Association between childhood obesity, trace elements, and heavy metals: Recent discoveries and future perspectives

Trace elements and heavy metals play pivotal roles in health status by regulating a myriad of vital biological functions. Abnormal metal homeostasis has been linked to a constellation of pathogenic complications, including oxidative stress, inflammatory processes, dyslipidemia, and impaired insulin-mediated metabolism of carbohydrates, thereby increasing the odds of developing childhood obesity and related comorbidities. Herein, we provide a comprehensive revision of recent literature on the association between childhood obesity, trace elements, and heavy metals. Further, we emphasize on the crucial importance of addressing the influence that interindividual variability factors (e.g., sex, age, genetic determinants, concomitance of comorbidities, and environmental factors) may have in modulating the susceptibility to disease development. Altogether, this review article represents a concise guide to better understand the involvement of metals in childhood obesity pathogenesis and discusses future needs with the aim of establishing robust biomarkers in the context of precision medicine

Metal Homeostasis and Exposure in Distinct Phenotypic Subtypes of Insulin Resistance among Children with Obesity

Background: Trace elements and heavy metals have proven pivotal roles in childhood obesity and insulin resistance. However, growing evidence suggests that insulin resistance could encompass distinct phenotypic subtypes. Methods: Herein, we performed a comprehensive metallomics characterization of plasma samples from children and adolescents with obesity and concomitant insulin resistance, who were stratified as early (N = 17, 11.4 2.4 years), middle (N = 16, 11.8 1.9 years), and late (N = 33, 11.7 2.0 years) responders according to the insulin secretion profile in response to an oral glucose tolerance test. To this end, we employed a high-throughput method aimed at determining the biodistribution of various essential and toxic elements by analyzing total metal contents, metal-containing proteins, and labile metal species. Results: Compared with the early responders, participants with delayed glucose-induced hyperinsulinemia showed a worsened insulin resistance (HOMA-IR, 4.5 vs. 3.8) and lipid profile (total cholesterol, 160 vs. 144 mg/dL; LDL-cholesterol, 99 vs. 82 mg/dL), which in turn was accompanied by sharpened disturbances in the levels of plasmatic proteins containing chromium (4.8 vs. 5.1 g/L), cobalt (0.79 vs. 1.2 g/L), lead (0.021 vs. 0.025 g/L), and arsenic (0.077 vs. 0.17 g/L). A correlation analysis demonstrated a close inter-relationship among these multielemental perturbations and the characteristic metabolic complications occurring in childhood obesity, namely impaired insulin-mediated metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids. Conclusions: These findings highlight the crucial involvement that altered metal homeostasis and exposure may have in regulating insulin signaling, glucose metabolism, and dyslipidemia in childhood obesity

Parental obesity predisposes to exacerbated metabolic and inflammatory disturbances in childhood obesity within the framework of an altered profile of trace elements

Background: Family history of obesity is known to increase the odds of developing childhood obesity in the offspring, but its influence in underlying molecular complications remains unexplored. Subjects/Methods: Here, we investigated a population-based cohort comprising children with obesity, with and without parental obesity (PO+, N = 20; PO−, N = 29), and lean healthy children as controls (N = 30), from whom plasma and erythrocyte samples were collected to characterize their multi-elemental profile, inflammatory status, as well as carbohydrate and lipid metabolisms. Results: We found parental obesity to be associated with unhealthier outcomes in children, as reflected in increased blood insulin levels and reduced insulin sensitivity, unfavorable lipid profile, and pro-inflammatory milieu. This was accompanied by moderate alterations in the content of trace elements, including increased copper-to-zinc ratios and iron deficiency in circulation, as well as metal accumulation within erythrocytes. Conclusions: Therefore, we hypothesize that family history of obesity could be an important risk factor in modulating the characteristic multi-elemental alterations behind childhood obesity, which in turn could predispose to boost related comorbidities and metabolic complications.7 página

Análisis de efectos ocasionados por los centros comerciales Ocean Mall y Buenavista en el comercio tradicional de la ciudad de Santa Marta D.T.C.H. 2005-2006

La construcción de centros comerciales se convirtió en el gran fenómeno comercial, ya que ha venido evolucionando y generando cambios en las regiones donde se localizan. Buena parte de la recuperación de esta industria obedece a la nueva dinámica que exhibe la actividad comercial y al cambio de mentalidad de los consumidores. De acuerdo con lo anterior, en el presente proyecto presenta un análisis de los efectos ocasionados por los centros comerciales Ocean Mall y Buenavista en el comercio tradicional de la ciudad de Santa Marta D.T.C.H., en el cual, se abordan temas como, ventajas y desventajas que ocasionan los centros comerciales al comercio de la ciudad, entre otras variables relacionadas con el objeto de estudio

Interleukin-15 and interferon-gamma participate in the cross-talk between natural killer and monocytic cells required for tumour necrosis factor production.

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.We have characterized the lymphocyte subset and the receptor molecules involved in inducing the secretion of TNF by monocytic cells in vitro. The TNF secreted by monocytic cells was measured when they were co-cultured with either resting or IL-15-stimulated lymphocytes, T cells, B cells or natural killer (NK) cells isolated from the peripheral blood of healthy subjects and from the synovial fluid from patients with inflammatory arthropathies. Co-culture with IL-15-activated peripheral blood or synovial fluid lymphocytes induced TNF production by monocytic cells within 24 hours, an effect that was mainly mediated by NK cells. In turn, monocytic cells induced CD69 expression and IFN-gamma production in NK cells, an effect that was mediated mainly by beta2 integrins and membrane-bound IL-15. Furthermore, IFN-gamma increased the production of membrane-bound IL-15 in monocytic cells. Blockade of beta2 integrins and membrane-bound IL-15 inhibited TNF production, whereas TNF synthesis increased in the presence of anti-CD48 and anti-CD244 (2B4) monoclonal antibodies. All these findings suggest that the cross-talk between NK cells and monocytes results in the sustained stimulation of TNF production. This phenomenon might be important in the pathogenesis of conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis in which the synthesis of TNF is enhanced

Distribution of Six Polymorphisms in Two Communities with a Historical High Incidence of Diabetes and Obesity in Yucatan, Mexico

Aims: Maya ancestry populations from Yucatan have exhibited a high prevalence of diabetes and obesity; consequently, the aim of this study was to determine the allelic and genotype frequencies of six polymorphisms associated with diabetes and obesity in two Maya populations. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN; Laboratorios de Genética y Hematología, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán between September 2014 and March 2016. Methodology: Healthy individuals with Maya ancestry were recruited in small rural and urban communities from Yucatan. Six polymorphisms present in five genes (PPARGC1A, NRF1, SLC30A8, ADRA2A and UCP3) were genotyped using TaqMan assays. Linkage disequilibrium analysis was performed for rs13266634 and rs11558471 (SLC30A8). Results: The observed frequencies in the small rural community (SRC) and Merida were in Hardy Weinberg equilibrium. Frequencies of five polymorphisms (rs8192678, rs1882095, rs13266634, rs11558471 and rs3781907) correlated with 1000 genomes project data, furthermore, statistical analysis did not reveal a significant difference between genotype frequencies of the SRC and Merida populations. Contrary, frequencies from Mexicans living in Los Angeles compared with frequencies obtained in Yucatan (SRC and Merida) indicated significant difference on genotype frequencies in the ADRA2A gene (P-value= .017). The polymorphisms rs13266634 and rs11558471 in the SLC30A8 gene displayed strong linkage disequilibrium (D’= 0.96), displaying frequencies of 0.725, 0.255, and 0.015 for haplotypes C-A, T-G, and C-G respectively. Conclusion: Distribution of A allele in rs553668 (ADRA2A) in the Yucatan populations was higher than the frequency reported for Mexicans from LA, Americans, Europeans, and Africans. This finding could be related to blood pressure levels in the Maya populations. Additionally, a high frequency of C-A haplotype (rs13266634 and rs11558471) in the SLC30A8 gene could be associated with an increased risk of diabetes and obesity in these populations

Estados de ánimo y rendimiento deportivo en fútbol : ¿existe la ventaja de jugar en casa?

Los estados de ánimo previos a la competición han sido asociados con la selección de deportistas y el rendimiento deportivo. Recientes investigaciones parecen haber demostrado que la relación entre el estado de ánimo precompetitivo y el rendimiento, podría estar mediado por una serie de variables como son la duración del evento, el tipo de deporte e incluso la localización del partido (Terry, 1997). En el presente estudio, tenemos intención de observar cómo los estados de ánimo, previos a la competición, influyen en el rendimiento de un equipo de fútbol durante toda la temporada, y si esta relación está mediada por la variable localización del partido. Según los resultados obtenidos, la variable localización del partido parece mediar en la relación existente entre estados de ánimo y rendimiento, siendo los partidos jugados fuera de casa donde más se manifiestan los estados de ánimo y su consiguiente influencia en el rendimiento.Emotional states, previous to competition, have been associated to competition outcomes and athletes selection. Recent investigations have demonstrated that some variables could being mediating the relationships between emotional states and competition outcome, such as duration of the event, type of sport and game location (Terry, 1997). The present study's intention is to observe how the emotional states, previous to competition, relate to competition performance, in a soccer team during a season. Also, we are interested in the possible mediating role of game location. The study results, seem to confirm that game location mediate the relationship between emotional states and performance, with home matches having the more positive emotional states and performance

Genetics of Type III Bartter Syndrome in Spain, Proposed Diagnostic Algorithm

9 p.The p.Ala204Thr mutation (exon 7) of the CLCNKB gene is a "founder" mutation that causes most of type III Bartter syndrome cases in Spain. We performed genetic analysis of the CLCNKB gene, which encodes for the chloride channel protein ClC-Kb, in a cohort of 26 affected patients from 23 families. The diagnostic algorithm was: first, detection of the p.Ala204Thr mutation; second, detecting large deletions or duplications by Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification and Quantitative Multiplex PCR of Short Fluorescent Fragments; and third, sequencing of the coding and flanking regions of the whole CLCNKB gene. In our genetic diagnosis, 20 families presented with the p.Ala204Thr mutation. Of those, 15 patients (15 families) were homozygous (57.7% of overall patients). Another 8 patients (5 families) were compound heterozygous for the founder mutation together with a second one. Thus, 3 patients (2 siblings) presented with the c. -19-?_2053+? del deletion (comprising the entire gene); one patient carried the p.Val170Met mutation (exon 6); and 4 patients (3 siblings) presented with the novel p.Glu442Gly mutation (exon 14). On the other hand, another two patients carried two novel mutations in compound heterozygosis: one presented the p.Ile398_Thr401del mutation (exon 12) associated with the c. -19-?_2053+? del deletion, and the other one carried the c.1756+1G>A splice-site mutation (exon 16) as well as the already described p.Ala210Val change (exon 7). One case turned out to be negative in our genetic screening. In addition, 51 relatives were found to be heterozygous carriers of the described CLCNKB mutations. In conclusion, different mutations cause type III Bartter syndrome in Spain. The high prevalence of the p.Ala204Thr in Spanish families thus justifies an initial screen for this mutation. However, should it not be detected further investigation of the CLCNKB gene is warranted in clinically diagnosed families.This study was supported by two grants (PI09/90888 and PI11/01412) from the FIS of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain, and the Eitb Maratoia-Bioef (BIO08/ER/020) the Basque Foundation for Health Innovation and Research (BIOEF, from the Basque Berrikuntza + Ikerketa + Osasuna Eusko Fundazioa). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Occurrence of Hepatitis E Virus in Pigs and Pork Cuts and Organs at the Time of Slaughter, Spain, 2017

Zoonotic hepatitis E, mainly caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype (gt) 3, is a foodborne disease that has emerged in Europe in recent decades. The main animal reservoir for genotype 3 is domestic pigs. Pig liver and liver derivates are considered the major risk products, and studies focused on the presence of HEV in pig muscles are scarce. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the presence of HEV in different organs and tissues of 45 apparently healthy pigs from nine Spanish slaughterhouses (50% national production) that could enter into the food supply chain. Anti-HEV antibodies were evaluated in serum by an ELISA test. Ten samples from each animal were analyzed for the presence of HEV RNA by reverse transcription real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). The overall seroprevalence obtained was 73.3% (33/45). From the 450 samples analyzed, a total of 26 RT-qPCR positive samples were identified in the liver (7/45), feces (6/45), kidney (5/45), heart (4/45), serum (3/45), and diaphragm (1/45). This is the first report on detection of HEV RNA in kidney and heart samples of naturally infected pigs. HEV RNA detection was negative for rib, bacon, lean ham, and loin samples. These findings indicate that pig meat could be considered as a low risk material for foodborne HEV infection.This study was partially supported by the RTA2014-00024-C04 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Innovation. NG and DR-L received a research grant by INTERPORC.S