Metabolic Fingerprint of Acromegaly and its Potential Usefulness in Clinical Practice

Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and growth hormone (GH) levels are the main targets for monitoring acromegaly activity, but they are not in close relationship with the clinical course of the disease and the associated comorbidities. The present study was aimed at identifying metabolites that could be used as biomarkers for a better disease phenotyping. For this purpose, metabolic fingerprint using an untargeted metabolomic approach was examined in serum from 30 patients with acromegaly and 30 age-matched controls. Patients with acromegaly presented fewer branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) compared to the control group (valine: 4.75 ± 0.87 vs. 5.20 ± 1.06 arbitrary units (AUs), p < 0.05; isoleucine: 2.54 ± 0.41 vs. 2.80 ± 0.51 AUs; p < 0.05). BCAAs were also lower in patients with active disease compared to patients with normal levels of IGF-1 with or without medical treatment. GH, but not IGF-1, serum levels were inversely correlated with both valine and isoleucine. These findings indicate that low levels of BCAAs represent the main metabolic fingerprint of acromegaly and that GH, rather than IGF-1, might be the primary mediator. In addition, our results suggest that the assessment of BCAAs could help to identify active disease and to monitor the response to therapeutic strategies

Nanoparticles in Medicine: A Focus on Vascular Oxidative Stress

Nanotechnology has had a significant impact on medicine in recent years, its application being referred to as nanomedicine. Nanoparticles have certain properties with biomedical applications; however, in some situations, they have demonstrated cell toxicity, which has caused concern surrounding their clinical use. In this review, we focus on two aspects: first, we summarize the types of nanoparticles according to their chemical composition and the general characteristics of their use in medicine, and second, we review the applications of nanoparticles in vascular alteration, especially in endothelial dysfunction related to oxidative stress. This condition can lead to a reduction in nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, consequently affecting vascular tone regulation and endothelial dysfunction, which is the first phase in the development of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, nanoparticles with antioxidant properties may improve vascular dysfunction associated with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, or atherosclerosis

Biodistribution of Amino-Functionalized Diamond Nanoparticles. In Vivo Studies Based on (18)F Radionuclide Emission

[EN] Nanoparticles have been proposed for several biomedical applications; however, in vivo biodistribution studies to con¿rm their potential are scarce. Nanodiamonds are carbon nanoparticles that have been recently proposed as a promising biomaterial. In this study, we labeled nanodiamonds with 18F to study their in vivo biodistribution by positron emission tomography. Moreover, the impact on the biodistribution of their kinetic particle size and of the surfactant agents has been evaluated. Radiolabeled diamond nanoparticles accumulated mainly in the lung, spleen, and liver and were excreted into the urinary tract. The addition of surfactant agents did not lead to signi¿cant changes in this pattern, with the exception of a slight reduction in the urinary excretion rate. On the other hand, after ¿ltration of the radiolabeled diamond nanoparticles to remove those with a larger kinetic size, the uptake in the lung and spleen was completely inhibited and signi¿cantly reduced in the liverThe present work was supported by Spanish MICINN (Grant CTQ-2009-11586); the Fondo de Investigacion Sanitaria (FIS) of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Grants PS09/02620, PI10/1195, and PS09/02217), La Marato TV3 Foundation (Grant 090530), and CDTI under the CENIT Programme (AMIT Project) and supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. R.M. thanks the Spanish Ministry for a postgraduate scholarship. V.M.V. is a recipient of Fond de Investigacion Sanitaria (FIS) and Generalitat Valenciana contract (CES10/030)Rojas, S.; Gispert, JD.; Martín González, R.; Abad, S.; Menchón, C.; Pareto, D.; Víctor, VM.... (2011). Biodistribution of Amino-Functionalized Diamond Nanoparticles. In Vivo Studies Based on (18)F Radionuclide Emission. ACS Nano. 5(7):5552-5559. https://doi.org/10.1021/nn200986zS555255595

In Vivo Biodistribution of Amino-Functionalized Ceria Nanoparticles in Rats Using Positron Emission Tomography

A variety of nanoparticles have been proposed for several biomedical applications. To gauge the therapeutic potential of these nanoparticles, in vivo biodistribution is essential and mandatory. In the present study, ceria nanoparticles (5 nm average particle size) were labeled with F-18 to study their in vivo biodistribution in rats by positron emission tomography (PET). The F-18 isotope was anchored by reaction of N-succinimidyl 4-[F-18]fluorobenzoate (F-18-SFB) with a modified nanoparticle surface obtained by silylation with 3-aminopropylsilyl. Radiolabeled ceria nanoparticles accumulated mainly in lungs, spleen, and liver. Metabolic products of the radiolabeled nanoparticulate material were excreted into the urinary tract.The present work was supported by the Spanish MICINN (Grants CTQ-2009-11586, CTQ2006-06785, and CTQ2007-67805-AR07, PI10/1195, AP192/11); the Fondo de Investigacion Sanitaria (FIS) of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Grants PS09/02620, PI10/1195, and PS09/02217), the Generalitat Valenciana (Grant ACOMP/2012/045), La Marato Fundation (Grant 090530), and by CDTI under the CENIT Programme (AMIT Project) and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. V.M.V. is a recipient of a contract from the Regional Ministry of Health of the Valencian Regional Government and Carlos III Health Institute (CES10/030).Rojas, S.; Domingo Gispert, J.; Abad Fuentes, S.; Buaki-Sogo, M.; Victor, VM.; García Gómez, H.; Herance Camacho, JR. (2012). In Vivo Biodistribution of Amino-Functionalized Ceria Nanoparticles in Rats Using Positron Emission Tomography. Molecular Pharmaceutics. 9(12):3543-3550. https://doi.org/10.1021/mp300382nS3543355091