A Placebo-Controlled Trial of Pioglitazone in Subjects with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

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Iron-Oxide-Nanoparticles-Doped Polyaniline Composite Thin Films

Iron-oxide-doped polyaniline (PANI-IO) thin films were obtained by the polymerization of aniline monomers and iron oxide solutions in direct current glow discharge plasma in the absence of a buffer gas for the first time. The PANI-IO thin films were deposited on optical polished Si wafers in order to study surface morphology and evaluate their in vitro biocompatibility. The characterization of the coatings was accomplished using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), metallographic microscopy (MM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In vitro biocompatibility assessments were also conducted on the PANI-IO thin films. It was observed that a uniform distribution of iron oxide particles inside the PANI layers was obtained. The constituent elements of the coatings were uniformly distributed. The Fe-O bonds were associated with magnetite in the XPS studies. The surface morphology of the PANI-IO thin films was assessed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The AFM topographies revealed that PANI-IO exhibited the morphology of a uniformly distributed and continuous layer. The viability of Caco-2 cells cultured on the Si substrate and PANI-IO coating was not significantly modified compared to control cells. Moreover, after 24 h of incubation, we observed no increase in LDH activity in media in comparison to the control. In addition, our results revealed that the NO levels for the Si substrate and PANI-IO coating were similar to those found in the control sample

Amorphous Silica Nanoparticles Obtained by Laser Ablation Induce Inflammatory Response in Human Lung Fibroblasts

Silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs) represent environmentally born nanomaterials that are used in multiple biomedical applications. Our aim was to study the amorphous SiO2 NP-induced inflammatory response in MRC-5 human lung fibroblasts up to 72 hours of exposure. The intracellular distribution of SiO2 NPs was measured by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) test was used for cellular viability evaluation. We have also investigated the lysosomes formation, protein expression of interleukins (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-18), COX-2, Nrf2, TNF-α, and nitric oxide (NO) production. Our results showed that the level of lysosomes increased in time after exposure to the SiO2 NPs. The expressions of interleukins and COX-2 were upregulated, whereas the expressions and activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9 decreased in a time-dependent manner. Our findings demonstrated that the exposure of MRC-5 cells to 62.5 µg/mL of SiO2 NPs induced an inflammatory response

Whole body overexpression of PGC-1α has opposite effects on hepatic and muscle insulin sensitivity

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by fasting hyperglycemia, secondary to hepatic insulin resistance and increased glucose production. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) is a transcriptional coactivator that is thought to control adaptive responses to physiological stimuli. In liver, PGC-1α expression is induced by fasting, and this effect promotes gluconeogenesis. To examine whether PGC-1α is involved in the pathogenesis of hepatic insulin resistance, we generated transgenic (TG) mice with whole body overexpression of human PGC-1α and evaluated glucose homeostasis with a euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp. PGC-1α was moderately (∼2-fold) overexpressed in liver, skeletal muscle, brain, and heart of TG mice. In liver, PGC-1α overexpression resulted in increased expression of hepatocyte nuclear factor-4α and the gluconeogenic enzymes phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glucose-6-phosphatase. PGC-1α overexpression caused hepatic insulin resistance, manifested by higher glucose production and diminished insulin suppression of gluconeogenesis. Paradoxically, PGC-1α overexpression improved muscle insulin sensitivity, as evidenced by elevated insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation and peripheral glucose disposal. Content of myoglobin and troponin I slow protein was increased in muscle of TG mice, indicating fiber-type switching. PGC-1α overexpression also led to lower reactive oxygen species production by mitochondria and reduced IKK/IκB signaling in muscle. Feeding a high-fat diet to TG mice eliminated the increased muscle insulin sensitivity. The dichotomous effect of PGC-1α overexpression in liver and muscle suggests that PGC-1α is a fuel gauge that couples energy demands (muscle) with the corresponding fuel supply (liver). Thus, under conditions of physiological stress (i.e., prolonged fast and exercise training), increased hepatic glucose production may help sustain glucose utilization in peripheral tissues

Peripheral Disruption of the Grb10 Gene Enhances Insulin Signaling and Sensitivity In Vivo▿

Grb10 is a pleckstrin homology and Src homology 2 domain-containing protein that interacts with a number of phosphorylated receptor tyrosine kinases, including the insulin receptor. In mice, Grb10 gene expression is imprinted with maternal expression in all tissues except the brain. While the interaction between Grb10 and the insulin receptor has been extensively investigated in cultured cells, whether this adaptor protein plays a positive or negative role in insulin signaling and action remains controversial. In order to investigate the in vivo role of Grb10 in insulin signaling and action in the periphery, we generated Grb10 knockout mice by the gene trap technique and analyzed mice with maternal inheritance of the knockout allele. Disruption of Grb10 gene expression in peripheral tissues had no significant effect on fasting glucose and insulin levels. On the other hand, peripheral-tissue-specific knockout of Grb10 led to significant overgrowth of the mice, consistent with a role for endogenous Grb10 as a growth suppressor. Loss of Grb10 expression in insulin target tissues, such as skeletal muscle and fat, resulted in enhanced insulin-stimulated Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp studies revealed that disruption of Grb10 gene expression in peripheral tissues led to increased insulin sensitivity. Taken together, our results provide strong evidence that Grb10 is a negative regulator of insulin signaling and action in vivo

Early insights into the characteristics and evolution of clinical parameters in a cohort of patients prescribed sacubitril/valsartan in Germany

<p><b>Objectives</b>: This study aimed to provide early insights into sacubitril/valsartan (sac/val) prescription patterns and the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients prescribed sac/val in primary care and cardiology settings in Germany.</p> <p><b>Methods</b>: The study used electronic medical records from the German IMS® Disease Analyzer database. Patients with ≥1 prescription for sac/val during 1 January–31 December 2016 (<i>n</i> = 1643) were identified and followed up for ≤12 months from first prescription. Patients with ≥1 heart failure (HF) diagnosis during the study period, ≥1 additional HF diagnosis in the full history of the database, and ≥1 prescription for an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker and a β-blocker during the study period, without a prescription for sac/val (<i>n</i> = 25,264), were included as a reference cohort. Changes in clinical parameters in the 12 months before and after sac/val initiation were investigated and compared with those from the PARADIGM-HF study.</p> <p><b>Results</b>: The characteristics of patients prescribed sac/val more closely resembled those of patients enrolled in PARADIGM-HF (e.g. younger age, higher proportion of men than women, lower systolic blood pressure) than patients in the reference cohort. Most patients were initiated on the lowest dose of sac/val irrespective of clinical setting. Significant decreases (<i>p</i> < 0.001) in NT-proBNP and glycated haemoglobin levels were observed following sac/val initiation.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Patients prescribed sac/val had similar baseline demographics and clinical characteristics to those from PARADIGM-HF, and most patients were initiated on the lowest dose. Changes in clinical parameters before and after initiation mirrored findings from the PARADIGM-HF study.</p