Relationship of Serum Inflammatory Biomarkers With Plaque Inflammation Assessed by FDG PET/CT The dal-PLAQUE Study

ObjectivesThis study sought to longitudinally investigate the relationship between a broad spectrum of serum inflammatory biomarkers and plaque inflammation assessed by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT).BackgroundBoth plaque inflammation and serum biomarkers of inflammation are associated with atherothrombotic events; however, the relationship between them is unclear.MethodsWe conducted a post hoc analysis of the dal-PLAQUE (A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Study of the Effect of RO4607381 on Progression or Regression of Atherosclerotic Plaque in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease [CHD] Including Patients With Other CHD Risk Factors), a randomized, placebo-controlled study of dalcetrapib, a cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor, in 130 patients with coronary heart disease, or coronary heart disease risk equivalents on stable lipid-lowering therapy. Baseline and change after 3-month follow-up in inflammatory biomarker levels and baseline and change after 3-month follow-up in aorta and carotid 18F-FDG PET/CT (mean maximum target-to-background ratio of the most diseased segment [TBRmds]) were analyzed.ResultsBaseline myeloperoxidase positively correlated with baseline carotid TBRmds (rho = 0.25, p = 0.02). This correlation remained at the 3-month follow-up and was independent of traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors. Baseline lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 mass correlated with aorta TBRmds (rho = 0.21, p = 0.03). However, this correlation disappeared at the 3-month follow-up and was not independent of cardiovascular disease risk factors. There was no association between change from baseline in myeloperoxidase or lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 mass and change from baseline in aorta and carotid TBRmds. Baseline and change from baseline in high sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, soluble P-selectin, soluble E-selectin, soluble intracellular adhesion molecule 1, soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, and matrix-metalloproteinase 3 and 9 did not correlate with baseline or change from baseline in carotid or aorta TBRmds.ConclusionsOur data show that, in patients with coronary heart disease or at high risk of coronary heart disease on stable lipid-lowering therapy, circulating myeloperoxidase levels are associated with carotid plaque inflammation. (A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Study of the Effect of RO4607381 on Progression or Regression of Atherosclerotic Plaque in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease [CHD] Including Patients With Other CHD Risk Factors [dal-PLAQUE]; NCT00655473

The glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor as a potential treatment target in alcohol use disorder: evidence from human genetic association studies and a mouse model of alcohol dependence

The hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) regulates appetite and food intake. GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) activation also attenuates the reinforcing properties of alcohol in rodents. The present translational study is based on four human genetic association studies and one preclinical study providing data that support the hypothesis that GLP-1R may have a role in the pathophysiology of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Case–control analysis (N=908) was performed on a sample of individuals enrolled in the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) intramural research program. The Study of Addiction: Genetics and Environment (SAGE) sample (N=3803) was used for confirmation purposes. Post hoc analyses were carried out on data from a human laboratory study of intravenous alcohol self-administration (IV-ASA;N=81) in social drinkers and from a functional magnetic resonance imaging study in alcohol-dependent individuals (N=22) subjected to a Monetary Incentive Delay task. In the preclinical study, a GLP-1R agonist was evaluated in a mouse model of alcohol dependence to demonstrate the role of GLP-1R for alcohol consumption. The previously reported functional allele 168Ser (rs6923761) was nominally associated with AUD (P=0.004) in the NIAAA sample, which was partially replicated in males of the SAGE sample (P=0.033). The 168Ser/Ser genotype was further associated with increased alcohol administration and breath alcohol measures in the IV-ASA experiment and with higher BOLD response in the right globus pallidus when receiving notification of outcome for high monetary reward. Finally, GLP-1R agonism significantly reduced alcohol consumption in a mouse model of alcohol dependence. These convergent findings suggest that the GLP-1R may be an attractive target for personalized pharmacotherapy treatment of AUD

Early disruption of photoreceptor cell architecture and loss of vision in a humanized pig model of usher syndromes

Usher syndrome (USH) is the most common form of monogenic deaf-blindness. Loss of vision is untreatable and there are no suitable animal models for testing therapeutic strategies of the ocular constituent of USH, so far. By introducing a human mutation into the harmonin-encoding USH1C gene in pigs, we generated the first translational animal model for USH type 1 with characteristic hearing defect, vestibular dysfunction, and visual impairment. Changes in photoreceptor architecture, quantitative motion analysis, and electroretinography were characteristics of the reduced retinal virtue in USH1C pigs. Fibroblasts from USH1C pigs or USH1C patients showed significantly elongated primary cilia, confirming USH as a true and general ciliopathy. Primary cells also proved their capacity for assessing the therapeutic potential of CRISPR/Cas-mediated gene repair or gene therapy in vitro. AAV-based delivery of harmonin into the eye of USH1C pigs indicated therapeutic efficacy in vivo

Ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A) antagonism suppresses both alcohol consumption and the alcohol deprivation effect in rats following long-term voluntary alcohol consumption.

Alcohol dependence is a heterogeneous disorder where several signalling systems play important roles. Recent studies implicate that the gut-brain hormone ghrelin, an orexigenic peptide, is a potential mediator of alcohol related behaviours. Ghrelin increases whereas a ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A) antagonist decreases alcohol consumption as well as operant self-administration of alcohol in rodents that have consumed alcohol for twelve weeks. In the present study we aimed at investigating the effect of acute and repeated treatment with the GHS-R1A antagonist JMV2959 on alcohol intake in a group of rats following voluntarily alcohol consumption for two, five and eight months. After approximately ten months of voluntary alcohol consumption the expression of the GHS-R1A gene (Ghsr) as well as the degree of methylation of a CpG island found in Ghsr was examined in reward related brain areas. In a separate group of rats, we examined the effect of the JMV2959 on alcohol relapse using the alcohol deprivation paradigm. Acute JMV2959 treatment was found to decrease alcohol intake and the effect was more pronounced after five, compared to two months of alcohol exposure. In addition, repeated JMV2959 treatment decreased alcohol intake without inducing tolerance or rebound increase in alcohol intake after the treatment. The GHS-R1A antagonist prevented the alcohol deprivation effect in rats. There was a significant down-regulation of the Ghsr expression in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in high- compared to low-alcohol consuming rats after approximately ten months of voluntary alcohol consumption. Further analysis revealed a negative correlation between Ghsr expression in the VTA and alcohol intake. No differences in methylation degree were found between high- compared to low-alcohol consuming rats. These findings support previous studies showing that the ghrelin signalling system may constitute a potential target for development of novel treatment strategies for alcohol dependence