NLRP3-inflammasome inhibition prevents high fat and high sugar diets-induced heart damage through autophagy induction

The NLRP3-inflammasome complex has emerged as an important component of inflammatory processes in metabolic dysfunction induced by high-caloric diets. In this study, we investigate the molecular mechanisms by which NLRP3 inhibition may attenuate diet-induced cardiac injury. Here we show the cardiac damage induced by high sugar diet (HSD), high fat diet (HFD) or high sugar/fat diet (HSFD) over 15 weeks. Genetic ablation of NLRP3 protected against this damage by autophagy induction and apoptotic control. Furthermore, NLRP3 inhibition by the selective small molecule MCC950 resulted in similar autophagy induction and apoptotic control in hearts after diets. These data were reproduced in THP-1 cells treated with MCC950 and cultured in media supplemented with serum from mice dosed with MCC950 and fed with diets. NLRP3 inhibition exerted beneficial metabolic, and autophagic adaptations in hearts from obesogenic diets. The inhibition of NLRP3 activation may hold promise in the treatment of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.Junta de Andalucía CTS113Junta de Andalucia PI-0036-201

Oxidative Stress Correlates with Headache Symptoms in Fibromyalgia: Coenzyme Q10 Effect on Clinical Improvement

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.[Background]: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain syndrome with unknown etiology and a wide spectrum of symptoms such as allodynia, debilitating fatigue, joint stiffness and migraine. Recent studies have shown some evidences demonstrating that oxidative stress is associated to clinical symptoms in FM of fibromyalgia. We examined oxidative stress and bioenergetic status in blood mononuclear cells (BMCs) and its association to headache symptoms in FM patients. The effects of oral coenzyme Q 10 (CoQ 10) supplementation on biochemical markers and clinical improvement were also evaluated. [Methods]: We studied 20 FM patients and 15 healthy controls. Clinical parameters were evaluated using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), visual analogues scales (VAS), and the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6). Oxidative stress was determined by measuring CoQ 10, catalase and lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels in BMCs. Bioenergetic status was assessed by measuring ATP levels in BMCs. [Results]: We found decreased CoQ 10, catalase and ATP levels in BMCs from FM patients as compared to normal control (P<0.05 and P<0.001, respectively) We also found increased level of LPO in BMCs from FM patients as compared to normal control (P<0.001). Significant negative correlations between CoQ 10 or catalase levels in BMCs and headache parameters were observed (r = -0.59, P<0.05; r = -0.68, P<0.05, respectively). Furthermore, LPO levels showed a significant positive correlation with HIT-6 (r = 0.33, P<.05). Oral CoQ 10 supplementation restored biochemical parameters and induced a significant improvement in clinical and headache symptoms (P<0.001). [Discussion]: The results of this study suggest a role for mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in the headache symptoms associated with FM. CoQ10 supplementation should be examined in a larger placebo controlled trial as a possible treatment in FM.This work has been supported by IV Plan Propio de Investigación (University of Seville, ref. 2010/00000453), FIS PI10/00543 grant, FIS EC08/00076 grant, Ministerio de Sanidad, Spain and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER-Unión Europea), SAS 111242 grant, Servicio Andaluz de Salud-Junta de Andalucía, Proyecto de Investigación de Excelencia de la Junta de Andalucía CTS-5725 and Federación Andaluza de Fibromialgia y Fatiga Crónica (ALBA Andalucía).Peer Reviewe

A dataset of acoustic measurements from soundscapes collected worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic

Political responses to the COVID-19 pandemic led to changes in city soundscapes around the globe. From March to October 2020, a consortium of 261 contributors from 35 countries brought together by the Silent Cities project built a unique soundscape recordings collection to report on local acoustic changes in urban areas. We present this collection here, along with metadata including observational descriptions of the local areas from the contributors, open-source environmental data, open-source confinement levels and calculation of acoustic descriptors. We performed a technical validation of the dataset using statistical models run on a subset of manually annotated soundscapes. Results confirmed the large-scale usability of ecoacoustic indices and automatic sound event recognition in the Silent Cities soundscape collection. We expect this dataset to be useful for research in the multidisciplinary field of environmental sciences

De Novo Donor-Specific HLA Antibody Development and Peripheral CD4+CD25high Cells in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Place for Interaction?

The aim of this study was to determine whether the abundance of regulatory T cells (Tregs) (CD4+CD25high) affects the de novo development of anti-HLA donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). Methods. Unsensitized (PRA ≤ 10%, no DSA) adult primary KTRs who received a living (83%) or deceased (17%) KT in our Institution during 2004/2005 were included. DSA testing was performed monthly, and Tregs were quantified by flow cytometry every 3 months, during the 1st year after KT. All patients received triple drug immunosuppressive therapy (CNI + MMF or AZA + PDN); 83% received anti-CD25. Results. 53 KTRs were included; 32% developed DSA during the 1st year after KT. Significantly lower 7-year graft survival was observed in those who developed DSA. No difference was observed in Treg numbers up to 9 months after KT, between DSA positive and negative. However, at 12 months after KT, DSA-negative patients had significantly higher numbers of Treg. Conclusions. Early development of DSA was not associated to variations in Treg abundance. The differences in Treg numbers observed at the late time point may reflect better immune acceptance of the graft and may be associated to long-term effects. Additional inhibitory mechanisms participating earlier in DSA development after KT deserve to be sought

Highly Nutritional Bread with Partial Replacement of Wheat by Amaranth and Orange Sweet Potato

The current dietary habits cause health problems due to foods’ composition, with bread as an important example. Our aim was to formulate an optimum dough blend with flours from wheat, amaranth and orange sweet potato to obtain a physically good and highly nutritional bread. Bread was prepared with blends of wheat, amaranth and orange sweet potato flours, optimizing the technological properties of the doughs by the response surface methodology and analyzing their physical and nutritional properties. Amaranth provides protein and fiber, and sweet potatoes provide β-carotenoids and high antioxidant activity. The prediction models were adjusted by mixing time (MT), peak dough resistance (PDR), setback (SB) and breakdown (BD). The interaction between wheat and amaranth significantly (p p < 0.05); none of the components influenced PDR. The optimized blend (68.7% wheat, 22.7% amaranth and 8.6% sweet potato) produced a bread with the best crust and crumb appearance. This bread was comparable to that made with 100% wheat in specific volume and textural characteristics, but had better protein quality, higher content of fermentable fiber, pro-vitamin A, and bioactive compounds with good antioxidant capacity, and a lower glycemic index