Diet and bone mineral density study in postmenopausal women from the TwinsUK registry shows a negative association with a traditional English dietary pattern and a positive association with wine

Background: The effect of diet on bone mineral density (BMD) remains controversial, mainly because of difficulties in isolating dietary factors from the confounding influences of age, lifestyle, and genetic factors. Objective: The aim of this study was to use a novel method to examine the relation between BMD and diet. Design: A co-twin control study design with linear regression modeling was used to test for associations between BMD and habitual intakes of calcium, vitamin D, protein, and alcohol plus 5 previously identified dietary patterns in postmenopausal women from the TwinsUK registry. This approach exploited the unique matching of twins to provide an estimate of an association that was not confounded by age, genetic background, or shared lifestyle. Results: In >2000 postmenopausal women (BMD data on 1019, 1218, and 1232 twin pairs at the hip neck, hip, and spine, respectively), we observed a positive association between alcohol intake (from wine but not from beer or spirits) and spine BMD (P = 0.01) and a negative association with a traditional 20th-century English diet at the hip neck (P = 0.01). Both associations remained borderline significant after adjustment for mean twin-pair intakes (P = 0.04 and P = 0.055, respectively). Other dietary patterns and intakes of calcium, vitamin D, and protein were unrelated to BMD. Conclusion: Our results showed that diet has an independent but subtle effect on BMD; wine intake was positively associated with spine BMD, whereas a traditional (20th-century) English diet had a negative association with hip BMD

The contribution of diet and genotype to iron status in women:a classical twin study

This is the first published report examining the combined effect of diet and genotype on body iron content using a classical twin study design. The aim of this study was to determine the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors in determining iron status. The population was comprised of 200 BMI- and age-matched pairs of MZ and DZ healthy twins, characterised for habitual diet and 15 iron-related candidate genetic markers. Variance components analysis demonstrated that the heritability of serum ferritin (SF) and soluble transferrin receptor was 44% and 54% respectively. Measured single nucleotide polymorphisms explained 5% and selected dietary factors 6% of the variance in iron status; there was a negative association between calcium intake and body iron (p = 0.02) and SF (p = 0.04)

Oral abstracts 1: SpondyloarthropathiesO1. Detecting axial spondyloarthritis amongst primary care back pain referrals

Background: Inflammatory back pain (IBP) is an early feature of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and its detection offers the prospect of early diagnosis of AS. However, since back pain is very common but only a very small minority of back pain sufferers have ASpA or AS, screening of back pain sufferers for AS is problematic. In early disease radiographs are often normal so that fulfilment of diagnostic criteria for AS is impossible though a diagnosis of axial SpA can be made if MRI evidence of sacroiliitis is present. This pilot study was designed to indicate whether a cost-effective pick up rate for ASpA/early AS could be achieved by identifying adults with IBP stratified on the basis of age. Methods: Patients aged between 18 and 45 years who were referred to a hospital physiotherapy service with back pain of more than 3 months duration were assessed for IBP. All were asked to complete a questionnaire based on the Berlin IBP criteria. Those who fulfilled IBP criteria were also asked to complete a second short questionnaire enquiring about SpA comorbidities, to have a blood test for HLA-B27 and CRP level and to undergo an MRI scan of the sacroiliac joints. This was a limited scan, using STIR, diffusion-weighted, T1 and T2 sequences of the sacroiliac joints to minimize time in the scanner and cost. The study was funded by a research grant from Abbott Laboratories Ltd. Results: 50 sequential patients agreed to participate in the study and completed the IBP questionnaire. Of these 27 (54%) fulfilled criteria for IBP. Of these, 2 patients reported a history of an SpA comorbidity - 1 psoriasis; 1 ulcerative colitis - and 3 reported a family history of an SpA comorbidity - 2 psoriasis; 1 Crohn's disease. 4 were HLA-B27 positive, though results were not available for 7. Two patients had marginally raised CRP levels (6, 10 -NR ≤ 5). 19 agreed to undergo MRI scanning of the sacroiliac joints and lumbar spine; 4 scans were abnormal, showing evidence of bilateral sacroiliitis on STIR sequences. In all cases the changes met ASAS criteria but were limited. Of these 4 patients 3 were HLA-B27 positive but none gave a personal or family history of an SpA-associated comorbidity and all had normal CRP levels. Conclusions: This was a pilot study yielding only limited conclusions. However, it is clear that: Screening of patients referred for physiotherapy for IBP is straightforward, inexpensive and quick. It appears that IBP is more prevalent in young adults than overall population data suggest so that targeting this population may be efficient. IBP questionnaires could be administered routinely during a physiotherapy assessment. HLA-B27 testing in this group of patients with IBP is a suitable screening tool. The sacroiliac joint changes identified were mild and their prognostic significance is not yet clear so that the value of early screening needs further evaluation. Disclosure statement: C.H. received research funding for this study from Abbott. A.K. received research funding for this study, and speaker and consultancy fees, from Abbott. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Functional Characterization of Intracellular and Secreted Forms of a Truncated Hepatitis C Virus E2 Glycoprotein

The E2 protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is believed to be a virion surface glycoprotein that is a candidate for inclusion in an antiviral vaccine. A truncated soluble version of E2 has recently been shown to interact with CD81, suggesting that this protein may be a component of the receptor for HCV. When expressed in eukaryotic cells, a significant proportion of E2 forms misfolded aggregates. To analyze the specificity of interaction between E2 and CD81, the aggregated and monomeric forms of a truncated E2 glycoprotein (E2(661)) were separated by high-pressure liquid chromatography and analyzed for CD81 binding. Nonaggregated forms of E2 preferentially bound CD81 and a number of conformation-dependent monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Furthermore, intracellular forms of E2(661) were found to bind CD81 with greater affinity than the extracellular forms. Intracellular and secreted forms of E2(661) were also found to differ in reactivity with MAbs and human sera, consistent with differences in antigenicity. Together, these data indicate that proper folding of E2 is important for its interaction with CD81 and that modifications of glycans can modulate this interaction. Identification of the biologically active forms of E2 will assist in the future design of vaccines to protect against HCV infection

Cross-Reactive Polyclonal Antibodies to the Inner Core of Lipopolysaccharide from Neisseria meningitidis

Sera from mice immunized with native or detergent-extracted outer membrane vesicles derived from lipopolysaccharide (LPS) mutant 44/76(Mu-4) of Neisseria meningitidis were analyzed for antibodies to LPS. The carbohydrate portion of 44/76(Mu-4) LPS consists of the complete inner core, Glcβ1→4[GlcNAc α1→2Hep α1→3]Hep α1→5KDO[4→2αKDO]. Immunoblot analysis revealed that some sera contained antibodies to wild-type LPS which has a fully extended carbohydrate chain of immunotype L3,7, as well as to the homologous LPS. Sera reacted only weakly to LPS from 44/76(Mu-3), which lacks the terminal glucose of the inner core. No binding to more truncated LPS was observed. Consequently, the cross-reactive epitopes are expressed mainly by the complete inner core. Dephosphorylation of wild-type LPS abolished antibody binding to LPS in all but one serum. Thus, at least two specificities of cross-reactive antibodies exist: one is dependent on phosphoethanolamine groups in LPS, and one is not. Detection of these cross-reactive antibodies strongly supports the notion that epitopes expressed by meningococcal LPS inner core are also accessible to antibodies when the carbohydrate chain is fully extended. Also, these inner core epitopes are sufficiently immunogenic to induce antibody levels detectable in polyclonal antibody responses. Meningococci can escape being killed by antibodies to LPS that bind only to a specific LPS variant, by altering the carbohydrate chain length. Cross-reactive antibodies may prevent such escape. Therefore, inner core LPS structures may be important antigens in future vaccines against meningococcal disease

Characteristics of the twins.

<p>Values are means ± SD (min, max).</p

Contribution from SNPs to body iron, serum ferritin (SF) and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR): ^*unadjusted p values.

<p>Adjusted p values were all >0.05.</p