritional status was assessed by anthropometric tests and Dual X-ray Absorptiometry. Eating habits were assessed using the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire and the Food Frequency Questionnaire. Blood samples were taken to determine the oxidative stress and lipid parameters. Results: Obesity was recognized in 15% of subjects and 23% were overweight. Children that were overweight were characterized by higher levels of triglycerides, atherogenic index of plasma, and apoA2 and apoE levels. Fat mass, fat mass/height² index, and visceral fat mass correlated with thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and advanced oxidative protein product level. The analysis of the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire showed that children struggling with being overweight were more interested in food compared to those with normal body weight. A positive correlation was identified between waist circumference and food interest categories. Insufficient consumption of dairy products, vegetables, whole grain products, as well as fruits, seeds, nuts, and fatty fish was noted. Patients were less likely to consume products that are a good source of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Conclusions: In children with Down syndrome and obesity, disturbances in lipid and oxidative stress parameters are observed. Abnormal eating habits in all children with Down syndrome regardless of their nutritional status were noted. Proper nutritional education, nutritional control, and management of metabolic problems are essential in this group of patients.     

Research on the Release of Dangerous Compounds from the BTEX and PAHs Groups in Industrial Casting Conditions

The assessment of the harmfulness of moulding and core sands is mainly based on investigations of compositions of gases emitted by liquid casting alloys during the mould pouring. The results of investigations of moulding sands obtained under industrial conditions are presented in this paper. A unique research stand was designed and built for this aim. It allowed us to determine emissions of gases at individual stages of casting a mass up to 50 kg. This approach enables simulation of foundry conditions. Moulding sands bound by organic binders (phenol-formaldehyde; furan), inorganic binders and green sand, were subjected to investigations. The composition of gases that evolved during the individual stages, pouring, cooling and knocking out, was tested each time, and the contents of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BETX) were analysed. Investigations indicated that the emission of gases from sands with inorganic binders is negligible when compared with the emission of gases from sands with organic binders. The emission of gases from green sand is placed in the middle of the scale. As an example: the sand with furan resin emitted 84 mg of BTEX (in recalculation for 1 kg of sand) while from sands with inorganic binders there was a maximum of 2.2 mg (for 1 kg of sand). In the case of sands with inorganic binders, MI and MC sands indicated comparable and very low emissions of gases from the PAHs group, at the level of 0.018 mg and 0.019 mg for 1 kg of sand, respectively. The higher emission of PAHs from MG sand is the result of its different way of hardening (a binder was of an organic character) than of sands MI and MC.     

Performance of lipid fingerprint-based MALDI-ToF for the diagnosis of mycobacterial infections

ObjectivesBacterial diagnosis of mycobacteria is often challenging because of the variability of the sensitivity and specificity of the assay used, and it can be expensive to perform accurately. Although matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS) has become the workhorse of clinical laboratories, the current MALDI methodology (which is based on cytosolic protein profiling) for mycobacteria is still challenging due to the number of steps involved (up to seven) and potential biosafety concerns. Knowing that mycobacteria produce surface-exposed species-specific lipids, we here hypothesized that the detection of those molecules could offer a rapid, reproducible and robust method for mycobacterial identification.MethodsWe evaluated the performance of an alternative methodology based on characterized species-specific lipid profiling of intact bacteria, without any sample preparation, by MALDI MS; it uses MALDI-time-of-flight (ToF) MS combined with a specific matrix (super-2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid solubilized in an apolar solvent system) to analyse lipids of intact heat-inactivated mycobacteria. Cultured mycobacteria are heat-inactivated and loaded directly onto the MALDI target followed by addition of the matrix. Acquisition of the data is done in both positive and negative ion modes. Blinded studies were performed using 273 mycobacterial strains comprising both the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) complex and non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTMs) subcultured in Middlebrook 7H9 media supplemented with 10% OADC (oleic acid/dextrose/catalase) growth supplement and incubated for up to 2 weeks at 37°C.ResultsThe method we have developed is fast (<10 mins) and highly sensitive (<1000 bacteria required); 96.7% of the Mtb complex strains (204/211) were correctly assigned as MTB complex and 91.7% (22/24) NTM species were correctly assigned based only on intact bacteria species-specific lipid profiling by MALDI-ToF MS.ConclusionsIntact bacterial lipid profiling provides a biosafe and unique route for rapid and accurate mycobacterial identification.     

CCL2 recruits T cells into the brain in a CCR2‐independent manner

CCL2 is a chemokine that can be induced during neuroinflammation to recruit immune cells, but its role in the central nervous system (CNS) is unclear. Our aim was to better understand its role. We induced CCL2 in CNS of naive CCL2‐deficient mice using intrathecally administered replication‐defective adenovirus and examined cell infiltration by flow cytometry. CCL2 expression induced pronounced and unexpected recruitment of regulatory and IFNγ‐producing T cells to CNS from blood, possibly related to defective egress of monocytes from CCL2‐deficient bone marrow. Infiltration also occurred in mice lacking CCR2, a receptor for CCL2. Expression of another receptor for CCL2, CCR4, and CXCR3, a receptor for CXCL10, which was also induced, were both increased in CCL2‐treated CNS. CCR4 was expressed by neurons and astrocytes as well as CD4 T cells, and CXCR3 was expressed by CD4 and CD8 T cells. Chemokine‐recruited T cells did not lead to CNS pathology. Our findings show a role for CCL2 in recruitment of CD4 T cells to the CNS and show that redundancy among chemokine receptors ensures optimal response.     

Nogo‐B expression,in arterial intima,is impeded in the early stages of atherosclerosis in humans

Nogo‐B (Reticulon 4B) is considered to be a novel vascular marker, which may have a protective role in injury‐induced neointima formation and atherosclerosis. Nogo A/B is found to be crucial for monocyte/macrophage recruitment in acute inflammation and it is expressed in CD68 + macrophages. We hypothesize that macrophage infiltration in atherosclerosis is not dependent on Nogo‐B expression in arterial wall. We have assessed Nogo‐B expression and macrophage accumulation in the iliac arteries of healthy organ donors and organ donors with cardiovascular risk factors. Paraffin sections of 66 iliac arteries, from 44 deceased organ donors (17 women and 27 men), were studied. The healthy and cardiovascular risk (CVR) subgroups were created. With regard to staging of the atherosclerotic process, the thickness of arterial intima was measured in digitalized images of H+E stained tissue sections. Immunohistochemical reactions (Nogo‐B and CD68) were carried out in all arteries (66 samples). Western blotting (WB‐19 samples) and real‐time PCR (27 samples) were performed on selected arteries. Significantly higher Nogo‐B expression was demonstrated in the intima of the healthy subjects' subgroup, using immunohistochemistry. WB and real‐time PCR revealed a trend toward lower Nogo‐B expression in the adventitia of the CVR subgroup. Furthermore, the thickness of the intima was found to negatively correlate with the expression of Nogo‐B in the intima and media (r = ?0.32; p < 0.05; r = ?0.32; p < 0.05). Macrophage infiltrates were more prominent in intima of CVR subjects (0.65 vs 3.52 a.u.; p < 0.01). Macrophage density in intima increased with atherosclerosis progression (r = 0.37; p < 0.01). CD68 macrophages density in adventitia was lower in CVR arteries than in healthy arteries. The expression of Nogo‐B, in arterial intima, is impeded in the early stages of atherosclerosis. Accumulation of arterial intimal CD68 macrophages has been shown to progress; however, the overall macrophage density in the adventitia is reduced in arteries shown to have intimal thickening. Macrophage infiltration is not accompanied by Nogo‐B expression in atherosclerotic arteries.     

An 89-year-old patient with acquired murmur associated with pulmonary embolism

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the third most common cause of death in hospitalized patients. Diagnosis is often missed because of a non-homogeneous clinical picture. We present a case of an 89-year-old patient with an acquired murmur associated with pulmonary embolism. When examined by a family physician the patient had no symptoms typical for PE. During hospitalization, dyspnoea was exacerbated; a non-productive cough, chest pain and oliguria were observed. Pulmonary embolism was diagnosed, but because of the renal failure diagnosis was not confirmed by angio-CT.