Metabolomic Phenotype of Hepatic Steatosis and Fibrosis in Mexican Children Living with Obesity

Background and Objectives: Metabolic-dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease or MASLD is the main cause of chronic liver diseases in children, and it is estimated to affect 35% of children living with obesity. This study aimed to identify metabolic phenotypes associated with two advanced stages of MASLD (hepatic steatosis and hepatic steatosis plus fibrosis) in Mexican children with obesity. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis derived from a randomized clinical trial conducted in children and adolescents with obesity aged 8 to 16 years. Anthropometric and biochemical data were measured, and targeted metabolomic analyses were carried out using mass spectrometry. Liver steatosis and fibrosis were estimated using transient elastography (Fibroscan® Echosens, Paris, France). Three groups were studied: a non-MASLD group, an MASLD group, and a group for MASLD + fibrosis. A partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was performed to identify the discrimination between the study groups and to visualize the differences between their heatmaps; also, Variable Importance Projection (VIP) plots were graphed. A VIP score of \u3e1.5 was considered to establish the importance of metabolites and biochemical parameters that characterized each group. Logistic regression models were constructed considering VIP scores of \u3e1.5, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were estimated to evaluate different combinations of variables. Results: The metabolic MASLD phenotype was associated with increased concentrations of ALT and decreased arginine, glycine, and acylcarnitine (AC) AC5:1, while MASLD + fibrosis, an advanced stage of MASLD, was associated with a phenotype characterized by increased concentrations of ALT, proline, and alanine and a decreased Matsuda Index. Conclusions: The metabolic MASLD phenotype changes as this metabolic dysfunction progresses. Understanding metabolic disturbances in MASLD would allow for early identification and the development of intervention strategies focused on limiting the progression of liver damage in children and adolescents

Muscle-on-a-chip with an on-site multiplexed biosensing system for in situ monitoring of secreted IL-6 and TNF-α

Despite the increasing number of organs-on-a-chip that have been developed in the past decade, limited efforts have been made to integrate a sensing system for in situ continual measurements of biomarkers from three-dimensional (3D) tissues. Here, we present a custom-made integrated platform for muscle cell stimulation under fluidic conditions connected with a multiplexed high-sensitivity electrochemical sensing system for in situ monitoring. To demonstrate this, we use our system to measure the release levels and release time of interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha in vitro by 3D muscle microtissue under electrical and biological stimulations. Our experimental design has enabled us to perform multiple time point measurements using functionalized screen-printed gold electrodes with sensitivity in the ng mL−1 range. This affordable setup is uniquely suited for monitoring factors released by 3D single cell types upon external stimulation for metabolic studies

The CCR2+ Monocyte Subsets Increase in Obese Boys but Not Girls with Abnormally High Carotid Intima-Media Thickness: A Pilot Study

The differential contribution of monocyte subsets expressing the C-C chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) to subclinical atherosclerosis in girls and boys is unclear. In this pilot study, we compared classical, intermediate, and nonclassical monocyte subsets expressing CCR2 in 33 obese children of both sexes aged 8 to 16 divided by carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), considering values above the 75th percentile (p75) as abnormally high IMT. Obesity was defined as body mass index above the 95th percentile according to age and sex. Flow cytometry analyses revealed that boys but not girls with IMT ≥ p75 displayed increased CCR2+ cell percentage and CCR2 expression in the three monocyte subsets, compared to boys with IMT \u3c p75. The CCR2+ cell percentage and CCR2 expression in the three monocyte subsets significantly correlated with increased IMT and insulin resistance in boys but not girls, where the CCR2+ nonclassical monocyte percentage had the strongest associations (r = 0.73 and r = 0.72, respectively). The role of CCR2+ monocyte subpopulations in identifying an abnormally high IMT shows a marked sexual dimorphism, where boys seem to be at higher subclinical atherosclerosis risk than girls. View Full-Tex

Aversión al retorno al trabajo por miedo al COVID19 en el Sector Educativo de Tamaulipas.

In recent years the world was affected by the COVID 19 pandemic, which forced to change the way in which the economy operated during the contingency, and with it the dynamics of work. The present research has the objective of determining the effects of the fear of COVID 19 on the return to work in the educational sector of Tamaulipa. A sample of 200 workers from the educational sector in the municipalities of Altamira, El Mante, Madero, Reynosa, Tampico, Valle Hermoso and Victoria was collected. The results showed that there is a negative relationship between fear of COVID 19 and return to work. It is concluded that fear was the main factor that generated aversion to returning to work in the educational sector of Tamaulipas, accompanied by the physical consequences of the disease and major problems such as psychological disorders. This negatively affected the return to work spaces.  En los últimos años el mundo se vio afectado por la pandemia por COVID 19, la cual obligó a cambiar la forma en la que operó la economía durante la contingencia, y con ello la dinámica de trabajo. La presente investigación se traza como objetivo determinar los efectos del miedo al Covid 19 en el retorno al trabajo en el sector educativo de Tamaulipa, México. Se recolectó una muestra de 200 trabajadores del sector educativo de los municipios Altamira, el Mante, Madero, Reynosa, Tampico, Valle Hermoso y Victoria. Los resultados mostraron que existe una relación negativa entre el miedo por COVID 19 y el retorno laboral. Se concluye que el miedo fue el principal factor que generaba aversión al retorno al trabajo en el sector educativo de Tamaulipas, acompañado de las secuelas físicas de la enfermedad y problemas mayores como trastornos psicológicos. Esto afectó de manera negativa el retorno a los espacios laborales

Cuatro productos ancestrales y su importancia en la gastronomía Mexicana

La presente investigación, es un estudio bibliográfico, descriptivo de la historia de la dieta alimentaria del mexicano, así como significados e importancia del maíz, frijol, calabaza y chile, sus variedades y evolución

Microphysiological sensing platform for an in-situ detection of tissue-secreted cytokines

Understanding the protein-secretion dynamics from single, specific tissues is critical toward the advancement of disease detection and treatments. However, such secretion dynamics remain difficult to measure in vivo due to the uncontrolled contributions from other tissue populations. Here, we describe an integrated platform designed for the reliable, near real-time measurements of cytokines secreted from an in vitro single-tissue model. In our setup, we grow 3D biomimetic tissues to discretize cytokine source, and we separate them from a magnetic microbead-based biosensing system using a Transwell insert. This design integrates physiochemically controlled biological activity, high-sensitivity protein detection (LOD < 20 pg mL−1), and rapid protein diffusion to enable non-invasive, near real-time measurements. To showcase the specificity and sensitivity of the system, we use our setup to probe the inflammatory process related to the protein Interleukine 6 (IL-6) and to the Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF-α). We show that our setup can monitor the time-dependence profile of IL-6 and TNF-α secretion that results from the electrical and chemical stimulation of 3D skeletal muscle tissues. We demonstrate a novel and affordable methodology for discretizing the secretion kinetics of specific tissues for advancing metabolic-disorder studies and drug-screening applications