Replication of obesity and diabetes-related SNP associations in individuals from Yucatán, México

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is rising rapidly and in Mexicans is ∼19%. T2D is affected by both environmental and genetic factors. Although specific genes have been implicated in T2D risk few of these findings are confirmed in studies of Mexican subjects. Our aim was to replicate associations of 39 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 10 genes with T2D-related phenotypes in a community-based Mexican cohort. Unrelated individuals (n = 259) living in southeastern Mexico were enrolled in the study based at the University of Yucatan School of Medicine in Merida. Phenotypes measured included anthropometric measurements, circulating levels of adipose tissue endocrine factors (leptin, adiponectin, pro-inflammatory cytokines), and insulin, glucose, and blood pressure. Association analyses were conducted by measured genotype analysis implemented in SOLAR, adapted for unrelated individuals. SNP Minor allele frequencies ranged from 2.2 to 48.6%. Nominal associations were found for CNR1, SLC30A8, GCK, and PCSK1 SNPs with systolic blood pressure, insulin and glucose, and for CNR1, SLC30A8, KCNJ11, and PCSK1 SNPs with adiponectin and leptin (p < 0.05). P-values greater than 0.0014 were considered significant. Association of SNPs rs10485170 of CNR1 and rs5215 of KCNJ11 with adiponectin and leptin, respectively, reached near significance (p = 0.002). Significant association (p = 0.001) was observed between plasma leptin and rs5219 of KCNJ11

Towards precision medicine: defining and characterizing adipose tissue dysfunction to identify early immunometabolic risk in symptom-free adults from the GEMM family study

Interactions between macrophages and adipocytes are early molecular factors influencing adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction, resulting in high leptin, low adiponectin circulating levels and low-grade metaflammation, leading to insulin resistance (IR) with increased cardiovascular risk. We report the characterization of AT dysfunction through measurements of the adiponectin/leptin ratio (ALR), the adipo-insulin resistance index (Adipo-IRi), fasting/postprandial (F/P) immunometabolic phenotyping and direct F/P differential gene expression in AT biopsies obtained from symptom-free adults from the GEMM family study. AT dysfunction was evaluated through associations of the ALR with F/P insulin-glucose axis, lipid-lipoprotein metabolism, and inflammatory markers. A relevant pattern of negative associations between decreased ALR and markers of systemic low-grade metaflammation, HOMA, and postprandial cardiovascular risk hyperinsulinemic, triglyceride and GLP-1 curves was found. We also analysed their plasma non-coding microRNAs and shotgun lipidomics profiles finding trends that may reflect a pattern of adipose tissue dysfunction in the fed and fasted state. Direct gene differential expression data showed initial patterns of AT molecular signatures of key immunometabolic genes involved in AT expansion, angiogenic remodelling and immune cell migration. These data reinforce the central, early role of AT dysfunction at the molecular and systemic level in the pathogenesis of IR and immunometabolic disorders

Nutritional imbalances in a Mexican vegan group: urgent need for country-specific dietary guidelines.

INTRODUCTION: vegan diets exclude the consumption of animal-derived products, and health advantages have been reported when followed. However, heterogeneous eating habits, food availability, and sociocultural characteristics among regions could lead to different physiological results. RESULTS: twelve patients following a strict vegan diet for an uninterrupted period of ≥ 3 years were subjected to clinical assessment. Patients significantly exceeded the suggested intake for sugar, presented six mineral deficiencies, and exhibited three vitamins below the recommended consumption. We further identified hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, subnormal serum vitamin B12 concentrations, as well as macrocytosis and microcytic anemia in several participants. DISCUSSION: this Mexican vegan diet is strongly influenced by endemic and cultural adaptations that could limit the benefits reported in other populations. Professional guidance is required to avoid specific deficiencies with potential repercussions. We urge country-specific vegan guidelines considering local eating habits, food availability, and sociocultural perspectives around food

Friendship Concept and Community Network Structure among Elementary School and University Students

<div><p>We use complex network theory to study the differences between the friendship concepts in elementary school and university students. Four friendship networks were identified from surveys. Three of these networks are from elementary schools; two are located in the rural area of Yucatán and the other is in the urban area of Mérida, Yucatán. We analyzed the structure and the communities of these friendship networks and found significant differences among those at the elementary schools compared with those at the university. In elementary schools, the students make friends mainly in the same classroom, but there are also links among different classrooms because of the presence of siblings and relatives in the schools. These kinds of links (sibling-friend or relative-friend) are called, in this work, “mixed links”. The classification of the communities is based on their similarity with the classroom composition. If the community is composed principally of students in different classrooms, the community is classified as heterogeneous. These kinds of communities appear in the elementary school friendship networks mainly because of the presence of relatives and siblings. Once the links between siblings and relatives are removed, the communities resembled the classroom composition. On the other hand, the university students are more selective in choosing friends and therefore, even when they have friends in the same classroom, those communities are quite different to the classroom composition. Also, in the university network, we found heterogeneous communities even when the presence of sibling and relatives is negligible. These differences made up a topological structure quite different at different academic levels. We also found differences in the network characteristics. Once these differences are understood, the topological structure of the friendship network and the communities shaped in an elementary school could be predicted if we know the total number of students and the ties between siblings and relatives. However, at the university, we cannot do the same. This discovery implies that friendship is a dynamic concept that produces several changes in the friendship network structure and the way that people make groups of friends; it provides the opportunity to give analytic support to observational studies. Communities were also studied by gender and we found that when the links among relatives and siblings were removed, the number of communities formed by one gender alone increased. At the university, many communities formed by students of the same gender were also found.</p></div

Principal characteristics of educational institutions.

<p>Principal characteristics of educational institutions.</p

General characteristics of the friendship networks.

<p>General characteristics of the friendship networks.</p

Principal characteristics of the networks.

<p>Principal characteristics of the networks.</p

Giant component of Elementary School network and its communities without mixed links E2(NF).

<p><b>A</b>. The giant component has n_<i>g</i> = 221 (nodes), m_<i>g</i> = 536 (links) and 〈<i>k</i>_<i>g</i>〉 = 4.85. <b>B</b>. Communities detected in the giant component.</p

Communities’ classification.

<p>In this Cartesian plane we show the classification of the four communities according to the properties of homogeneity and confinement.</p

An example of community classification.

<p>An example of the way communities are classified depending on the nodal distribution in the classrooms (dashed circles) and communities (polygons in solid black lines). For more detail see the text.</p