Erythrocyte trans-fatty acids, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged and older Chinese individuals

Aims/hypothesis

Few data are available about intakes and food sources of trans-fatty acids (TFAs) or their associations with cardiometabolic outcomes in Asian people who consume a prudent diet but are experiencing rapid nutritional transitions. We aimed to investigate the relationships between TFA biomarkers and type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors in Chinese individuals.

Methods

Erythrocyte fatty acids were measured by gas chromatography among 3,107 men and women (50–70?years) recruited from urban and rural areas in Beijing and Shanghai, China.

Results

Total trans-18:1 and two trans-18:2 isomers were detected and accounted for 0.37% of the total fatty acids in the erythrocytes. Concentrations of TFAs were higher in women than men, and in urban than rural residents. Of the TFAs, trans-18:1, but not trans-18:2, showed a modest association with dairy consumption (β?=?0.27), but not with other foods. After adjustment for BMI, social-demographic, lifestyle and dietary factors and other TFAs, erythrocyte trans-18:1 was shown to be associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes (OR comparing extreme [first and fourth] quartiles 0.68, 95% CI 0.48, 0.97, p _trend?=?0.02), as well as 20–50% lower odds of central obesity, dyslipidaemia, hyperglycaemia, insulin resistance and chronic inflammation. In contrast, trans-18:2 fatty acids were positively associated with high triacylglycerol (p _trend?p _trend?=?0.03) levels, but not with diabetes and other cardiometabolic risk factors.

Conclusions/interpretation

Among middle-aged and older Chinese individuals with overall low erythrocyte TFAs levels, trans-18:1 might serve as a marker of dairy intake. Higher trans-18:1 levels were associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, whereas higher trans-18:2 levels were associated with dyslipidaemia.     

Syndecan-4 over-expression preserves cardiac function in a rat model of myocardial infarction

Syndecan-4 (synd4) is a heparan sulfate proteoglycan, involved in repair following tissue damage, through modulating neovascularization and inflammation. In acute myocardial infarction its myocardial expression is up-regulated in a time-dependent manner, and in synd4-deficient mice severe cardiac dysfunction and abnormal remodeling are observed following induction of myocardial infarction. Here we explored the therapeutic potential of sustained synd4 over-expression in the context of myocardial infarction. Adenovirus containing the synd4 gene (Ad-synd4), or corresponding control adenovirus (Ad-null), was administered intramyocardially in rats immediately after induction of myocardial infarction. Cardiac function was ascertained by echocardiography, hemodynamic assessment and brain natriuretic peptide level 28 days post-intervention. Hearts were excised for molecular and histological analyses at predetermined time points. We observed reduced mortality and improved cardiac function post-myocardial infarction in the Ad-synd4 as compared to the Ad-null group, with associated attenuation of cardiac remodeling, less myocyte loss and reduced fibrosis. Additionally, the Ad-synd4 group exhibited endothelial cell activation and increased angiogenesis and arteriogenesis in the myocardium. The Ad-synd4 group also showed evidence of reduced myocardial inflammation as compared with the Ad-null group, with reduced inflammatory cell (CD45+) and myofibroblast (α-SMA+) infiltration as well as suppressed collagen III deposition and iNOS expression. Our results suggest that sustained synd4 over-expression in the myocardium is of therapeutic benefit following experimental myocardial infarction, through inducing neovascularization, suppressing tissue inflammation and fibrosis, with resultant improvements in cardiac function and remodeling.     

Administration of hydrogen-saturated saline decreases plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and improves high-density lipoprotein function in high-fat diet-fed hamsters

Hydrogen (dihydrogen; H(2)) has an antiatherosclerotic effect in apolipoprotein (apo) E knockout mice. The goals of this study were to further characterize the effects of H(2) on the content, composition, and biological activities of plasma lipoproteins in golden hamsters. Plasma analysis by enzymatic method and fast protein liquid chromatography showed that 4-week intraperitoneal injection of hydrogen-saturated saline remarkably decreased plasma total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in high-fat diet-fed hamsters. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of apolipoproteins from ultracentrifugally isolated plasma lipoproteins revealed a marked decrease of apo B100 and apo B48 in LDL. A profound decrease of apo E level in very low-density lipoprotein was also observed. Besides, we determined the functional quality of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles isolated from H(2)-treated and control mice. H(2) significantly improved HDL functionality assessed in 2 independent ways, namely, (1) stimulation of cholesterol efflux from macrophage foam cells by measuring HDL-induced [(3)H]cholesterol efflux and (2) protection against LDL oxidation as a measure of Cu(2+)-induced thiobarbituric acid reactive substances formation. Administration of hydrogen-saturated saline decreases plasma LDL cholesterol and apo B levels and improves hyperlipidemia-injured HDL functions, including the capacity of enhancing cellular cholesterol efflux and playing antioxidative properties, in high-fat diet-fed hamsters.     

保元解毒汤通过细胞因子-泛素-蛋白酶体途径干预癌因性肌管萎缩机制的研究

目的观察保元解毒汤对癌性环境下C2C12小鼠成肌细胞分化的影响,探讨其缓解肌肉萎缩的可能机制。方法先分别用1∶2、1∶4、1∶8的Lewis肺腺癌细胞上清液诱导C2C12细胞,确定癌因性肌管萎缩模型建立的最佳浓度和培养时间。造模成功后,将细胞分为模型组,保元解毒汤高剂量组(125 g/L)、中剂量组(62.5 g/L)、低剂量组(31.25 g/L),光学显微镜下观察肌管形成情况;ELISA法检测C2C12细胞上清液中肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)和白介素-6(IL-6)含量;Western blot、Real-Time PCR法检测肌肉萎缩盒F蛋白(Atrogen-1)和肌肉特异性环指蛋白1(MuRF-1)的表达。结果 1∶2的Lewis肺腺癌细胞上清液诱导C2C12细胞96 h,TNF-α和IL-6含量明显增多,为构建癌因性肌管萎缩模型的最佳条件。高、中、低剂量的保元解毒汤干预后,肌管横径增加(P0.05);上清液中TNF-α和IL-6含量减少(P0.05),Atrogin-1和MuRF-1蛋白及mRNA表达下调(P0.05)。结论保元解毒汤可能通过降低细胞因子含量,抑制泛素-蛋白酶体途径(UPP),减少肌蛋白分解而改善癌因性肌管萎缩。     

合并帕金森病的膝骨性关节炎患者全膝关节置换术后生活质量评估

目的:评估帕金森病(PD)患者全膝关节置换(TKA)术后生活质量改善情况.方法:纳入我院2012年6月至2018年6月行TKA的PD患者11例,以非PD膝关节骨性关节炎(KOA)患者44例作为对照进行比较.通过欧洲生活质量5项(EQ-5D)、疼痛残疾问卷(PDQ)和患者健康问卷-9(PHQ-9)及最小临床重要差异值(M...     

Association between WT1 polymorphisms and susceptibility to breast cancer: results from a case-control study in a southwestern Chinese population

Wilms’ tumor gene 1 (WT1) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs16754, has been considered as an independent prognostic factor in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and renal cell carcinoma. However, its biological role in breast cancer has not been reported. To test whether WT1 SNPs can be used as a molecular marker in order to improve the risk stratification of breast cancer, we performed a case-control study including 709 female sporadic breast cancer patients and 749 female healthy control subjects in the Southeast China. Five WT1 SNPs (rs16754, rs3930513, rs5030141, rs5030317, rs5030320) were selected and determined by polymerase chain reaction-ligase detection reaction to assess their associations with breast cancer risk. Results showed the distributions of the alleles of these WT1 SNPs were consistent with data from Chinese population as suggested by the International HapMap Project. Individuals with the minor alleles of rs16754, rs5030317 and rs5030320 showed a significant decrease of breast cancer risk in codominant model (OR = 0.6370, 95% CI: 0.4260-0.9520 for rs16754; OR = 0.5940, 95% CI: 0.3890-0.9070 for rs5030317; OR = 0.5870, 95% CI: 0.3850-0.8960 for 5030320, respectively) and recessive model. Stratified analyses showed the protective effects were more evident in the subjects with age ≤ 50 years or in pre-menopausal status. To explore the potential mechanism, we conducted bioinformatics genotype-phenotype correlation analysis, and found that the mRNA expression level for homozygous rare allele of WT1 gene was lower than that in wild-type and heterozygous group (P = 0.0021) in Chinese population. In summary, our findings indicated that minor alleles of rs16754, rs5030317 and rs5030320 are associated with reduced risk of breast cancer, suggesting that WT1 SNPs may be a potential biomarker of individualized prediction of susceptibility to breast cancer. However, large prospective and molecular epidemiology studies are needed to verify this correlation and clarify its underlying mechanisms.     

Immunotherapy based on bispecific T‐cell engager with hIgG1 Fc sequence as a new therapeutic strategy in multiple myeloma

Bispecific antibodies play an important role in immunotherapy. They have received intense interest from pharmaceutical enterprises. The first antibody drug, OKT3 (muromonab‐CD3), showed great performance in clinical treatment. We have successfully developed a single‐chain variable fragment (ScFv) combination of anti‐CD3 ScFv and anti‐CD138 ScFv with the hIgG1 Fc (hIgFc) sequence. The novel bispecific T‐cell engager (BiTE) with an additional hIgFc (BiTE‐hIgFc, STL001) can target T cells, natural killer cells, and multiple myeloma cells (RPMI‐8226 or U266). In addition, BiTE‐hIgFc (STL001) has nanomolar‐level affinity to recombinant human CD138 protein and shows more potent antitumor activity against RPMI‐8226 cells than that of separate aCD3‐ScFv‐hIgFc and aCD138‐ScFv‐hIgFc, or the isotype mAb in vitro or in vivo.     

Stromal-derived factor-1α/CXCL12-CXCR4 chemotactic pathway promotes perineural invasion in pancreatic cancer

Perineural invasion (PNI) is considered as an alternative route for the metastatic spread of pancreatic cancer cells; however, the molecular changes leading to PNI are still poorly understood. In this study, we show that the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis plays a pivotal role in the neurotropism of pancreatic cancer cells to local peripheral nerves. Immunohistochemical staining results revealed that CXCR4 elevation correlated with PNI in 78 pancreatic cancer samples. Both in vitro and in vivo PNI models were applied to investigate the function of the CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling in PNI progression and pathogenesis. The results showed that the activation of the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis significantly increased pancreatic cancer cells invasion and promoted the outgrowth of the dorsal root ganglia. CXCL12 derived from the peripheral nerves stimulated the invasion and chemotactic migration of CXCR4-positive cancer cells in a paracrine manner, eventually leading to PNI. In vivo analyses revealed that the abrogation of the activated signaling inhibited tumor growth and invasion of the sciatic nerve toward the spinal cord. These data indicate that the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis may be a novel therapeutic target to prevent the perineural dissemination of pancreatic cancer.