Risk factor burden, heart failure, and survival in women of different ethnic groups insights from the women's health initiative

BACKGROUND: The higher risk of heart failure (HF) in African-American and Hispanic women compared with white women is related to the higher burden of risk factors (RFs) in minorities. However, it is unclear if there are differences in the association between the number of RFs for HF and the risk of development of HF and death within racial/ethnic groups. METHODS AND RESULTS: In the WHI (Women's Health Initiative; 1993-2010), African-American (n=11996), white (n=18479), and Hispanic (n=5096) women with 1, 2, or 3+ baseline RFs were compared with women with 0 RF within their respective racial/ethnic groups to assess risk of developing HF or all-cause mortality before and after HF, using survival analyses. After adjusting for age, socioeconomic status, and hormone therapy, the subdistribution hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) of developing HF increased as number of RFs increased (P<0.0001, interaction of race/ethnicity and RF number P=0.18)-African-Americans 1 RF: 1.80 (1.01-3.20), 2 RFs: 3.19 (1.84-5.54), 3+ RFs: 7.31 (4.26-12.56); Whites 1 RF: 1.27 (1.04-1.54), 2 RFs: 1.95 (1.60-2.36), 3+ RFs: 4.07 (3.36-4.93); Hispanics 1 RF: 1.72 (0.68-4.34), 2 RFs: 3.87 (1.60-9.37), 3+ RFs: 8.80 (3.62-21.42). Risk of death before developing HF increased with subsequent RFs (P<0.0001) but differed by racial/ethnic group (interaction P=0.001). The number of RFs was not associated with the risk of death after developing HF in any group (P=0.25; interaction P=0.48). CONCLUSIONS: Among diverse racial/ethnic groups, an increase in the number of baseline RFs was associated with higher risk of HF and death before HF but was not associated with death after HF. Early RF prevention may reduce the burden of HF across multiple racial/ethnic groups

Seasonal size variation in the predatory cladoceran Bythotrephes cederstroemii in Lake Michigan

1.  Dry weight, body length and spine length were measured for the exotic cladoceran Bythotrephes cederstroemii collected from offshore and inshore stations in southeastern Lake Michigan. Average dry weight of each developmental stage exhibited seasonal variation by a factor of more than 5. 2.  Mean dry weight of Bythotrephes was closely correlated with water temperature. Contrary to the inverse relationship between water temperature and body size frequently observed for other invertebrates, the dry weight of Bythotrephes increased at higher ambient temperatures. 3.  No significant correlation was observed between abundances of major zooplankton taxa and the dry weight of Bythotrephes . An indirect effect of temperature on prey consumption may cause seasonal variation in dry weight of Bythotrephes in Lake Michigan. 4.  Distances between adjacent pairs of barbs, added to the caudal spine with each moult, are significantly shorter in Bythotrephes which produce resting eggs. Less material investment in the exoskeleton of sexually reproducing females was observed in favour of growth and reproduction.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74641/1/j.1365-2427.1994.tb00842.x.pd

TIMP-1 is a key factor of fibrogenic response to bleomycin in mouse lung.

International audiencePulmonary fibrosis is characterized by the excessive deposition of extracellular matrix in the interstitium, resulting in respiratory failure. The role of remodeling mediators such as metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their inhibitors (TIMPs) in the fibrogenic process remains misunderstood. We investigated MMP-9, MMP-2, TIMP-1, TIMP-2 and TIMP-3 in the fibrotic response to bleomycin of fibrosis prone C57BL/6J and fibrosis resistant BALB/c mice. Mice were administered with 0.1 mg bleomycin by intranasal administration. Either 24 h or 14 days after, the mice were anesthetized and underwent either bronchoalveolear lavage (BAL) or lung removal. Collagen deposition in lung tissue was determined by hydroxyproline measurement, MMP activity was analyzed by zymography, and other mediators were analyzed by ELISA. TIMP-1 was localized in lung sections by immunohistochemistry and real time PCR was performed to gene expression in lung. Non parametric Mann-Whitney and Spearman tests were used for statistical analysis. Fourteen days after bleomycin administration, hydroxyproline assay and histological study revealed that BALB/c mice developed significantly less fibrosis compared to C57BL/6J mice. At day 1, bleomycin enhanced TIMP-1, MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein levels in BALF, and induced corresponding genes in lung tissue of both strains. The rise of Timp-1, Mmp-9 and Mmp-2 gene levels were significantly stronger in lungs of C57BL/6J, whereas gelatinase activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were similar. Immunohistochemistry revealed that TIMP-1 macrophages and epithelial cells were prominent TIMP-1 producers in both strains. At day 14, neither MMP-2 nor MMP-9 levels exhibited strain-dependent protein level or gene expression, although TIMP-1 was strongly associated with fibrosis. Interestingly, bleomycin induced neither Timp-2 nor Timp-3 in lung tissue at any time of the study. The present study shows that early altered regulation of TIMP-1 following bleomycin administration may be involved in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis